Do you miss food?

[Woodchips]

I have heard that sleevers go from "living to eat" to "eating to live", but do you miss food? I think about the great meals while on vacation at a resort or on a cruise or even that one home cooked meal that you must have seconds and thirds of. I always seem to plan my life around food so not surprisingly I am now looking at VSG. Do you miss those meals? How do you cope with it? Do you splurge occasionally? Your thoughts, ideas, and insight are appreciated!

[sraebaer]

No, not one little bit. I still enjoy food, actually whatever food I want. Just because I eat a smaller amount doesn't mean I'm not satisfied.

[Ann2]

Nope, I don't "miss food."

But I don't imagine I'll ever be eating seconds or thirds of food again.

There are many other ways to enjoy food than pigging out on either great food or mediocre food.

That's not a life I EVER want to create again. EVER!

If you are currently receiving most of your pleasure in life from eating two and three helpings of foods, I strongly urge you to seek counseling / coaching / therapy from a skilled bariatric psychologist to explore how you can deal with those urges post-op.

The sleeve will restrict your volume of food (at one sitting). But there are ways to beat the sleeve--by choosing certain foods, choosing the order in which you eat food, choosing how long and how often you eat, and choosing how you incorporate movement and exercise into your post-op life.

As brilliant an invention as the sleeve is, it can't withstand anyone's determination to overeat. It really is only a tool. Most of us need some other tools, too.

[Batmanswifeislosing]

I have heard that sleevers go from "living to eat" to "eating to live", but do you miss food? I think about the great meals while on vacation at a resort or on a cruise or even that one home cooked meal that you must have seconds and thirds of. I always seem to plan my life around food so not surprisingly I am now looking at VSG. Do you miss those meals? How do you cope with it? Do you splurge occasionally? Your thoughts, ideas, and insight are appreciated!

I do still miss food sometimes. I do splurge. I used to plan our activities around food, which food, what time for food, which restaurants etc. I don't anymore. I do try to plan outings that avoid fast food and food courts just because it is still hard for me. I still have to work at it every day to overcome my food addiction. I also still have to work at it not buy cigarettes overtime I into a gas station and its been 3 years since I quit smoking so.

[azladyrider]

Nope as Ann said I miss being able to eat alot of it just because some food is so good but that's also how I got fat in the first place lol I eat what I want when I want.

[mrf0418]

Have to agree with everyone else, no, I do not miss food. I eat whatever I want, I find I make better choices now - protein first, but so far I have not felt that I am missing anything. I did find one time I wish I could eat more - Chipolte (I still love it) but I know the consequences and will not go there... It just means more meals for me! I also have not become obsessed eating the same thing for a while like before, because I love it. I try to find different things to keep me interested, but have found certain safe foods I keep on hand because I know that I will get the protein I need without worry... Good luck!

[Sunshine25]

Being 18 weeks pregnant, yes do I ever miss food. I get crazy cravings for everything and are 24/7 hungry yet it just gives me a reason to graze all day...if I can fit it. Even before thou I missed being able to finish a whole meal or fried foods, yet I eat what I need, that's what makes me able to subside the negative thoughts or regrets. Over all, this is an emotional journey for some, at the end of the day it has brought so much enlighten confidence to my life. Good luck.

[candik]

Do I miss eating until I'm stuffed and feeling miserable and telling myself "that's the last time I will eat like that" only to do it all over again the next meal? Absolutely not! I am free for the first time in my life and will never go backwards.

[Kindle]

No, I don't miss food...I eat it every day. I like everything I eat and I eat everything I like. If something is really good, instead of having seconds, I simply have it for 3 or 4 more meals. As a matter of fact, I just had some Thanksgiving turkey for lunch today (love my food saver vacuum sealer!) and 1/2 piece of cheesecake that I couldn't finish from a birthday party last night. So no, not missing a thing.

[Skibabe]

Two great things about the sleeve are that, after about three months, you can eat whatever you like. I.e. Pizza, chips, pasta, whatever. But not only is your intake of these foods severely restricted, your brain doesn't want these foods very often. The sleeve gives you a new sense of control - at least, it has for me. I had to be tough with myself at three months post op, NOT to eat everything simply because I now could. Once you're over that hurdle you know that you could have it, but you simply choose not to go there as you know it won't help your weight loss.

The only time I struggle a bit, is eating out, as I feel guilty (ridiculous!) at the waste of food so I either use a doggie bag and finish it next day, or I ask for a half portion. I hate it looking as though I didn't like the food, for the sake of the chef :-)

But no, I don't miss food. I just don't want it now. It took me 8months to eat chocolate, which I used to consume daily. I just didn't fancy it. I do sometimes crave carbs, so I might indulge in some mac and cheese, but that's not often. So don't worry about "food funerals", you will be able to eat those foods again, you might just manage a couple of chips instead of a bagful. I'm honestly finding it really easy, unlike any diet I've ever followed :-)

Edit: Just wanted to add, I find I don't even think about food that much now, except to plan my kids' dinner daily :-) On any previous diet, I couldn't stop torturing myself with what foods I couldn't/shouldn't eat, etc, so that all day, all I thought about was..food! This is completely different. Three meals a day, no snacks, and easy as anything :-)

[sb200freestyle]

Yes, I also miss food. You are not alone! And yes, I do enjoy my my old favorites on Holidays. However, even then, I make my favorite dishes as healthy as possible. Instead of regular ground beef, I substitute 80% lean. Instead of sausage, I use lean ground pork which I season liberally with fennel, oregano, garlic, basil, and parsley. Also, I buy the smallest (paper) plates I can find. Then, I spread most of my portion to cover my plate. The next plate is the rest of my allotted portion. Sounds dumb, but these simple tricks work for me; they address my emotional relationship with food.

When I am craving potato chips and onion soup dip, I substitute fresh strawberries which I dip into a small cup of Jello sugar-free chocolate pudding. That also satisfies my chocolate cravings. When I crave cheesecake, I make sugar-free cheesecake-flavored Jello. Tastes sinful!

In the year and a half since I was "sleeved", I cheated on my diet 2-3 times. I ate out and ordered what I wanted to -just less of it. Oddly enough, I felt sad after I ate the food and vowed to forgive myself and to make healthier choices moving forward. Commercials still appeal to my pre-surgery self but I trained myself to see how I looked when I ate that stuff and to see the commercials as traps into being fat and unhealthy.

Best of luck to you! PS: I've lost 150 lbs!

[ACE]

I can only handle about 3-5 bites at a time at three years out so for me I am eating all day long just to get the things i need and since I went to "clean" eating I no longer crave seconds and thirds of anything. If I eat an extra bite I am so over stuffed I want to scream it hurts so bad. I do drink wiht my meals as well because if i do not it hurts a lot more. I love the changes because I dont have tot miss food my perspective on food has changed and to me the things I used to consider food are now things that make me want to gag just thinking of them. I joke with my husband that I need a cook on hand 24/7 because I eat so often I am ALWAYS cooking (baking bread and dinner now). For me eating is my entire life now but that is all different than the eating it used to be. I now am thinking constantly about the food I need to prep so I can keep up with my lifestyle changes. When I prep food I tend to eat as I go so I can taste it but once i have done that I now can stop where before I would taste it and that one taste would turn into a whole meal without me realizing. FOr me sleeve has helped in the restriction part of things and my portion sizes changing but it hasnt really caused me to miss foods or get depressed over foods I just have to find a way to make what I want and I have to decided now how bad I want it because I do make it from scratch. So when i crave a desert I have to really want it to get up and mess up my clean kitchen for something i havent planned out

[rockscott40]

No, I don't miss food. Smaller portions of the food. Learn to control........

[Stacy'sSleevedLife]

Nope I don't miss food at all, I still enjoy the same food as before just a lot less. I don't need 4 lobster tails when 1/2 of 1 will do. I don't need a 16 oz steak when 3 or 4 oz will do. I love food the same it just does not control me like it did. I am in control and that makes me feel good.

Good luck

[Angelk]

I have heard that sleevers go from "living to eat" to "eating to live", but do you miss food? I think about the great meals while on vacation at a resort or on a cruise or even that one home cooked meal that you must have seconds and thirds of. I always seem to plan my life around food so not surprisingly I am now looking at VSG. Do you miss those meals? How do you cope with it? Do you splurge occasionally? Your thoughts, ideas, and insight are appreciated!

I share your thoughts. I'm ready to be a healthier and slimmer me, but unfortunately most of our family outings revolve around food. I like food. I wouldn't be heavy if I didnt. I am aware of my faults and want to change them. I should be scheduling my sleeve soon and I feel guilty for wanting to go to certain restaurants to be able to eat what/amount I want before surgery.