Digest Number 4338
I had a real problem with food pre-op. I was a sweet eater and
actually would just about anything I could get my hands on. I was
noticing pretty recently how I eat now and how I used to eat. The
one thing that I have shyed away from is ice cream. I could sit and
down a half gallon of ice cream in a couple of sittings (all in the
same night). Now, I can eat a couple of bites and that suits me just
fine. I can remember going to McDonald’s with my children and buying
a 2 cheeseburger extra value meal supersized and I could down each
and every bite and get refills on my supersized Dr. Pepper. Now, I
can go to McDonald’s, eat a couple of french fries of my kids meals
and eat a side salad with my water. I can remember going to Subway
and getting a footlong tuna on wheat with Mayonaise, pickles, black
olives with chips and a drink and scarf it all down and be
satisfied. Now I get a veggie delite salad and eat about half of
it. I never realized until post surgery how much of an emotional
eater I was. I can remember being home all by myself within the 1st
2 weeks post surgery and getting up off the sofa to go get something
to eat. Nothing was appealing to me and nothing looked good, that
was when I asked myself “Why was I in the kitchen”. It certainly
wasn’t because I was hungry, I was simply bored. I started then
changing my habits. When I caught myself jumping up to head to the
kitchen, I just slipped my shoes on and walked to the mailbox and
back and by the time I got back I was so sore I was interested in
nothing else other than laying down or getting a shower. As I
gradually got better, I conditioned my brain to not think of food. I
would and still do only eat when my stomach growls and I am
physically hungry. If I am not hungry, I put nothing in my mouth
other than water. I just recently learned about “head hunger”. That
was when I started counteracting the head hunger with water and lots
of it. The one thing I kept in mind was while on Weight Watchers
(pre-op) I never realized how much water one was supposed to take in
each day. I was taught that you take your body weight and divide it
by 2 and that was the # of ounces you were to take in per day. That
came as a shocker to me since I was 280 and should have been taking
in 140 ounces of water in a day. I was lucky to get in half of that!
I have not lost all the weight that I am wanting to lose YET, but I
am working towards that goal. I have learned to apply exercise in my
day and that takes my mind off of food. I can’t eat and walk or do
weights at the same time so I spend so much time exercising (150
minutes per day) and that gives me less time to think or worry about
food. I have chosen foods that are better for me. I can remember
when I would rahter go and eat pizza or McDonald’s or just come home
and fix a hot dog, but now I choose to eat a boiled egg for dinner or
a bowl of green beans or a salad. If I don’t have much of a choice,
I just won’t eat and nine times out of ten, I am not that hungry
anyway. I carry a water bottle (24 oz) around with me wherever I go
and if my mind starts to wander towards food, I do a check on
reality. Am I really hungry, or am I just bored. If bored, I start
chugging some water, if I am hungry, I try to get something
nutritious for me, even if it is just an apple or a piece of fruit.
I can go to a restaurant now and I make much wiser choices. I went
through the phase of not wanting to pay full price for something I
won’t eat all of, especially when going to a buffet like Golden
Corral, but I have learned to make the best of it. I can go and get
a small steak (my protein) and I choose green vegetables. That
satisfies me and I have spent time with my family and/or friends.
That to me is much more important than going and getting 2-3 full
plates and thinking of going back for more. I can see the heavy
people now eating more food than I used to eat pre-op and my heart
goes out to them.
I have truly made a lifestyle change and it is one I never thought I
could make or would make. I used to could NEVER say no to food and
now I find myself saying no to food on a frequent basis. This surgery
is truly a life changing experience if you use it as such!
My opinion,
Stephanie McLeod
open RNY 7/3/2002
Dr. Charles Rodning
275/165/120?