Cravings?

[knp76]

I wanted to get people's experiences with dealing with cravings. I haven't had my surgery but I have been working on changing my eating habits and losing the weight I need to prior to surgery. I have been having horrible cravings for junk food. Mostly chips and other crunchy, salty snacks. I given in a few times, but over all have done well. I also crave pasta. My nutritionist said I could have a little pasta if I wanted especially since I have been doing well with losing the weight. I just don't want to get stuck in bad habits again. Any thoughts, suggestions or personal experiences?

[RehabNurse]

Personally, my compulsive food cravings didn't stop until awakening from anesthesia on the day of my surgery. It was as if a switch had flipped and I lost interest in food.

My appetite and cravings eventually returned by the 9th month post-op, but at least they weren't nearly as intense as they had been prior to getting sleeved.

[knp76]

I'm hoping that my experience will be similar. some of my tastes have changed, I don't like sweet things as much and have given up soda.

[Ann2]

Ditto for me what RehabNurse said about the onset / cessation / reappearance of cravings.

One person's pasta is another's sawdust. And yet another person's cocaine. The answer for you lies not in what your nutritionist says, but how your brain and your body respond to pasta. Only you are in a position to (honestly) tell if pasta is going to be a trigger food for you.

Although there are individual differences amongst us, here's one that's pretty clear-cut for almost all WLS patients: Eating highly processed carbs (like white rice, white potatoes, white pastas, white breads and flours, and, of course, sugars) make us crave those foods badly. The differences among us lie in how much of those carbs turn on the cocaine-like lights in our brains.

So ... just sayin'.

P.S. The longer I'm out from WLS (will be 3 years next month) the more I'm thinking that I'll be in "obesity recovery" for the rest of my life. How stable I feel is a function of (1) what kinds of foods I'm eating, (2) how well hydrated I stay, (3) the stresses in my life and how I'm coping with them, (4) how consistently I'm exercising, (5) how well and long I'm sleeping every night, and (6) the X factor (everything else I can't think of right now). This is a topic for a loooong post I haven't written yet. But I want to do so.

[Christie13]

Haven't had really any cravings since being sleeved. I also knew that only being able to eat a limited amount of food it was crucial for me to provide to my body with the beset nutrients possible.

[RehabNurse]

The answer for you lies not in what your nutritionist says, but how your brain and your body respond to pasta. Only you are in a position to (honestly) tell if pasta is going to be a trigger food for you.

Bingo...during my two-week post-op appointment, the nutritionist at my bariatric surgeon's office was already suggesting I reintroduce crackers into my daily food consumption.

I responded, "That might not be a good idea. Crackers are a major trigger food for me. In the past I've gained plenty of weight grazing on flavored Triscuit crackers, Cheez-Its, Ritz, and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers."

Many of the nutritionists at bariatric programs have generalized training and don't have firsthand understanding regarding the compulsive cravings and habits some of us had prior to surgery. This is especially true if the nutritionist or dietitian is normal-weight and has never experienced obesity.

[Ann2]

Many of the nutritionists at bariatric programs have generalized training and don't have firsthand understanding regarding the compulsive cravings and habits some of us had prior to surgery. This is especially true if the nutritionist or dietitian is normal-weight and has never experienced obesity.

Amen! That describes all three of my WLS nutritionists to a T.

Having known many nutritionists and dietitians (including some family members), I observe that none of them are among the 70% of American adults who are overweight or obese.

Our histories, habits, and metabolic challenges as long-time obese people make our cravings (both our behavioral and emotional responses to food) a lot different from the eating instincts of folks who've never been overweight. This makes it challenging for "skinny people" to appreciate the extent to which "fat people" struggle with weight management.

BTW, attitudes of nutritionists/dietitians toward overweight and obese individuals is studied quite a bit (presumably because it's a well known challenge in those fields). Here's a study report that reviews multiple studies on this topic that you may find of interest:

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/art...l.pone.0140276

[knp76]

Ann2, thank you for your honest and informative posts. I really enjoy reading what you have to say.

[PokerGuy]

I agree with most other posters. Your tastes and cravings will change. Everything changes after surgery. Because you can only fit a certain amount of food in your stomach you tend to strive to put in foods high in protein and things you need.

[tripletdadof5]

Ditto for me what RehabNurse said about the onset / cessation / reappearance of cravings.

One person's pasta is another's sawdust. And yet another person's cocaine. The answer for you lies not in what your nutritionist says, but how your brain and your body respond to pasta. Only you are in a position to (honestly) tell if pasta is going to be a trigger food for you.

Although there are individual differences amongst us, here's one that's pretty clear-cut for almost all WLS patients: Eating highly processed carbs (like white rice, white potatoes, white pastas, white breads and flours, and, of course, sugars) make us crave those foods badly. The differences among us lie in how much of those carbs turn on the cocaine-like lights in our brains.

So ... just sayin'.

P.S. The longer I'm out from WLS (will be 3 years next month) the more I'm thinking that I'll be in "obesity recovery" for the rest of my life. How stable I feel is a function of (1) what kinds of foods I'm eating, (2) how well hydrated I stay, (3) the stresses in my life and how I'm coping with them, (4) how consistently I'm exercising, (5) how well and long I'm sleeping every night, and (6) the X factor (everything else I can't think of right now). This is a topic for a loooong post I haven't written yet. But I want to do so.

You should write a book. I'd buy the hell out of it.

[Dutchie]

Me too!

[Ann2]

You should write a book. I'd buy the hell out of it.

LOL! And thank you.


But my dear, a year from now YOU can write a book that we'd all buy the hell out of!

Actually, one of our long-time members here -- TINMAN (Robert) -- has already written a book. He's at least as opinionated at me. (That's a joke -- he makes me sound like a milquetoast.)

Tinman is a big dude who was a serious football player (lineman, I'm pretty sure) back in the day for the Texas Longhorns. He was sleeved almost 5 years ago and started out pre-op at 530 pounds. He lost 250 pounds and has maintained stably ever since.

His profile here is at https://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/member.php?u=14127

Hey, Tinman -- seriously, where can we buy your book?