Question:
Does anyone else have doubts about being able to continue to eat this way?
I have already seen my surgeon,and I really want this surgery but sometimes I ask myself if I can really give up all those foods???? Am I going crasy???I have worked very hard for this and I know this is the best thing I can do for myself. Is this part of the process or am I being CHICKEN????? I don't want to stop the process but it makes me question. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!! Julie — Julie Q. (posted on March 1, 2001)
March 1, 2001
Now is the time to really take a good look at what you want out of this
life. For me , I never regreted my decision to have the surgery. I knew how
I would have to alter my eating habits , but it was worth it to me. I
couldn't look in the mirror one more day and see that hideous bloated
reflection looking back at me. I was living (existing)on antidepressents ,
and other assorted medications to get me though my days and nights. I moved
so gracelessly , I looked ten years older than my husband (who is one year
older than me) I felt 70 or 80 instead of 50 because I had so many aches
and pains. Winter or summer I was a sweaty uncomfortable mess , and my
clothing had no style after it was on my body. I didn't wear anything but
tennis shoes on my swollen waterloged feet. I made a trade off Now I have
GREAT health , I take pride in my appearence and I know that it shows now.
Before it didn't matter to me how much I tried I felt lousy and I looked
unhealthy. Eating small portions and only a bite or two of a goody is a
small price to pay for having my life back and being in control of it. The
final decision can only be determined by you. You and noone else knows what
is in your heart. I now live my life in a way that truly makes ME happy ,
and a happy me makes the people around me happy also. Don't consider how
anyone else will react , this is totally your decision no one else will
feel what you do. The only advise I have for you is do not be afraid of
change , be afraid not to change. To me that was the same as death , and
that fear controlled me for too many years. God bless you.
— Rose A.
March 1, 2001
julie
I think its normal to fear the unknown....the only foods that you will want
to give up are the foods that are killing you now...such as sweets,
processed, fast foods, and junk foods. and with this surgery, giving up
these foods really does happen with out any pain, really! You think you
will miss them....getting rid of the thing that is robbing you of life and
slowly, painfully killing you will be such a victory, that you will be very
happy you no longer are chained to these foods, and believe me, you will
not miss them. You will be very surprised by how much you will still be
able to eat....your variety will be lots bigger than you think...and , the
best thing is you will lose weight, will not feel deprived, will become
creative in finding new, really good foods, and you will find new
favorites...and you will get healthy...your skin will clear up...feel
smooth again....your strength and vitality will return...you will have the
energy to get out and enjoy life the way you were meant to .
You need to remember that the foods you may be having a hard time in saying
goodbye to are not your friends...they are simply foods that are poisoning
you and keeping you morbidly obese and ill.
I hope I haven't been too harsh here, I just wanted to let you know that
you don't have to give up very much...your variety of foods will be so much
you won't believe it....but you have to say goodbye to junky-type foods
that have no nutrition, no matter if you get surgery or not, because they
are the culprits for shortening your life.
take care and good luck with your decision.
— lynne S.
March 1, 2001
Excellent responses, Lynne and Rose, just excellent. I could not have
expressed it better. Best wishes.
— [Deactivated Member]
March 1, 2001
Julie, I also was very worried about how I was going to eat post-op, I was
afraid I wouldn't be able to have a "normal" life after... lol
Then it hit me, life wasn't normal, I wasn't enjoying life or even the
foods I was eating because of the guilt of KNOWING I was going to gain or
at the very least stay the same. The joy of eating post-op is wonderful!
No guilt, no worry, I feel full, satisfied on such small amounts, I used to
be a big fast food person, but now it doesn't have any pull on me.. I wish
I could explain the wonderful feeling I get from knowing I'm eating to live
and not living to eat!!
I never believed that saying nothing tastes as good as thin feels, I just
couldn't relate to that saying at all, I was never thin, but as I'm getting
smaller I've got to say, seeing the scale go down feels fabulous!!
— Wendy R.
March 2, 2001
Julie - I worried about that too. I have had the real Test in the last few
days. My mother is running very low blood sugars. She has recently moved
in with me and I have to prepare her a sugar type of snack when this occurs
as well as give her OJ. Last night, I bought her some brownies with
chocolate frosting. Her BS was 56 so I gave her a glass of OJ and cut the
brownie, put it on the plate for her and looked at the knife. THere was
still some on there. Normally, I'd have licked that thing clean. It never
even occurred to me. I grabbed a piece of paper towel, wiped the knife
off, and put it in the sink. Never gave tasting it a thought until
afterward. Ha Ha !!! I am only 4-1/2 months post op. If I can do it, You
Can !!! Good luck !!!
Diane C.
— Diane C.
March 2, 2001
Yes...I was very concerned with postop eating & compliance. As I
researched all the different sureries, I found that each different surgery
type has different postop eating requirements. I found, for me, the
duodenal switch offered the quality of life postop that I was looking for
and as an added bonus, has one of the best records for keeping the weight
off once you lose it. Check out: http://www.duodenalswitch.com for more
info and my story at: http://www.mywls.com. Good luck to you!!---->>
— [Deactivated Member]
March 2, 2001
Wow, Rose & Lynne, your comments were so inspirational! I'm just
starting on the path to WLS and have already hit roadblocks but your words
give me hope and determination. Thank you.
— Lynn E.
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