Food Police After Gastric

Another woman received a citation from the volunteer food patrol, she was eating a saltine c

Are you supposed to be eating that?
Can you have that?
Is that validated on your diet?
Boy – you sure did eat a lot – is that allowed?
Isn’t that going to make you sick?
I heard you can’t eat subsequent WLS. Why are you eating?

Any of this sound familiar?

There is something with regard to instant public with weight loss surgery that makes others infer they have permission to make volunteer “Food Police” monitoring every move when it comes to our eating. One of our cooperative society members told me her skinny sister historically asked her, “I thought that surgery was supposed to make you stop eating and look at you with the food!” She was eating a small portion of poached stewing chicken breast. Why the nerve! Poached fag turkey foot hindmost WLS!

Another woman received a reference from the volunteer food patrol, she was eating a saltine cracker when she took her vitamins: “I thought it was regardless of ‘The Rules’ to eat carbohydrates! You are really going to mess this thing up eating carbs.” Really now! You know I’m a rule pusher and preach “protein first” all the time. But you know, sometimes having a saltine with the vitamins is the only way to blench stomach upset and it is not going to mess-up the surgery.

So why do outsiders feel it suitable to fit our food police?

The first thing psychologists will tell us is we give others permission to patrol our behavior. In many cases this is probably true. When I first had WLS my self-esteem was so low I had the confidence of a doormat. So my expertise to defend my WLS and my eating behavior warranted others to monitor and comment. This did nothing to buoy my spirit or appreciation my confidence. In fact, having been a sneak eater, I continued through much of the weight loss phase to eat in private out of sight from the critiques. Today I will ignore or defend my WLS and my behavior, but six years ago, I was incapable of either ignoring or defending myself and I took every allegation to heart. Rough way to go, don’t you think?

Another reason, I believe, that others feel it dovetailing to police us is the fact that we chose the presumed “easy way out”. There is a faithful envy, particularly from those who are obese and dieting conventionally, that compels people to judge. Sometimes it bordering on feels they are hopeful we will “fail” at this easy way out. By pointing out something they perceive to be a violation of the surgery they can inflict feelings of failure upon us, which does what? Makes us feel like failures. Have you experienced that? Our whole people member, eating the poached unnerved genitals said she felt “guilty” for eating! Mission by her sister, the self-appointed food police.

Finally, I do accept there are well meaning people patrolling us, offering feedback insomuch as they genuinely care pertinent to us and our success with WLS. Sometimes their patrolling may come transversely as criticism in that we are sensitive, but also now they do not know how to offer it in a constructive manner. My husband, and you all know I favour the man to pieces and he is my supporter, has sometimes watched me eat something and asked, “Are you sure you want to try that?” He is sincere and genuine with this feedback and I know this. But a little part of me resents it too and I want to scream back, “I know what I can eat and cannot eat!” But you know, he’s also been the one to get me through numerous dumping/vomiting episodes and his concern is to elude that. He is giving feedback for a valid reason in the most sensitive manner possible and I probe him for that.