BBQ's

BBQs. Tons of cooked meat, coleslaw and bread products, washed down with cider..mmmmmm getting together with family and friends to enjoy a BBQ during one of the few sunny (ish) days of the year has always been a highlight of summer for me. Then it struck me this weekend (mid burger), I wont be able to enjoy this any more after my op. What defines my experience will no longer be mountains of food and drink, I will no longer be able to enjoy a long leisurely food fest...my life will change in more than a physical sense.Gulp!

The husband also pointed out that not only will I need to re-evaluate my mind set and how I view food in a social context, but so will family and friends.
Gone will be the days of others egging me on to eat, " You've hardly eaten anything...What do you mean 3 sausages, 2 burgers and a jacket potato are enough? , you must eat more, just another sausage?"
I think that it will be very interesting to see how others respond to my new way of eating once the op is over. Having done Lighterlife some years ago, I found that people were quite willing to scupper my efforts at the drop of a hat, offering a cup of tea and a cake, whilst knowing I couldn't eat anything.
Why this happens can, I believe be put into two trains of thought: Eating for many of us is such a social past time that people feel rude if they don't offer sustenance of some variety,hence the need to offer food with a drink.
The other is that some people don't like change and they especially don't like others to change. The status quo is fine by them and anyone who steps outside their designated pigeon hole is rocking the boat.
In loosing weight and changing my physical shape and mental attitude to food, I discovered during lighterlife that some people found it hard to adapt to my change of role, no longer the greedy one who could always be relied on to finish left overs, no longer the fat one who couldn't buy nice clothes and look good on nights out and no longer the one against whom you can feel superior, they didn't like my changing, so sabotage of the diet was undertaken, all be it unconsciously.

So with this in mind, I've been thinking what will people do when I have no choice but to stick to eating from a tea cup? what will they do when I really can't eat that other sausage? will they accept it, or push it? and what will next summers BBQs be like? It's hard to imagine eating very little and feeling full up, but that's the plan...the real difficulty is going to be getting my brain to stop me eating when my stomach says NO...now that's gonna be the trick of it!