Should I have food funerals

Hi all! I will likely be going under the knife in a few weeks and am getting the nerves. When I first started to watch things preop, I thought about a bunch of food funerals to have. Then I started making a lot of the changes: water, protein, low carb, no drinking water before or after meals, exercising. Now I feel better and am down about 15 pounds in 1.5 months. I don't feel like I want junk (although my family having donuts today was hard). So should I have a few off plan favorite foods before surgery for that mental "goodbye." 

I think most of us have had "food funerals".  I kind of binged on pizza and breads before starting my pre-op diet.  I haven't had bread since, and post op I eat pizza toppings only and toss the bread.  Its was just a coping mechanism to get my mind ready for the huge lifestyle change.  If you think you can get by with out "food funeral" then skip it.

What I did was my "farewell to food" tour...

I was on a liquid diet for 2 out of 3 meals so what I did was whatever I wanted that day

i had it for my 1 meal.. If I wanted some sort of snack item then that was my 1thing, I didn't have an extra shake..

that junk was my meal,.but to be honest other than an ice cream sundae a couple times,

I was more interested in blueberry pancakes, thin crust pizza, pasta and meatballs and alike!

Good for you getting so many things in place!  Some people feel the need for funerals but certainly not everyone does.  There is no advantage to doing so and potentially some disadvantages (causing cravings, gaining weight, etc) If you don't feel like you need to, I would strongly suggest you not!  You've established some great behaviors which will serve you well for the rest of your life so why disrupt them now?  Keep doing what you're doing :)

A lot of people do have "food funerals,"  and I guess there's no harm in it, but I decided not to. This was mostly because I was doing so well on my pre-op diet, and I figured I had a life-time of bad eating already.  I didn't need more.  The other thing to keep in mind is that you will be able to have most of those foods again,  just in smaller quantities.  You probably won't have pizza again until you are in maintenance or nearly done, but there will be a time for it.  And in the big picture, it won't be that long.

best wishes,

Carol

Hi there! I was JUST going to post this same question today! My surgery is schduled for 2/21.  I've been working on scheduling it for several months now so I feel like I have had several "food funerals" already. But there's something about actually having a date now it's making me want to say one last official goodbye to everything.  So, last night and today I've had chinese food, my favorite restaurant meal, and some icecream. Tomorrow, I'm endulding in a few superbowl snacks, but after that I've decided I'm done. I need to spend my last few weeks getting my head in the game.  Where you've already succeeded in getting your head in the game I don't know if I'd risk backtracking. But that's just me. Good luck on your journey! :)

I agree with Carol, I had my entire life to eat whatever I wanted (and I did!) so why have "one last hurrah" now when I'm not supposed to?  I went to Vegas in October and enjoyed a buffet every day and even though I hadn't told anyone about my surgery plans yet, that was my 4 day long food funeral!  More like pig out session!  And I felt TERRIBLE.  My surgery was in November.  We debated going to the Texas Roadhouse "one last time" but just didn't end up making it.  Now that I'm 2.5 months out, I realize that would have been unnecessary anyway; truth is I could eat there if I wanted to now.  Just not as much, and not ALL of the same food.  I eat steak just fine, salads just fine, but I avoid carbs like potatoes, bread, corn, rolls etc.  When I get to goal, then I can enjoy ONE roll every now and then.  Just not 4 or 5 of them...

Its entirely mental, that last goodbye to bad foods.  If you want to do it, go for it.  There's really no positive benefit to doing it though, from a mental standpoint it might just be depressing that you didn't stick to the plan or that you feel like it will be FOREVER before you can eat "normal" again.  I do miss those delicious rolls at Texas Roadhouse... but not missing the 40lbs of roll I've lost so far by passing on that stuff. 

You should do what makes sense for you. I didn't really go nuts with the food funerals. But if I came in contact with a food I knew I wouldn't be having for a long time, I did make a point to have a bite of it to hold me over. But I didn't pig out over it or have a series of food orgies. That just wasn't where my head was at.

No food funerals. My surgical team told me if I felt the need to do that then my head wasn't in the right place to be to get sleeved. It's more about saying Hello to a healthier life than saying good bye to junk food. Everyone is different, I was just really ready for a change and had no desire to add weight on that I would just have to turn around and lose. 

Such great advice. Thank you! I feel like I'm completely in the head game of eating healthy. I even got in 100 ounces of protein and 100 ounces of water today! I think I will miss larger amounts of healthy food. Maybe I will splurge on a good restaurant salad! (And I don't like dressing so it's just veggies and grilled chicken). Maybe one donut to remind myself that sweets make me feel icky. 

I am a recovering alcoholic and I didn't know that my last drink was going to be my last drink-and that is fine-I still don't at all miss the misery that drinking was for me. 

My head is in the game to live a healthy, full life and I will keep it there! (But may have a down day down the road-but then I can count on myself and you all to get my head back in the game!)