Never feel full ...presurgery

[Bloomer723 75]

I'm still in the beginning stages of this process, just the initial appointment scheduled. I feel like I never get full. I never leave the dinner table with that "if I eat another bite I'll be sick feeling". I am a bulk eater and concerned that even after surgery I'll never feel full. I can eat a lot and usually stop eating when the entire bowl, bag or pan of food is gone. It's like my fullness trigger is broke and I just keep eating. Anyone else experience this?

[Shellbell619 35]

I can be like that too. Eat and Eat. Which is what got me in the perdicament. My surgery is in November. Good luck with your joruney. This is a great place to search for support.

[MIMISAN 404]

That is what we are suppose to be learning. We don't need to feel so full that we might pop! LOL This is what gets us in this shape to start with. I am in my six month diet to satisfy insurance and I have days that I feel like I just want more but if I get busy and don't focus on food, I find that I am eating plenty and eventually your habits should change. After the sleeve I am sure you will feel full but don't push it till you feel uncomfortable.

[KeepCalm 223]

That is the one thing that the band did help me with - I forgot after 8 years that I would eat like that. It wasn't until I had my fill out that I noticed more how I was eating and eating as if I was never full and the hormone was broke or something Now I try to measure out everything like my NUT told me too - so when THAT is gone, I'm done - even if I'm still hungry... thats about where my will power ends - being able to stop when I finish what I measured out, but give me a bag of popcorn or unlimited supply

[lauraellen80 855]

Oh, yes. This is part of why many of us chose surgery. I was actually just talking about this to my therapist today and mentioned this Louis C.K. bit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuO4OZJ5ncY (edited to add: NSFW, language)

"I don't stop eating when I'm full. The meal isn't over when I'm full. It's over when I hate myself."

Start weighing/portioning out your food now, so you start making it a habit.

Since surgery, I find I eat very slowly, and I will start to pause longer between bites as I get over halfway through my serving to "check in" with myself. I'm just over two months out, and it's much much much easier to tell when I'm full.

Good luck!

Edited August 17, 2015 by lauraellen80

[Bloomer723 75]

My theory is that there was a time when i would be full but kept eating so eventually my stomache said "hey you didn't listen when I said I was full so I'm just going to let you keep eating because you won't stop anyway."

I will need to measure/weigh food and eat only what I have measured out after surgery I have a 41 BMI and no comorbidities, once I do my initial weigh in will I be able to start modifying my diet and lose weight? I'm concerned about dropping below a 40 BMI.

[Bloomer723 75]

@laura...love the quote, it's so true. We have similar stats I'm 5'2 228 lb. did you lose any weight before surgery?

[cindyw41 761]

The part of the stomach that is removed contains the "hunger hormone" I hope that means we will "feel" full if that's not there to mess with us.

[lauraellen80 855]

I have a 41 BMI and no comorbidities, once I do my initial weigh in will I be able to start modifying my diet and lose weight? I'm concerned about dropping below a 40 BMI.

@laura...love the quote, it's so true. We have similar stats I'm 5'2 228 lb. did you lose any weight before surgery?

I lost 16.4 pounds in the three months between my initial consultation with the surgeon and the start of my pre-op diet. I just tracked everything with the My Fitness Pal app. I still had some "food funerals" but tried to get started on better habits overall. That put me at a BMI of 39.9, but my insurance had already approved the surgery, and I did have some comorbidities. Then I lost another 10 pounds on the 2-week liquid pre-op diet, so my weight on the morning of surgery was 208.4.

I feel like losing some beforehand helped kickstart my post-surgery loss, and it wasn't quite as jarring of a change as it would have been if I'd eaten like crazy up until the day I started the pre-op diet. I cut out caffeine (along with all the sugary Creamer that I dump in my coffee) during that time, too.

I also started regular therapy in the months before surgery to help deal with some of the issues underneath my overeating, and I continue it post-op.

[lauraellen80 855]

The part of the stomach that is removed contains the "hunger hormone" I hope that means we will "feel" full if that's not there to mess with us.

Do keep in mind that the reduction in ghrelin is not permanent--your body will eventually figure out other ways to produce it. There are also other hormones that are partially responsible for hunger, and surgeons/researchers still don't know all the factors that come into play with hunger. BUT--the "honeymoon period" of the first year, year-and-a-half when your hunger is greatly reduced or gone completely is the time to set yourself up with good habits and relearn your body's signals. Some people say that their hunger (real hunger, as opposed to "head hunger") has never come back, but you can't count on it.

[Babbs 14,680]

It's really not about eating because of hunger. Sure, the surgery helps with it by reducing the physical hunger and restriction by how much you can eat IN ONE SITTING, but once healed up, you can still graze all day long if you want. I may not be able to eat a whole pizza at once, but at almost a year out, I bet I could work on it all day until it's gone. Understand, WLS doesn't do it for you. You still have to practice will power and self control, and learn to delay gratification. So if there is an underlying issue with food and emotional eating, the surgery will not cure that. It takes support, knowledge, and a lot of times professional help to get over the emotional connection we all seem to have with food.

I don't want to sound like a downer, but it's just the cold, hard facts. It was also one of the hardest lessons for me to learn post surgery. So for me, I will always have to track, measure and weigh to insure I'm not eating too much. For the rest of my life.

[Jessica Ellison-Correa 66]

i have the same issue with never feeling full i can eat huge meals and still feel hungry a half hour later but ive been following the nuts plan and ive got to say im not as hungry as i thought i would be