Guest guest Posted June 17, 2000 Report Share Posted June 17, 2000 This is a wonderful post. You have a lot to offer people and a way to help them. Let us help you too when you need it. Take our help as others take yours. Jane McShane MGB 3/20/00 250 / 206 > > Hi , Thanks so much for the eating tips. I dont know about > everyone > > else, but this is one of my big concerns since I am a foodaholic, > I > wondered > > what and how we could eat and deal with it?? It is REALLY helpful! > Any other > > helpful tips would be NICE! Thanks a bunch! Margie SC > > > > PS Is there any other hints for us pre- ops out here waiting?? I > mean in the > > eating area??? > > It was my big worry before surgery, too, as in, yes, I know I'll > have a smaller stomach and I'll feel " full " sooner, but that > never stopped me before! > > I *rarely* ever ate because I was hungry and I *rarely* ever > stopped because I was full. > > I ate because it was comforting, it felt good, it tasted good, > it made me feel better, whether I was happy, sad, mad, anxious, > or all occasions. I stopped eating because I ran out of > whatever I was eating, whether it was a hamburger or a bag > of cookies. > > Going into town meant a trip to someplace to eat. The > actual errand would be secondary in my mind to where I > was going to eat that day. The eating *experience* > was something to look forward to. > > I was never a *big* eater, I just ate frequently. I couldn't > pass the fridge (getting better about that these days) without > opening it to look in and see if anything fun had popped up > since I looked in there the last time. (Notice that food=fun > in that sentence, too. Um-hmmm.) > > Now, the MGB makes all that *impossible.* You will not be > able to stuff food down quickly in a fit of angst over some > problem that just came up. You will barf. > > I had not identified all my weird eating habits until after > I had this surgery. I began to realize all the trips I > made to the fridge, how fast I always ate (as if someone > were going to steal my plate or, worse, *see* me eating!), > how much I really didn't even necessarily *like* the foods > I had been eating -- just grabbing something to eat, just > to be eating! > > Now, after the MGB, the first few weeks on liquids really > was not all that hard, mainly because it let me still eat > the same way -- go to the fridge, eat a bite of soup, go > to the fridge, eat a bite of yogurt, go to the fridge, > eat a bite of jello. I wasn't particularly craving any > one kind of food, anything would do. > > That, however, came to a screeching halt when I could have > solids and began to think I *must* have (x) food that day. > It was a defiant kind of thing, as in " By God, I *will* eat > that. Who's going to stop me? " > > I didn't say it was rational, I'm just telling you how it > went for me. > > As I've said before, I kept a *lot* of sugar free popsicles > and sugar free jello onhand to deal with the habit of > getting in the fridge. > > Once I got on solids and began to crave this or that food, > I found that if I went to get whatever it was, such as > a hamburger patty one day, some Cheetos another day, > some tamales another day, an ice cream another day, well, > that was that. I didn't need to eat a lot of whatever > it was. Even if I tried, I couldn't, but I found that > I just didn't need to stuff the food down anymore. I > have begun to be a lot pickier about what I eat. It has > to taste *really* good now to be worth the bother. > > I also began keeping track of everything I ate on dietwatch.com. > I wasn't trying to avoid any particular foods or stay on a > diet. Originally, I was trying to be sure I got enough protein. > But I began to be very aware of the fat and carbohydrate content > of foods and to see a pattern. > > If I had been getting very low carbs for several days, well, > surprise, I would crave something with carbs. If I had > been very low fat for days on end, I'd crave something that > ended up having a high fat content. If I didn't get enough > protein for several days, a can of tuna, eggs, shrimp, or > some other high-protein food went up the scale of the want list. > > The body, it seems, has its ways of getting what it needs. > And lo! The *worst* (most high calorie) day I had > was the granola bar and pizza day -- 1276 calories, > and I still came in fairly low fat that day (high carbs > and proteins). 1276 calories in one day *before* surgery > would have been *starvation* to me. Now, it's a pig-out > virtual feeding frenzy. No kidding! It *feels* like > a binge. Really. > > My " average " day right after surgery was about 350 calories. > Now it is between 600-800. And I'm eating what I want, I > don't feel at all deprived or angry that I can't eat this > or that (because I can). I just don't want nearly as much > or as often. > > The odd things is, and the ice cream day is a good example, > that I eat like a thin person. When I ate that ice cream, > with 350 calories in it, I didn't *also* want a big dinner. > Conversely, on the days I have a big dinner, I don't want > ice cream. Is that making sense? It's as if I now have > a barometer of how much to eat and stop without consciously > trying or feeling deprived or angry (as with diets). > > Hope that makes sense. > > Kind regards, > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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