[Big Hoss]

Can we eat and what can we not eat after surgery? I am dreading not EVER being able to touch sausage and pizza and chinese food etc etc...I just started this journey got like 4 diff doctors visits in the next month alone so its going fast...just curious what you can and can not eat...I asked a nurse at the dr office bc she had the surgery I wanted and said white meat and veggies...well I hate chicken and I am not eating that EVERY day...can't do it no way...so help me out here...seems like I am losing the weight so everyone can have me around longer but I am doing all the work and not getting to live my life.

[nursesrock]

Aloha, BH!! First of all, I have a chihuahua that looks pretty much like that picture. Ha! I will tell you about my experiences and thoughts about your post- I'm only one person. I spent a lot of time suffering over these questions and put on 20 extra pounds before my surgery, so save yourself that issue. If you choose this path, you will definately be UNABLE to tolerate some things. I didn't have RNY, but the sleeve- so I don't get "dumping" over carbs, but they make me feel cruddy, particularly bread. So I've not had any pizza since surgery and I'm ok with that. Know that the things you want to have as staples in your life will appear, smell and taste differently after surgery so they may lose their appeal for you. The hope after this surgery is that we eat to live, not live to eat, so food for me isn't as exciting, fun or interesting anymore. That means, I don't really eat out (I could but I don't see the point at this time as I can eat so little) and social situations- where people are enjoying their food and drinks- are all about the company and not the food. It's a VERY had adjustment if you love to eat because you no longer will enjoy stuffing yourself with all of your favorite things. And you'll have to find protein sources you're willing to eat because without protein as your primary source of calories, you'll be tired ALL the time. Yep, there are sacrifices, and sometimes that stinks. This all being said, the gifts of health, smaller clothes, walking in a crowd and fitting between people, no longer being diabetic or hypertensive are the rewards of that sacrifice. You'll get into the mindset, it takes an adjustment of your priorities is all.

[Perfesser]

Eventually you'll be able to eat just about anything. That may be once you're past the year mark, or at goal, or sometime later. I can eat all of that, but I do modify a lot of things so that they conform to the rules. And I don't eat much on those rare occasions when I do eat it. Can't!!

Whatever you do, DO NOT SHORT YOURSELF ON PROTEIN!!!!! I know a guy who didn't get enough. It was his choice. He said he didn't like anything, so he ate what he liked. He paid a heavy price!! Protein is not optional. Your body needs it, your body will find it, your body will take it from wherever it happens to be stored. If it can't find it in your digestive tract, it'll start eating your muscles. This guy was 6' tall, originally had a solid build. He was a material handler at the plant he worked at. Very physical job. He had RNY and lost the weight, but a lot of it was muscles. He got to where he could barely pick up 25 pounds. Watching him getting out of a chair was agonizing!! He started focusing on protein, and after a year had gotten up to a 40 pound lift. I lost track of him after that.

You do not want to go there!! But you will if you don't make peace with protein and give your body what it wants! Your option was to have RNY. Now that that's done, you have no options left. You MUST eat sufficient protein. You MUST drink sufficient fluids. Don't challenge your body. You may have overridden it for years and abused it mercilessly, but it's in the driver's seat now and you are a passenger. It'll win every time!!

Find a way to do it and you won't believe just how gooood the new life waiting for you is!!

CT

[melanie6]

I agree with nursesrock about your tastes changing after the surgery. Your tastes change drastically after surgery...what you like now, may disgust you later. I also noticed that my sense of smell is stronger as well. For example, yesterday we were running some errands and stopped at Weinersnitzel and bought the kids something off of the dollar menu. When we pulled up, I thought, "here we go, lets see how Im gonna handle this?" It was the first time since my surgery that we bought take-out. I thought I was going to be irritated because everyone was eating but me. Well, I actually didnt feel that way at all once it arrived. Since my sense of smell is stronger, all I could smell was fat...like I was sniffing a great big vat of oil...and it was disgusting. I didnt get an attitude because I couldnt eat, instead I was SHOCKED that it turned me off so much. Im sharing this, because you are concerned about this now, but afterwards you may not care. You learn very quickly after surgery, that eating is to keep you alive and healthy, it was never meant to be an emotional crutch, our best friend, our entertainer, etc. Most overweight people tend to eat for other reasons than to give our bodies the fuel it needs to sustain itself (at least I did). Anywho, I hope this helps.

[Big Hoss]

Thanks for the replies. Its been hard for me and I just started this! LOL...man I am in for some changes...I mean the doc said cut out caffeine and beer...well crap I usually only drink 1 20oz dr pepper or mtn dew a day and its soooo hard to just stop doing that...its like an automatic habit...I also started writing down what I am eating doc said I had to and I can see where I am eating way to much food mostly snacking here and there but its a good bit of snacking...he said before he even saw me just based on my application he wanted to do the bypass surgery and not the sleeve on me...I wanted to do the sleeve but even after talking to me he says he was even more convinced the bypass is the best one for me because of my weight and eating habits...I was shocked when I stepped on the scale I weigh 601 pounds last time I weighed myself I was 558 that was in April...I was shocked and depressed when I saw 600....maybe this is why they are requiring me to go to the support group...

[nursesrock]

It's a bit overwhelming, for sure. It takes a lot of guts to do this, but it's likely what you need to survive another 10 years. Forget the soda and beer, you won't miss it eventually (life perfesser said). I suggest you go onto myfitnesspal.com to really see what you're eating, and what it's all worth in terms of nutrition..........it's an eye opener!!

[Iteacheagles]

I am going to add my two cents here mostly about the caffeine.. I will tell you I was on a 20 ounce Diet Dr. Pepper a day habit.... I woke up a few days before school started (I am a teacher) and decided I would not drink a dr pepper that day. Well, the next thing I knew I hadn't had one in a few weeks ( and this was before I knew my insurance approved the surgery)... my next caffeine weakness was COFFEE... I was a real witch if I didn't have coffee in the mornings and my students could tell if I did not have any... but after surgery, I still drink a cup once or twice a week but I definitely don't have to have it nor do I crave it like I thought I would.

So long story short... it is possible to leave the sodas behind plus most people lose some weight just by cutting out the soda, and your taste buds most definitely change.

I hope this helps

[melanie6]

For my medical group, we had to wean ourselves off of all caffeine before having the surgery. Caffeine can cause ulcers, and the carbonation from the drink may cause your tiny pouch to stretch. I began weaning myself a little at a time. I didnt drink a lot of soda but when I would, it would be a 32 oz fountain drink from a convenience store. I had at least 1 per week, sometimes as many as 3...depending on if it was softball season for my hubby. I gradually decreased to 1 every couple of weeks, to one a month. Then I got to a point that I craved the flavor, so I had one. It was TOO sweet, and I discovered I lost a taste for it.

You dont have to cut it out cold turkey, just make small changes and begin drinking less and go longer distances before you have another. Before you know it, you'll be weaned off of it and I can bet you dollars to donuts, you will lose some weight just by making that change.

[not quite Barbie]

Hoss, you touched on another area that I think you need to be aware of - alcohol. After the RNY we are "cheap drunks". Where before it might take me 2 - 3 glasses of wine to get a buzz, now 1/2 glass will do it, and the reaction is immediate! It's because it's going straight to our gut and into our blood stream. So we can get super drunk very easily and quickly. We also can get easily "hooked" on alcohol, which is the main reason to avoid it.

Most of us will admit that we've got an addictive personality. Something in us makes us want to eat food even though we aren't the least bit hungry. I can remember eating a whole bag of chocolates - not because I was hungry but because I couldn't stop. Ditto a whole pizza one time. I'm also hooked on cigarettes and coffee. So now I CAN'T eat a whole bag of chocolates - I'll get incredibly sick. I can still have one chocolate. I can still enjoy the taste and then STOP. That's what this surgery has done for me.

There are some foods I can't eat ever again - sausage being top of my list. I get horrible stomach pains from just one bite of a sausage patty. I was never a big chicken eater, but actually now I really love it. Your tastes WILL change, you'll find that you like foods that you hated before. And you will be able to eat some of your favorites again, just in much smaller quantities and not nearly as frequently.

"...seems like I am losing the weight so everyone can have me around longer but I am doing all the work and not getting to live my life." Yeah, that's nice, but that's not enough to get you to WANT to stay on this path. You have to do it for YOU. You remember the movie "the bucket list"? The guy is dying and lists all the things he wants to do before he kicks the bucket. You KNOW you are dying from the fat, your head knows that anyway, but getting your heart into wanting to change that is a whole 'nother story.

I would advise you to make your bucket list. Think of all the things that your weight keeps you from doing. You don't have to share that with us, though if you do, you'll probably find a lot of other people here who will tell you that it's on their list too. Some of these things seem so silly, but when you are forced to live without them, you realize how much they mean. One of mine was just being able to squat down and scoop the kitty litter. Dumb huh? But before I had to sit on the floor, then roll over on my hands and knees and use the counter to pull myself up. There are hundres, thousands of things that you will be able to do again.

Just read some of the WOWs that people post here. It's all about enjoying life again.

[pretty woman]

As CT said, I find I can eat anything now(I could at about 6 months out. the last to try being pasta and rice.)
It is a process, you get a list of foods, a list of rules and... you know this up front. Follow the lists and you should be okay. You won't believe how much better you will feel about yourself.
Are you having bypass?
Alcohol for me-hasn't been an issue. We were told in "group" we would be cheap drunks. I have friends in group that get woozy if they smell liquor. Not me.
But, I have lost my appeal for it... I don't think I have had beer... I have had wine and a half a glass is all I can stand..the taste is different. I can do a mixed drink; but again, the taste is different... so I don't drink a lot, but I never did.
Giving up an addiction to...food, could cause other addictons...alcohol, exercise, Compulsive Disorders can creep in... so beware.
WIll you have access to a support group? I highly recommend you participate.
GOOD LUCK!