I have been repeatedly overeating for dinner the past three days. Today I did it for lunch too. Tomorrow I will be 4 weeks post-op.

There is no good excuse for why I've been doing it. The first time, I was just super hungry, so I gobbled down my food way too fast. The last few times it's been because I ordered too much sashimi at a sushi restaurant and didn't want to waste it.

Needless to say, I feel horrible. I'm far more concerned about stomach staple leakage than stretching out my stomach. I'm hoping that once I throw away the rest of the sashimi tonight that I'll get back to eating normal portion sizes.

I was wondering if anyone else had an issue with over eating early on? And why do you think you had that issue? Right now, I'm thinking it's the lingering 'do not waste food' mentality.

Another thing I find is if you do go out to eat the waiter/waitress always think you didn't like your food bc "you barely touched it". I know places have a kids menu but that is usually filled with burgers, grilled cheese, spaghetti, or Mac and cheese. I wish restaurants had something on their menu for people who are "not so hungry" lol. I would love to order a smaller portion of a fish meal and not have to spend $16.

I've noticed this too. After surgery, my surgeon said that if you go out to eat, try to eat off of the lite menu or kids menu. I have yet to go to a restaurant that had anything healthy on their kids menu. As you said, it's all burgers, fried chicken fingers, grilled cheese sandwiches, and carb loaded mac and cheese. No wonder there's a child obesity problem in America. Unless you're cooking for them at home, you're basically shoveling fat down their gullets no matter where you eat.

@@LipstickLady

I'm 4 1/2 weeks out. For the most part, I've gotten the over-eating thing under control, and despite eating a few things I probably shouldn't have, I've managed to lose 3lbs this past week.

A month out and eating sushi? Your doctor moved you quickly through the stages!

@@stefanie324 I understand that. My family and friends laugh at me because I'll reheat anything or eat it at room temp. Lol

nobsvs you're so right! I say it all the time even healthy food like produce is more expensive than processed food. Things really need to change in this world.

prettygal27 Everything else I will reheat and sometimes my family look at me bc I'll eat the same thing for Breakfast lunch and dinner. For instance scrambled eggs. My thing is making it simple for me and that's the easiest. Or I'll make ground chicken and reheat it when I want some and add some bruschetta to make it moist.

@@stefanie324 Definitely get back to the protein shakes. You NEED the protein desperately at this point. In a few months you will start losing hair and getting enough protein at this point will help minimize that hair loss. If you don't up your protein until after your hair starts falling out, it will be WAY too late. Not to mention all the other health risks associated with not getting enough protein!

@@LipstickLady

I could start eating solids at 2 weeks out. Basically anything my stomach would tolerate. There isn't much I haven't had at this point(in the realm of things I'm allowed).

I think this is why my doctor has a really conservative post op diet. Only water and broth for the first week, can add protein shakes for weeks 2-3, mushy/pureed foods week 4-5, and then the first solid foods at week 6. Right now I'm in the water only stage, and REALLY ready to have something else but I plan on following his guidelines to a T to prevent overeating/eating the wrong things too soon.

I think this is why my doctor has a really conservative post op diet. Only Water and broth for the first week, can add Protein shakes for weeks 2-3, mushy/pureed foods week 4-5, and then the first solid foods at week 6. Right now I'm in the water only stage, and REALLY ready to have something else but I plan on following his guidelines to a T to prevent overeating/eating the wrong things too soon.

I wasn't allowed solids until 40 days post-op, but my earlier phases were a little different from yours. Still, I agree that it's better to take things slow and not risk a leak or food getting caught in the staple line until everything's had a chance to fully heal up.

I'm surprised you CAN over eat at 4 weeks out. It was a year before I stopped puking when I over did it occasionally. Even at 1.8 years out, if there's too much, the "too much" is at least coming up. As far as the "wasting food" mentality goes, I had someone tell me this one time and it really made an impression... "Your body is not a garbage disposal" Don't be concerned with leaving food behind.

I'm surprised you CAN over eat at 4 weeks out. It was a year before I stopped puking when I over did it occasionally. Even at 1.8 years out, if there's too much, the "too much" is at least coming up. As far as the "wasting food" mentality goes, I had someone tell me this one time and it really made an impression... "Your body is not a garbage disposal" Don't be concerned with leaving food behind.

I'm 9 months out and haven't thrown up once. Not everyone throws up when they are overfull post-sleeve. There have been several times when I have overeaten (especially in my early days on solids) and I felt incredibly uncomfortable, a lot of pain, and like I was going to explode, but never threw up.

I have not thrown up either, but have made myself miserable a few times by eating a bit too much - like the last 2-3 bites which can take you instantly from satisfied to miserable.

I have not thrown up either, but have made myself miserable a few times by eating a bit too much - like the last 2-3 bites which can take you instantly from satisfied to miserable.

Yeah. When I first started on solids I would "joke" about going from perfectly fine to "omg, I'm going to die" with no full signal in between. I got much better at eyeballing my food and knowing how much would be safe to eat without reaching that latter stage.

I'm confused....I thought the sleeve removed the hunger hormone. How can you be eating so early after surgery??

You could try goal-setting.

1. Make a specific, measurable goal. "Eat no more than 1/4 cup of food at each of three meals and no more than 1/8 cup of food at each of two Snacks."

2. Set a time limit. "I will do this for one week."

3. Identify obstacles. "Eating out", "portion size", "lack of restriction in my tummy."

4. Identify ways to conquer the obstacles. "I will only order an appetizer, and I will ask for a to-go box with my order and I will portion it out before I take a bite." "I will wear super snug spanx to remind myself not to overeat."

5. Identify who you will be accountable to. "In one week, I will call my best friend and talk about my week."

Read over your written list every morning and as often as you need to. You can do this, it's only for one week. Then when you are successful with that, do it for another week. Keep reminding yourself about your goals.

I'm confused....I thought the sleeve removed the hunger hormone. How can you be eating so early after surgery??

There's a lot more to "hunger" than just ghrelin. Many of us didn't get to be morbidly obese by just eating when we were physically hungry. There was a HUGE psychological and emotional component as well. As people on these forums often say, they perform surgery on our stomachs, not our brains. Post-op, even if you are physically incapable of eating your favorite foods, you still WANT them. You still wish you could turn to food for comfort. You still smell something delicious and want to eat it. That doesn't just go away like some magical switch is flipped.

On top of that, it's a whole learning process about the physical limitations of your new stomach as well. Even if you somehow, miraculously, aren't "hungry" anymore post-op, you still need to eat to live. You still need to get all your protein in. And sometimes it's hard to judge what and how much you can safely eat and not have physical consequences like pain, gas, vomiting, etc. You are like a baby learning to eat for the first time all over again and you will make mistakes and you WILL overeat a few times. You will eat too quickly. You will eat too much. You will eat things that your stomach just doesn't like one day, but is perfectly fine with the next. It will be a lot of trial and error until you learn all about your new stomach.