I eat when I'm not hungry

[StacyS 20]

Ok, ok... I've been a member for a while, am on the path to getting approved and will most likely have my surgery in late April or beginning of May, but I've been thinking and would like to some advice/help!

I'm not really addicted to food, I dont obsess about food, I prepare my meals the night before work and only eat what I bring. I rarely eat out and almost always cook. Since I'm "pre-op" and have been paying attention to my eating habits, I have noticed that I eat even when I'm not hungry. For example, 11a rolled around and I went to get my lunch out of the fridge and I wasnt even hungry. As a matter of fact, I wasnt hungry yesterday either when it was lunch time. And so, here I go, eating my lunch (today was grilled chicken salad w/oil and balsamic vinegar) and I ate the entire thing- and I wasnt even hungry to begin with. Day in and Day out, I eat when I'm not even hungry and actually never even experience "hunger" at all. It's like I watch the clock and it says it's time to eat, so I eat.

My fear is that I will do this even after I have the sleeve done and will somehow over eat all time. You see, I was raised old school where there were people starving in China and therefore I HAD to eat everything on my plate before I could leave the table. I still have that same mentality even though I know it's wrong (thanks Grampa!).

So, please, how will the sleeve actually tell me not to eat anymore than 2-4oz?? Can someone please tell me that this will NOT be an issue for me after surgery? Or do I need to seek "professional help"???

[Infernored 5]

The surgery cuts out 85% of the stomach, including the area of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone, Ghrelin. Also, you will need to eat more frequently anyway, you just won't have that urge to overeat since you'll be full.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Ok, ok... I've been a member for a while, am on the path to getting approved and will most likely have my surgery in late April or beginning of May, but I've been thinking and would like to some advice/help!

I'm not really addicted to food, I dont obsess about food, I prepare my meals the night before work and only eat what I bring. I rarely eat out and almost always cook. Since I'm "pre-op" and have been paying attention to my eating habits, I have noticed that I eat even when I'm not hungry. For example, 11a rolled around and I went to get my lunch out of the fridge and I wasnt even hungry. As a matter of fact, I wasnt hungry yesterday either when it was lunch time. And so, here I go, eating my lunch (today was grilled chicken salad w/oil and balsamic vinegar) and I ate the entire thing- and I wasnt even hungry to begin with. Day in and Day out, I eat when I'm not even hungry and actually never even experience "hunger" at all. It's like I watch the clock and it says it's time to eat, so I eat.

My fear is that I will do this even after I have the sleeve done and will somehow over eat all time. You see, I was raised old school where there were people starving in China and therefore I HAD to eat everything on my plate before I could leave the table. I still have that same mentality even though I know it's wrong (thanks Grampa!).

So, please, how will the sleeve actually tell me not to eat anymore than 2-4oz?? Can someone please tell me that this will NOT be an issue for me after surgery? Or do I need to seek "professional help"???

I'll tell you exactly why you will eventually learn to not over eat your sleeve... because if you do, you will be yakking it up and you will be in bad pain. You will either learn after a couple times, or the preceding pain of fulness will be enough to stop you before you hit that yakking point.

Most of your meals will probably be done while not feeling hunger. I'd say 95% of mine are done this way... and when I say not hungry I'm talking about the growling hunger. I do feel hunger in other ways, such as real grouchiness and light headedness. Those are my new hunger signs for the most part. I think my stomach has growled a total of 3 times since surgery.

No worries, this surgery *will* keep you in check. Not always, but mostly. That's why this tool is such a blessing!!!

[StacyS 20]

Is the sleeve like a pill that takes away your thinking of eating? I've taken pills like that and food wasn't an issue anymore....is it like that?

[DonnaG 0]

I am 1 week post op. I, too, was an eater even when I wasn't hungry. But now I have to remind myself to eat or drink. I do have the growling stomach and that is how I know I have waited too long between meals. I actually have to set a reminder on my cell to let me know I need to eat.

As far as overeating, it causes a very bad pain in your chest it you over eat and if that's not enough you will hurl.

[renniemommie 8]

They are still starving in China or wherever, eating or not! But, it will be on your butt! Just a thought!

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Is the sleeve like a pill that takes away your thinking of eating? I've taken pills like that and food wasn't an issue anymore....is it like that?

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. There are times when I don't even think about food and I can get by through the day on the bare minimums. However, there are times where I get a lot of head hunger (not physically hungry but craving lots of food) and those times are pretty hard. Fighting the cravings is just as hard post op as it was pre op for me. That said, the days where I'm not fighting cravings far outweigh those where I do. I'd say usually its one week out of a full month that I'm like this (usually TOM).

The sleeve has been my best friend sometimes! I thank my lucky stars every day that I was able to get it done!

[Sunny123 5]

I'll tell you exactly why you will eventually learn to not over eat your sleeve... because if you do' date=' you will be yakking it up and you will be in bad pain. You will either learn after a couple times, or the preceding pain of fulness will be enough to stop you before you hit that yakking point.

Most of your meals will probably be done while not feeling hunger. I'd say 95% of mine are done this way... and when I say not hungry I'm talking about the growling hunger. I do feel hunger in other ways, such as real grouchiness and light headedness. Those are my new hunger signs for the most part. I think my stomach has growled a total of 3 times since surgery.

No worries, this surgery *will* keep you in check. Not always, but mostly. <img src='http://cdn.verticalsleevetalk.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' /> That's why this tool is such a blessing!!![/quote']

Trying to figure out how to work iPad app trying to start thread and it won't send... What am I doing wrong

[Sunny123 5]

Trying to figure out how to work iPad app trying to start thread and it won't send... What am I doing wrong

Think I'm figuring it out a little

[Writergirl 230]

About 5 weeks out, I am finding that the sleeve works pretty well for a grazer like me. I was always eating before--a bite here, a snack there, meals even when I wasn't hungry. Since being sleeved, I get hungry--physically hungry--about every 2 hours. I have an egg for Breakfast, 2 hrs later a Protein Drink, 2 hrs later lunch, 2 hrs later a Protein drink, late afternoon an ounce or so of some kind of protein, dinner around 7, and a tablespoon of Peanut Butter before bed to tide me over. The difference is that before, I'd thoughtlessly eat a 200 calorie snack, then shortly after eat a meal. Now, if I have that 200 calories, there won't be any meal for a long time. There's just no room! Also, I have no real desire for junk food of any kind. Even when I think I'd like something junky, I try a bite or two and it just does nothing for me. So my Snacks are something like 1 tablespoon of ham, or a tablespoon of black Beans. It really is different, and I think the sleeve will help you with these issues a lot. Oh, the other thing! It has instantly cured me of my habit of eating almost a second meal while cleaning up after dinner. No more eating the last few bites of something. There's no room!

[clk 3,519]

A lot of us did this prior to surgery, so you're not alone.

Diva is right - you're only going to overdo it a handful of times before you get the message. I had a period of time where I would keep pushing my limit to try and eat more. Not because I wanted to overindulge but because I really needed to eat more food and wasn't able to do it! Trust me, you'll learn those signs that you've overdone it quickly and you'll learn to stop. I get a runny nose and hiccups and if I go further than that, I'll be uncomfortable until I finally have to vomit.

Learning to leave the clean plate club is a real struggle but you can get there. It took me a long time but I finally got to the point where I'm okay not finishing my food. I expect to get a takeout box when I leave a restaurant and I expect to eat only a few bites of each thing at the table. I've learned to love sharing meals with all of my friends and family. I think I have the better end of the deal, too. I get to sample several wonderful dishes that are all different but I never leave the table as overfull and bloated (and uncomfortable!) as the other folks at the table.

I'm 19 months post op and only in the last six months do I really get "hungry." By that, I mean that my stomach rumbles at fairly regular intervals throughout the day and signals me to eat something. Before that, I had to eat on a schedule. What's crazy is that eating became a CHORE. I mean, I hated it! I started my day by logging into myfitnesspal and making menu for my day that would hit my nutritional goals. It took me about 4-6 months to start hitting them with any level of consistency, and eating remained a hated chore for about the ten months post op.

That doesn't sound great or enjoyable but the reality is that this period of having to eat but not enjoying it allowed me the space to work out a lot of the issues that were causing me to gain weight in the past. I got to drop a lot of those bad habits, like overindulging, stress eating or eating out of boredom.

I wouldn't worry that you're going to struggle with overeating post op. You won't really understand how close to impossible it is until that first day you're eating Soup in the hospital and realize that you're full after six sips!

~Cheri