What is SATISFIED?

[Jschultes 9]

Am a person that always eat until I am full. I have always had the challenge of trying to only eat until I am satisfied. What is that??? Am I suppose to be hungry two hours later after I am satisfied? I also don't get the eating for fuel thing neither. I am a definite addict of food and sure I am starting formal counseling, but I am tired of asking people this they look down at me like I am of less than average intelligence. I really want to know the answer. A life long habit of eating until I am full or just because it is there.

After the Lap-Band I thought it would give me an indication of when to stop eating. Boy did it ever. After throwing up my food after I ate 1ounce of meat. I felt like how can I now be satisfied with that meal. My mind told me I was starving so I started to eat all the wrong things. Seven years later the band was removed and I am now waiting to be approved for the sleeve. A now Sleever said as a formal bander, I have to learn to stop eating. This is what brings me to that word satisfied??? Can anyone help me here.

[une nouvelle vie 327]

I wish I could help you. I am two months out from the sleeve and I don't feel that restriction so many people describe so I have to just go by what I measure out as being enough. Oh how I wish I felt restriction.

[mamafine23 101]

I had the bypass and I feel the restriction ... I was the person that never felt full and could eat and eat. I always ate so I didn't know what it was like to be hungry . Now I know both... Hungry not so much but at least I can tell when I need to eat and when I'm full

[Jschultes 9]

I had the bypass and I feel the restriction ... I was the person that never felt full and could eat and eat. I always ate so I didn't know what it was like to be hungry . Now I know both... Hungry not so much but at least I can tell when I need to eat and when I'm full

So is measurement of or food what we will need to do for the rest of our lives?

[Summer Rain 245]

I think measuring your food until you get in the habit of eating smaller portions is what we should aim for. I am worried about being able to tell when I have eaten until "absence of hunger" (thank you CowgirlJane). I can only hope that after surgery I can get it all figured out.

Good luck!

Summer

[Jack 855]

re: "A life long habit of eating until I am full or just because it is there."

many comments here really describe what I was for most of my preOp life.

With temporary changes in the 6 weeks postOp I was able to finally learn something VERY IMPORTANT that I did not know.

I'm not being flippant, and I'm somewhat abashed in how simple it really was. I spent thousands of $ and years of frustration without realizing how important this was.

Given there is 'sport eating' and 'social eating' and 'mad/sad/glad/exploratory/before/aftersex/anyactivityeating' the realization was this:

I could FINALLY discern the difference between 'hunger' and 'not hunger'.

Much of my preOp sport eating was based on then entire host of Bad Eating Habits we all accumulated over the decades.

Suddenly, IF eating were based on 'hunger' all else began falling into line.

If I couldn't decide whether I was 'hungry' or not, then the obvious reality was ---No, I wasn't 'hungry'.

That insight led to the realization that often ONE bite would take me from 'hunger' to 'not hunger'.

Etc.

Hope this helps.

Cheers on your journey.

[thesuse2000 698]

Hi there - I participated in a 9 week mindful eating group just prior to my band to sleeve surgery. Mindful eating is just like it sounds, learning to be truly mindful of our experience while eating. This means slowing down (a lot), eliminating distractions like TV and paying close attention to each bite we eat - really thinking about the tastes and sensations, appreciating where that food came from and how it got to us, and observing how our hunger, satiety, and fullness changes with each bite.

Honestly it's not something I actively practice for the most part, but working on it for a few months really connected me with that feeling of satisfaction/satiety more than ever. I would recommend that you try a version of mindful eating. At least the part where you ask yourself after each bite how your hunger, satiety and fullness has changed. Satiety and fullness are not always on the same track. For me, usually I first notice that I'm no longer hungry - usually after just three bites. Then either satiety or fullness comes next. Usually I feel satisfied before full, but occasionally not. But if not, that means what I'm eating isn't really what my body wants. Sometimes I'll just change my mind and eat something else if what I'm eating doesn't seem to satisfying me.

Hope this helps some. It's really about slowing down and paying close attention to the whole experience of eating. I find it helps me enjoy food more and feel much more appreciation of all the foods available to me.

Edited August 30, 2014 by thesuse2000

[LisaNLasVegas 91]

Everybody's signs are different. When I had the lap band (2003-2014) and now with the sleeve (as of Aug 5) my "sign" that I am full or satisfied is this:

During my meal I will naturally take a large breath, like a sigh. If I stop eating when that happens and put the food away, I am comfortable.

If I keep eating, a few bites later I will have a small pain in either my chest or around my bra line. You probably experiences this pain with the band - most do. That is the gentle reminder to stop for real! If I eat more after the pain, with my band it meant throwing up. I haven't pushed it that far with the sleeve. I am happy to report that I have not thrown up since July. It is a blessing to not have to scope out the bathroom at every place before you eat out!

[blondebomb 580]

I do Portion Control. I can eat about 1/2 cup or less..an I realize how real an true the statement is to eat real slow, put fork down after each bite an chew the heck out of it...it does help an it takes the brain 20 minutes to signal the full..comfortable or stop signal. My hubs has figured out my satisfied signal. After about 5 or 6 bites I literally put fork across my plate an push my plate away...I still end up leaving half of food on plate. I went on vacation last wk..us girls went...had no problem. ..I make sure I eat my Protein first an if I need a bite or 2 I eat the soft veggie. .Iv been making it a point to avoid drink...so I can just make the room for food..it's a learning process. ..fortunately I havnt threw up from overeating but I have almost crossed that line..a few times..bc it was a lil late getting signal..my chest got tight..I thought I was going to run to bathroom but I made it thru..haha..now I can sense when I'm done. Its not a full feeling but it's I'm comfortable. .I definitely use myfitnesspal to log everything. .it works for me. Its a process an I'm 7 wks out an I finally feel like my life has finally turned back to where I wished I had done this yrs ago! I'm 50 an loving it! Hang in there everyone. ..we learn from trial an error an others experience. ..best wishes...luv these forums...

[superbariatricbabe 180]

Truthfully eating to satisfaction takes practice for a lot of us. I'm pre-op and in therapy for my eating addiction. Those of us who eat compulsively or emotionally can get disconnected from our bodies: we're not in the habit of listening to our bodies satisfaction signals. I've made significant progress in this area by doing a couple things.

I stop 3 or 4 times during my meals or Snacks and focus on my body. Really try to identify the level of hunger i am at during different points in my meal. Afterwards if i overeat and get that overfilled feeling, i can think back and say: oh next time I should stop here when my body feels like this.

Next time I eat, I try to listen for that signal in my body and wait a couple minutes to see if there is any hunger there. Sometimes I fail at this. But when I succeed it's amazing and I feel pride. My meals have gotten smaller and smaller (I just hand my plate over to my husband), and I'm overfilling less and less - even during periods of stress eating.

But don't forget it's okay to eat if you are physically hungry!

[James Marusek 5,244]

I am 16 months post-op from RNY. I am addicted to eating. But after the operation I found that I was no longer hungry. And as a result I lost 110 pounds. Eating is now more like a chore. I am currently consuming a cup of food per meal and I cannot eat much more than that without getting sick. But my stomach warns me, so I just stop eating.

Not everyone who undergoes RNY loses their hunger but many do.