Does anyone else hate the way they feel after they eat

[Momma_D 47]

Does anyone else hate the way they feel after they eat? That over full bloated yucky feeling inside your chest. I hate that we cannot drink while we eat... that has always helped wash down my food before surgery. I get so I don't even want to eat because of the way I feel. How does everyone else feel? I tried to eat slow but with my life everything's so hectic that I don't have time to stop and chew and chew and chew...

[Anna Elizabeth 7]

I do not hate it but moving on to solid food has not been easy for me, I just feel more comfortable with soft foods and full liquids, easier and I can eat more. I find it easier to stay on track with Protein and calories if I have soft food.

[SBovee 20]

I totally understand where you're coming from. I used to enjoy eating, now I simply dread it. Not to mention I'm still figuring out what my body/stomach will tolerate. Things I used to love I can't eat anymore without paying for it. I have two daughters, with my youngest being a year and a half I don't have time to always stop and dedicate a half hour to eating a meal.

Edited November 6, 2014 by SBovee

[cjmill2000@hotmail.com 1]

Thanks I've finally read how I really feel since surgery, I'll see my dr tomorrow and will speak about it my energy level is so low. All I think about is how would I be able to function when I return to work, no way I could return to work with this level of energy and the fullness in my chest happens when I drink Water

[Kandis SupaStar Hill 39]

Yes, I hate eating now it's become a chore - I still haven't mastered the whole "knowing when I'm about to get full..." so it [fullness], still sneaks up on me from time to time. The one thing I hate is how some food feels when it's going down, some stuff makes me feel so sick, I'm still learning what stage six foods agree with me and which don't. It's strange that I didn't puke until I made it to stage six. I thought I would puke from over eating; but nope, it's just that certain foods after a bite don't agree with me at all. I loathe getting hungry, some days I wish I could just walk around with an IV attached to my veins to have liquid nutrients pumped into my system, LOL.

[Rogofulm 2,440]

I'm afraid you don't have much choice. Chewing food to death is part of what we signed up for. Whenever I eat too quickly, it gets stuck and has to come back up. Besides, eating too much, too fast is part of what got us here. And as for not being able to eat the things we used to love.... Well, that's kind of the point, isn't it? I doubt that many of us got here by loving only lean Protein and green vegetables. Don't meant to be harsh, but changing our old patterns is the only way we're going to succeed. Of course, it's hard while managing the little ones, but many others have done it. So search around this forum and maybe you'll find out how they did it. I wish you all the success in the world!!!

[BigGirlPanties 957]

"This, too, shall pass"

give it time

try to eat slowly

listen/feel your que to stop

practice

I still have a few sips now and again when I eat... but I try... don't give up !!!!

You'll get there

[JCP 619]

8 weeks for me and eating is not pleasant. I can judge pretty well when to stop now but am having trouble finding things that agree with me. I can't just live on cheese and nuts but so many things either upset my stomach or taste horrible to me. Just trying to suck it up and make myself eat right. Hopefully it will become less of a chore soon!

[Jennifer Rogers 111]

I don't enjoy eating anymore at all. I love the "idea" of it, but when I actually eat, it's so anti-climactic and disappointing.

[Momma_D 47]

Lol at Kandis...i actually had to get an iv because i forget to drink and everything tastes like dirt lol

[Tashabella 52]

This is a little concerning to me because I am having surgery Monday -- and this is one of my biggest concerns. I do appreciate your honesty though.

[marfar7 1,528]

Ull get used to not drinking while eating. I was a band to sleeve revision and got used to it with the band. I physically couldnt drink cuz it would come back up. After living with the that for almost 4 yrs, Im too scared to do it now. Even tgo I know theres nothing blocking the way now, Im afraid if my stomach is full and I add liquid theres no where for ut to go but back up. And voniting now us a long, painful, drawn out process that I dont want any part of.

Occasionally (especially if I eat something spicy) I will take a sip. But Im afraid of pushing it.

1 of the only rules I actually follow most of the time. Another is the no soda...

Good luck...

[Luana526 61]

Finally! Now I feel comfortable venting because I know there are others out there like me!

When I went to the informational meeting back in July, there were five or six people in front of the room speaking about their experiences. They were at various stages of post-op and all had either lap band, sleeve, or bypass. They were all deliriously happy--almost like "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" happy. As people were asking questions, I raised my hand and explained that I have two good friends who have had gastric bypass and I had just finished a "girls weekend" with the both of them and for two days I watched them pushing food away, most of the time in disgust. I said, "I want the surgery and I want to be successful, but I don't want to loathe food." Oh, you won't, you won't, I was assured.

Today I am six weeks post-op and I have lost 31.5 pounds, including the 14 pounds pre-op. When I was on liquids, I actually had an appetite. I was a little scared because I had read a lot on here of people saying their appetites disappeared. Well, fast forward to where I am now and I find myself repulsed by virtually all foods. And I didn't want this! Everybody made it sound like "you just won't be able to eat as much." There are the usual "suck it up" and "this is what you signed up for" responses on here, but that doesn't help because this isn't what I signed up for. I specifically asked the group of people during the informational meeting if loathing food was going to be a possibility. I didn't weigh 218 pounds because I simply loved food. I weighed 218 pounds because I ate too much of the wrong foods coupled with very little exercise.

Furthermore, it would have been nice if someone had been honest about what that "full" feeling really feels like. It's not a "Thanksgiving full/satisfied" kind of feeling. It's something totally foreign (very hard to describe) and very unpleasant. Not because I'm eating too fast or too much or not chewing enough. It's just being at that stomach capacity and feeling even more repulsed by food. I'm actually shocked my weight isn't coming off faster because there are days I'm lucky to take in 700 calories.

I asked several people who had already had the surgery, "Am I going to go into a restaurant and look like a freak because I can't eat?" Noooooo, I was told. So last week my husband and I went out to a very fancy restaurant (no kids was the best part!) for our anniversary and he ordered baked clams as an appetizer and I had not even a whole one. When my salmon came, all I could get down was a tiny forkful. The waiter came up to me twice to ask if everything was okay and I finally said, "I guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought. Could you just wrap it?" So he did that and I spent the rest of the time watching my husband eat. I never went crazy in restaurants (almost always brought a doggie bag home--I'm more of a grazer) but I sat there thinking, "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen." Lesson learned: don't take a bite of anything if you want to even remotely enjoy your dinner.

Two days before my surgery I sat down for a few hours with a friend who was 10 months post-op from the sleeve (and looks fantastic, by the way) and he mentioned that he and his wife were going to a friend's house for Pasta dinner that night and he was going to bring a Protein bar and have that. I said, "Can't you just eat a meatball??" I wouldn't like that kind of attention drawn to myself but apparently it doesn't bother some people.

My best friend is one of the bypass gals I had the girls weekend with and she said, "You'll find that you're just satisified with a lot less." I told her the other day that I would not use "satisfied" as a word to describe what I feel when I'm done eating. When a waiter has to box up my entire dinner so I can eat a tiny portion of it the next day . . . well, "satisfying" doesn't jump out at me. It was more frustrating than anything.

All in all, I am happy I had the surgery and I love losing the weight and knowing I'm never going to see those numbers again on the scale. But I don't feel that anybody prepared me for the downside of any of this. A few people said their tastes changed dramatically and I hate, hate, hate the fact that I can't sit down and enjoy my morning coffee any longer. It has no attraction to me whatsoever. You might as well put a cup of urine in front of me. I tried a sip of wine the other day and it had even less attraction to me, and I used to enjoy a glass with my husband after the kids went to bed. It's not going to kill me not to have wine, but I didn't want it to repulse me the way it does. And I'm sad that I can't sit and enjoy a cup of coffee with someone. "Hey, let's go grab a cup of coffee" just doesn't give me a tingle any more, and I miss that. I now know that post-op means you will be a very different person afterwards in so many ways and since I'm only six weeks post-op, this is just going to take time and getting used to. There are a lot of changes to deal with. Not the least is which that I'm not used to spending this much time eating! It takes me over an hour to eat a Protein bar!

Right now I can barely get anything down, and that unfortunately includes the chewable Vitamins. Anything remotely sweet makes me want to gag. I am seeing the doctor next week and we're going to have to put our heads together to come up with a plan because I need an alternative to those disgusting Vitamins. And don't even get me started on how nauseating the shakes are! I manage to make my own shakes with fresh fruit and a scoop of unflavored protein in the blender, but the chocolate and vanilla shakes--so done with those. Oh, and here's something I never expected: I cannot--absolutely cannot--drink plain Water. Must, must, must be flavored with something. Plain Water disgusts me.

Whew! So glad I could vent. Please save your breath with the "you signed up for this" because nobody--nobody --was honest enough to tell a lot of what I'm feeling (including all the psych visits I had before surgery), and I'm obviously not alone. While I still would have had the surgery and technically have no regrets, I would have preferred to be a little more prepared for all these new (and sometimes unpleasant) feelings.

As with anything, it boils down to how badly you want the rewards. There are plenty, but there are sacrifices, most of which probably just take getting used to. Someone recently asked me about the whole experience and I said I'm very happy to be losing weight and glad I did it but the whole process, in my opinion, is not for the fainthearted.

Edited November 7, 2014 by Luana526

[bikrchk 1,313]

It gets better. I've learned that I'm way more comfortable if I consciously "under-eat my sleeve" at meals even after 13 months. It means I eat more frequently and that often my Snacks have more calories than my meals. My fav Protein Bar is 210 calories and I never get that for Breakfast with my 1 egg and sometimes not for lunch either. I figure its better for me that over eating and feels a heck of a lot better! It was several months before I learned to enjoy food after surgery, but now things are great! I get to eat what I like prepared how I like it, I just don't get very much so I like to make it count!

[CherokeeGirl 25]

Yep...with you on this! I have resigned myself to the fact that food is no long fun....no anticipation of something good cooking, or enjoying a great meal with everyone...nothing tatse the same, or as good and eating is now really just PIA....but, I'll deal with it....I need to get healhty...but I hate that middle of your chest uncomfortable thingie

Edited November 7, 2014 by CherokeeGirl