[fr1endly2]

It’s important for you to remember that it takes weeks, sometimes months and a lot of hard work to change behaviors and habits. Be sure to ease into these changes and avoid the frustration that can accompany a major lifestyle change. Participate in a support groups may be especially helpful during this time.
TIPS:

• Develop new coping mechanisms that aren’t associated with food.
• Find new ways to occupy the time you used to spend eating.
• Increase your physical activity - even the smallest effort makes a difference.
• Create and rehearse responses to inquiries about your weight loss or behavioral changes.
• Keep an ongoing list of your post-surgery goals and expectations.
• Buy supplies such as infant/child utensils, small plates and bottled water.
• Practice sipping water throughout the day.
• Avoid drinking with meals.
• Cut food into small pieces.
• Practice chewing food until it’s smooth or in a puree form before swallowing.
• Wean yourself off soda and other carbonated beverages.
• Try different protein shakes and find one that you like.
• Learn to recognize when you feel satisfied or full. During a meal, notice when food tastes less appealing. Notice when your sense of urgency to eat decreases. Notice when your sense of hunger decreases or goes away.

Preoperative Diet

[freebird]

great tips friend thanks for the advice, i never thought about the rehearsed responses, i'm gonna start on that today, and write them down so i can memorize them. thanks again

[fr1endly2]

silly u welcome!
I try to post information as i can that helps
as well as conversation with folks too!

[christopherj]

There is a book that I found quite helpful in preparing me for eating after I recover from RNY. It was recommended to my by the psychologist that conducted my psych eval. I have been practicing some of the tools before my surgery. The book is called Mindless Eating. He is a psychologist that has a food lab at a major university. He discusses the vast research that takes place throughout the world, (some private and some academic) regarding food. For example, research subjects will always say that the steak that is served on a paper plate is less tasty than the one served on china, even though it is an identical steak. Or, many people mistake antique dinner plates as salad plates because the actual size of our dinner plates have increased dramatically over many years. One of his funniest research examples is the bottomless soup bowl. They served tomato soup to subjects and the bowls were rigged to continuously fill from below the table. Some subjects ate one quart of soup from a small soup bowl that could only hold about one cup, yet they never suspected anything.

The book is helping me analyze my choices in both the items I choose to eat and the quantities I choose to eat. I am trying to remove the choices from the marketing researchers and instead make the choices my own conscious choices.

[Perfesser]

This thread may be years old, but the principles are still valid. As a result of the surgery, you will undergo some major life changes. If you lump them all together in the first month post-op, you will put yourself under a lot of needless stress! Practice in your pre-op training period the behaviors you will need to follow for the rest of your life. Then when they let you eat solids again, you'll returning to a habit instead of creating a new one. It's a whole lot easier!!

CT