Like weight loss before and after photos but of your new diet !

I'm especially interested in before and after meal photos (take a pic at the point you feel restriction) but it can be of recipe substitutions, your refrigerator/pantry/shopping cart/etc

VSG2017 HW 249 SW 238 CW 167

2 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

I'm not going to deny that I love my restriction. But I need to get my hunger under control for it to be effective. An hour after I ate this, I was hungry again and ate some chili ... ugh! I want my lack of hunger back!

I am so lucky. I have some massive cravings, but absolutely no true hunger. Doesn't change the fact that I still truly enjoy the experience of eating and want to keep on eating and eating . . .

2 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

I'm not going to deny that I love my restriction. But I need to get my hunger under control for it to be effective. An hour after I ate this, I was hungry again and ate some chili ... ugh! I want my lack of hunger back!

Oh yeah. That sucks. I have guaranteed "show stoppers" I use for this...like peanuts from the shell are sure to stop me in my tracks. About 4 nuts makes my pouch squeeze up tight!!! So no food would feel good going down. Almonds sorta do the same thing. Dense dry chicken breast, and hb egg--no seasoning-- does that for me too as does just plain boiled shrimp, no sauce or spices of any kind. (I try to keep the reward/salivatory/pleasure thing really low.)

That's got to be hard, having restriction to the point that you have to eat frequently just to get your nutrients in and to assuage genuine hunger!

Just now, Orchids&Dragons said:

I am so lucky. I have some massive cravings, but absolutely no true hunger. Doesn't change the fact that I still truly enjoy the experience of eating and want to keep on eating and eating . . .

Yeah. I'm dealing with that now. I feel the "absence of hunger" and know logically that I've had enough food, but at 6 months, I still find myself wanting that full feeling. Ugh, never chase the full feeling!

3 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Yeah. I'm dealing with that now. I feel the "absence of hunger" and know logically that I've had enough food, but at 6 months, I still find myself wanting that full feeling. Ugh, never chase the full feeling!

I chase the pleasure, not the full feeling. I realized after surgery that I may never in my life have felt true hunger. I didn't realize it at the time, but I think I've always had a ton of acid in my stomach, so when my stomach hurt, I fed it. My dad did the same thing. To go with that, I've never felt really "full", either. Not even holidays like Thanksgiving. I generally ate until I was too embarrassed to get any more and enjoyed the last bite as much as the first. But I never felt stuffed, ever. Now I get the post-surgery "stuffed" feeling occasionally, but that translates to "I want to throw up". I don't think it's what "full" feels like normally, but then I don't know.

7 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

That's got to be hard, having restriction to the point that you have to eat frequently just to get your nutrients in and to assuage genuine hunger!

I really can't complain, like @Orchids&Dragons I've been fortunate that overall I haven't had a lot of hunger. There have been days when I've had none at all, and just have two protein shakes. I struggled with head hunger in the first few months, but that subsided as well.

Now I'm just dealing with the consequence of going on vacation and eating whatever I damn well pleased, and eating a lot more frequently than I otherwise would. It seems to have woke up my hunger monster.

I have a few days at home to hopefully get back into the routine of eating healthfully, less frequently. Hopefully that will reset my hunger.

Interesting @Orchids&Dragons! I wonder if that is related to your faulty esophagus?

Super interesting conversation! These days I only want the best tasting versions of whatever I can have to eat, if I can only have a little it has to be amazing quality or if rather drink some tea and wait until I can have the best lol

Edited August 31, 20187 yr by GreenTealael

4 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

Interesting @Orchids&Dragons! I wonder if that is related to your faulty esophagus?

I don't know if it's that or just a very acid stomach.

8 minutes ago, sillykitty said:

I really can't complain, like @Orchids&Dragons I've been fortunate that overall I haven't had a lot of hunger. There have been days when I've had none at all, and just have two Protein Shakes. I struggled with head hunger in the first few months, but that subsided as well.

Now I'm just dealing with the consequence of going on vacation and eating whatever I damn well pleased, and eating a lot more frequently than I otherwise would. It seems to have woke up my hunger monster.

I have a few days at home to hopefully get back into the routine of eating healthfully, less frequently. Hopefully that will reset my hunger.

But is it your hunger monster or craving monster?

18 minutes ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

But is it your hunger monster or craving monster?

It's both. But it's more real hunger than head hunger right now.

I sometimes have trouble telling them apart. But one way I can differentiate is what will satisfy me. For instance yesterday after eating the various "salads" plate I posted, getting full, then feeling hungry again, I was happy to eat the chili. Even though there were lots of other less nutritious, more crave-able options available. So I knew it was real hunger. A few hours later I was hungry again. I was satisfied with eating some cheese, when again there were a lot more delicious options available. But making good choices still takes a lot of thought and effort. I suspect that will always be a struggle for me.

Edited August 31, 20187 yr by sillykitty

16 minutes ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

I don't know if it's that or just a very acid stomach.

Hmm ... I wonder if an acid stomach would mute the full sensation?

21 minutes ago, GreenTealael said:

Super interesting conversation! These days I only want the best tasting versions of whatever I can have to eat, if I can only have a little it has to be amazing quality or if rather drink some tea and wait until I can have the best lol

Oh, I wish this were true for me. I still crave crap food!

1 hour ago, sillykitty said:

But making good choices still take a lot of thought and effort. I suspect that will always be a struggle for me.

You and me both, sister! Sorry your true hunger is coming back. I can still "cure" mine with a Tums.

Edited August 31, 20187 yr by Orchids&Dragons

1 minute ago, sillykitty said:

Hmm ... I wonder if an acid stomach would mute the full sensation?

Interesting concept, I have no idea. And it's too late to go back to my old stomach and experiment!

It's likely carb cravings, have it after everything vacation I don't behave on... I have to reform post vaca hard core or control what I eat better during, I'm choosing the latter these days, just easier for me...