Overeating

[colcol 128]

I am having surgery next Friday all my life I have been an overeater I mean just eat because its there I'm just afraid that months or years down the road I will be doing this again . I am using the sleeve as a tool to a healthier life but of course there's always a bit of doubt anyone eating more than they thought ??? or is it impossible because of the restriction the sleeve makes .

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[caitiebug 26]

I'm 3 weeks out and I have to FORCE myself to eat. I don't want to eat and I'm not hungry. I can't imagine over eating

[sprinkles13 24]

I'm 5 days post-op sleeve surgery. All though I can relate with you, I used to overly indulge on food any chance i could too, but today the thought of over eating makes me sick to my stomach. The sleeve is definitely a tool to help you not to over eat and help you stay healthy and live a longer happier life. Good Luck to you.

[MumtazG38 86]

Well, I can't say anything for sure about the post-op part, as I haven't had the procedure yet. But I do want to tell you that I sometimes worry about the exact same thing. I too am a big time overeater, and honestly hunger has had nothing to do with it for as long as I can remember. Nor does emotional eating or mental hunger or any of that stuff. I used to down 2-3 plates of food at a sitting just because I could but have learned self control comes pretty easily when your not interested in food as much any longer. At least not the kind of crappy food I was eating previously before going paleo/primal (low carb, high Protein, mod-high fat). The feeling of satisfaction I get from eating this way is my biggest reward. That coupled with the guilt-free feelings I get when knowing I intentionally ate very little, and stopped before I was "full".

My purpose here is....I believe that this "overeating" mess/cycle we are in can only be cleared up/broken by our "will" to stop it. Because, (especially in my case) we "will" ourselves to eat beyond what we need, and we let ourselves get carried away. So it is our "will" to no longer do that to ourselves that can take us out of that situation. For me, having dealt with overeating for as long as I can remember, I am happy to say that now I honestly see food as sustenance and almost always forget to eat until my stomach growling becomes easily loud enough for the person at the far corner of the room to hear. Even then, I usually am so non-fussed over eating that I won't immediately leave what I'm doing at the moment just to go eat (even if IT IS my favorite food). My husband, or mom or whomever has to almost always nag me to go eat by which time I oblige just to keep the nagging at bay lol.

The way I see, react and think of food has changed drastically in these few months simply because I decided to force myself to stay away from sugar and carbs and things I LOVED to eat, in turn changing my priorities AND my favorites. That's where all the "will" business comes in. And that's where the procedure comes in.

The way I see it is, once we have the procedure we will gain the ability to feel full once again. You know that feeling of fullness that is non-existant to us.....that will be gone. It will remain so for at the very least 1 year post op. Which is MORE than enough time to get our bodies, our mouths and our minds back in check if we just "will" ourselves to make the change! I for one, will be using that time to recondition myself to eat fully primal (paleo plus dairy), low carb/high protein/low-mod-high saturated fat/NO SUGAR. The fact that my sleeve will only take so much will be the perfect opportunity for me to make this change permanent. It's a new stomach, a new start! Once the year has passed and I've become accustomed to eating the way I did in order to milk my sleeve, I find it VERY hard to fall back into old habits. As I'll have had plenty of time to destroy the old nasty ones, and plenty more time to have made new awesome ones in place of them...and beyond that.

From that point on, I think failure is only an option as long as intentional self-sabotage is. The only way to fail now is to revert back, and after 1-2 years of being a certain way the only way to revert back now....is intentional. Basically, if you are intent on failing, you will fail. But by that time......with all the new habits, an entirely new way of being, a new lifestyle......it's not going to be easy going back.

This is how I see it, helped by my years and years of experience as an overeater and my experience in breaking that habit permanently in only a few months....without the help of a gastric sleeve! (think what the sleeve can do for me!!! And you!!!)

[JoiaRox 430]

Overeating got me to my highest weight - and, as others have said, I LOVE that I'm not hungry anymore. Granted, I'm only 8 days out...but I'm forcing myself to sip some Soup right now just because I need the Protein. I can recognize that I'm not hungry, and I sat right next to my boyfriend as he ate chicken nuggets on our way home this afternoon - no interest in them whatsoever!

[Iniysa 157]

I'm 3 weeks out and I have to FORCE myself to eat. I don't want to eat and I'm not hungry. I can't imagine over eating

I am only five days out and I know exactly what you mean.

[GreekGirl 20]

Totally understand what you are feeling. I felt the same way before. Prior to surgery I usually did not eat because of hunger but out of habit and because I loved food! It just kind of works out. Right after surgery you cannot eat and then as time goes on you retrain yourself. It is kind of like being on a diet eating small portions where before you would be starving and now you are not. Not sure how you change the habits as I never thought I could but has not been bad at all. My new saying is old dogs "can" learn new tricks!

[oldskoolsooz 24]

I'm six and a half weeks out and I eat! I still love food..even moreso I think since it took this amount of time to be able to eat again! It's extra delicious. I was very very worried since it seemed that I could eat A LOT and felt no restriction from my sleeve :-( Even though I'm not eating NEARLY as much before surgery I didn't expect to be able to eat so much! I've also been at a four week stall and a slow loser so I was starting to get anxious and depressed. Well..I had a birthday dinner to attend last night and felt that I was physically and emotionally ready. We ordered and I started off carefully assessing what I ate and chewing a lot then at some point I looked down and saw I had a Water in my hand and it was 1/3 drained! Oops! Next thing I know my favorite dish came out. I heard a little voice in my head telling me I was done but I had to have a bite. The bus later I was in the bathroom and vomited. It wasn't a lot of vomit but it happened. It was also accompanied by the pain in the throat/chest area as described by many people in this forum. Very uncomfortable. It lasted about two hours. It hurt badly enough that I want to avoid it lol! It is definitely going to help me NOT overeat..I think :-) I'm still learning..

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

To the OP, yes you will be able to eat all the slider foods again and in larger quantities; maybe not as before surgery but you will be able too. You will have to make your eating plan a focus in your life everyday. It could be easy to slip back into old habits and not resurface. Always keep the surgery you will be having in mind; that 85% of your stomach was removed and you did this surgery for many reasons. It is definitely a LIFE LONG journey!!

[colcol 128]

Thank you for the encouraging words so happy for this forum to know that I'm not alone:)

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[erp 2,016]

To the OP, yes you will be able to eat all the slider foods again and in larger quantities; maybe not as before surgery but you will be able too. You will have to make your eating plan a focus in your life everyday. It could be easy to slip back into old habits and not resurface. Always keep the surgery you will be having in mind; that 85% of your stomach was removed and you did this surgery for many reasons. It is definitely a LIFE LONG journey!!

^^^^ Agreed. For all the newly post ops, many of you will have your hunger return over time. Overtime, your sleeve will relax and you will be able to eat more. To the OP, your fear is founded and normal! I worry about the same thing. The first several months to a year are your opportunity to make this a lifestyle change. Someone posted an article about two type of eaters: moderates and abstainers. I'm a classic overeater; if someone brings around a trigger food (e.g. chips), I'm powerless. One bite will turn into two and two into three! For me, I have to abstain. Not bringing tempting foods into the house as part of my lifestyle change it makes it easier to resist. As you consider this surgery, you will need to find what it is about food for You and then come up with strategies to deal with them.

[leeann71 539]

Im 6 months out and yes you will be able to eat more than at first sleeve. Thats why it is so important to deal with the reasons you overeat. The restriction will always be there but it is possible to graze all day and eat around your restriction.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,358]

Hi;

I am 8 months out and have noticed that if I wanted to I could eat more...I have made a choice not to eat refined sugar, watch carbs and eat veggies and fruit.< /p>

The thing that I find helpful is that I am very selective as to what I eat....I use the sleeve as a tool...But now I only eat the things I want to eat and will not touch stuff that does not appeal to me.....It has upped our grocery bill alittle but that is ok...The new me is now way more fussy then before and now I enjoy every bite.....

Down 116 lbs and still going....

All the best!

[clk 3,519]

There are some old threads about this that are still very relevant that you should search out. Overeating can very easily transition into grazing and/or binges post op (once you're healed and able to eat) if you aren't careful and don't address it.

The good news is that it's not a new issue to come up here and you should be able to find plenty of support if you post about it and keep yourself accountable.

For me, finding the causes behind my compulsion to overeat was important. Sure, I liked food, but I wasn't eating an entire pizza because I wanted it so badly, you know?

I think that really taking advantage of that time immediately post op when eating isn't as appealing and you can't eat much is critical. It's easy to notice head hunger at that point and pinpoint the reasons you get the urge to eat. From there, it's a matter of modifying behavior.

Good luck! It's possible and the sleeve definitely makes it easier. But the thing to remember is that you have to address the HOW of your obesity before goal. Maintenance is forever, and if you don't address these bad habits or head issues, it's incredibly difficult to stay at goal. In my experience, it's easier for bad habits and sloppy eating to crop up when you're happy with your body and not striving to reach a goal.

~Cheri

[MichiganChic 3,262]

To answer your question, I can eat more than I thought I'd be able to, can tolerate pretty much anything, and have to make my diet a focus in order to stay on track. Most of the time, I don't eat more than I should just because I can. I am about 6 months out, and I'm happy that I have enough restriction to keep my from eating like I used to, but not so much that I vomit. What I've learned is that I could quickly overcome the restriction if I let myself. Having the sleeve makes it much easier to control myself, but there are days it's a struggle. This is a battle I will need to be vigilant about forever.