Scared to Eat after Gastric Sleeve or Bypass

Do you ever feel scared to eat since your Gastric Sleeve or Bypass? Feel nervous that you’ll get sick in public or scared that you’ll do something to stretch your stomach or ruin your weight loss?

You’re not alone! Patients often experience feelings of worry it won’t work for them when they’ve had diet programs in the past that didn’t pan out long-term.

It’s also not uncommon to be scared to eat after your Gastric Sleeve or Bypass for fear of getting stuck!

If you feel scared sometimes or even often this video and blog is for you! Don’t forget to grab this freebie while you’re here…it will make a load of difference in gaining food confidence and peace in your journey.

Don’t be scared to eat after Gastric Sleeve or Bypass – simple tips to increase confidence

If I could tell you one thing about hunger after Gastric Sleeve or Bypass, it’s this: don’t be afraid.

In my last post, I encouraged patients to not be afraid of hunger. This time I want to encourage you to not be afraid of eating!

Ready for more?? My Food Fundamentals Course is ready for you!! Learn everything you need about food and hunger after Gastric Sleeve, Bypass, or DS.

In my mind, there are two main drivers behind feeling scared to eat after surgery.

One: scared of how the food will impact body weight

Two: scared of getting sick

Let’s start with common reason number one.

When you’re scared of eating the wrong things and not losing weight

When you’re used to past diet programs not working for the long term, it’s easy to fear surgery will be just the same. You’re experience has been things not working out, it’s hard to believe it could be different.

It certainly doesn’t help when you hear stories of someone gaining weight back.

Bariatric surgery is a treatment option for the disease of obesity and as it stands, it’s the most effective option. Even so, all patients experience some amount of rebound weight after the initial honeymoon year and that’s not something to fear. It’s something to be aware of so you don’t feel like something is wrong with you when it comes.

Ideally building up habits in the first year will lay the groundwork to maintain your lower body weight and health in the later years. Even so, we have more treatment options available than we once did! Patients can utilize anti-obesity medications to continue the metabolic benefit of their surgery.

I digress a little here.

Let me get back to anxiety and being afraid of eating the wrong things.

Anxiety loves to take your past experiences and blend them with your future fears. It can wreck your confidence in knowing what to do next because you’re afraid you won’t lose weight (future) because it’s never worked before (past).

The practice of Mindfulness for food anxiety

That is why Mindfulness is a wonderful treatment option for anxiety, including food anxiety.

Mindfulness is hard to describe exactly but to keep it simple, this is the act of being in the present moment.

That past is interesting and you can learn from it. The future holds hopes and fears but you can’t control it. The only thing you can do is be exactly where you are right now. Practicing mindful eating as I discussed in this video, helps bring you into the moment you are in and quiet the voices of the past and future.

Some books I like on the topic of Mindfulness (contains affiliate links):

Calming Your Anxious Mind by Jeffrey Brantley MD

The Mindful Self Compassion Workbook by Kristin Neff PhD and Christopher Germer PhD

When you’re scared to eat because you don’t want to get sick

Maybe you’re scared to eat after Gastric Sleeve or Bypass because you don’t want to vomit or need a bathroom. You find yourself gravitating to the same, safe foods to avoid any trouble.

If that’s you, you have my compassion!

When it comes to tolerating foods after surgery, it could be the food but oftentimes the culprit of trouble is how you eat it.

Eating behaviors are the way we eat the food. The speed we ate, the size of the bite, and the attention to our body cues.

It’s very common for patients to avoid solid protein because it hurts, hits heavy, gets stuck, or makes them feel bad. When this happens, I steer them towards eating mindfully with small bites (think a black bean), pausing in between bites, and listening to your body’s fullness cues.

There may still be some trouble foods like eggs (a common one) or you might find one meat in particular that you can’t handle well. Though for most patients, if all meats are a no-go, it’s more telling of the eating behavior than the food itself.

Start slow with a food you feel like you can start with. Cut your bites, use the timer in Baritastic to pace yourself, and use my free “Don’t Jump to Conclusions” Placemat to help you stay mindful of your meal and your body.

With time, I believe your confidence in eating foods and feeling well will grow!