Hey!

I’m almost 6 months out and just had a question for all of you veterans out there. Although I don’t eat near the same amount of food I did before, I don’t really find my appetite as suppressed as I thought it would be. I can easily eat a side Caesar salad with two chicken souvlaki sticks or over a cup of protein pasta. I mentally stop myself from eating until I’m full because I don’t want to overeat or stretch out my pouch (not sure if that’s a real thing or myth).

For example, for breakfast, I always eat whole grain toast with peanut butter and half a banana on top because I kickbox afterwards and need the energy. I have eaten that with an egg omelette as well and stopped myself halfway because I knew it was too much food.

My question is, does this happen to anyone else and what do you do? I just want to know when to stop and if I’m messing up.

Thanks in advance!

5 hours ago, summerset said:

But doesn't that advice translate into nothing but "ignore your hunger and be on a diet for the rest of your life"? We all know this never worked for us.

Your body has a memory. Specifically, your pancreas and liver. The more you eat, the more insulin gets released. And if the next day you don't eat so much, it realeases the same amount of insulin it did for that meal on the previous day. So fluctuations in how much you eat, result in blood sugar roller coasters. It's compounded by not only eating different amounts, but also different macro nutrient amounts too.

So the more constant you keep your food from meal to meal/day to day (including keeping your macros similar for that meal), the less hunger and the more stable your blood sugar/insulin response.

So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ignoring your food quantities and the more you eat, the hungrier you get. The more stable you keep everything (shooting for 1 cup of food), the less hungry you will feel. Assuming you are eating the right balance of foods/nutrients for your particular metabolic needs.

Edited November 18, 20187 yr by FluffyChix

7 hours ago, summerset said:

But doesn't that advice translate into nothing but "ignore your hunger and be on a diet for the rest of your life"? We all know this never worked for us.

Honestly I've never been on a diet before (besides vegan lifestyle) so I'm curious to see how it all plays out. I get hungry and realized that I could just have something to drink instead of eating. How is everyone else dealing wit hunger?

21 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

How is everyone else dealing wit hunger?

Do you mean "hunger" or "I could eat something of that now"?

46 minutes ago, summerset said:

Do you mean "hunger" or "I could eat something of that now"?

Real hunger

Similar issues here. Former lap bander now with sleeve. I’m 3 mos out and can certainly eat more than I expected. I’m horrible about measuring or weighing my food. So I bought some darling bowls that hold a cup of food and use those. I can have a bowl full of food and be happy.

Like a similar poster, I do not diet either unless we count eating better quality food as dieting. I don't measure, weigh, or count calories. Just typing that almost made my head spin. ? However, I do eat plenty of vegetables, proteins and some carbs. I spend my effort on preparing the majority of my meals instead of take out or restaurant.

I am a volume eater. The surgery only minimized that just a bit. By including tons of vegetables (preferably cooked) to my meals, I get the satiety without a ton of extra calories. I've had only one week of weight gain, and that was back in August, and I've had one stall, and it was barely a stall. I stayed the same weight from one week to the next week's weigh-in, but the following week was back on the losing streak again.

On 11/17/2018 at 05:59, ummyasmin said:

I'm having to relearn about portions and satiety because my bypass is WAY different to my old lapband. With the former, if it was too loose I could and craved eating normal and bigger sized portions, steak etc. But too tight and I could only eat slider food and was throwing up all the time. Now with my bypass pouch I don't have the lapband "hard stop" and I feel like I could eat more, BUT if I make myself eat much slower and make sure I eat good quality Protein, I get satiety in about twenty to thirty minutes. Its not fullness eg oh my gosh I'm stuffed, it's more just a pleasant sense of having eaten to general satisfaction and I don't have to eat now for a while.

It's a much quieter voice so I have to actively listen for it, but it's so much better. So I measure my food and I have about 5-6 oz of squishier protein/meal eg Shelley's Ricotta Bake with a bit of chicken added in (now I can) and take it REAL slow. If I'm still looking for something after that I have about 15g nuts b/c I know that will give me satiety.

Try white fish; cod, haddock, pollack,; I’ve found that I can add 4-5 oz and not have any discomfort. Everyone is different but for me white fish has been a blessing as it is high in protein and is satisfying. Try it with a parmesan coating and it is better than any fried fish.

On 11/17/2018 at 11:28 PM, summerset said:

But doesn't that advice translate into nothing but "ignore your hunger and be on a diet for the rest of your life"? We all know this never worked for us.

I am not often hungry and never have been able to eat a large amount of food at one time..but started grazing and stress eating...proactively work on both issues. My approach will be to not overeat, even if I have room to eat more, which is unfortunately how I have maintained the weight gain (65#) from pregnancy in the first place. Prior to pregnancy, I was in the normal weight category and remained that way because I watched what I ate (as did all of my normal weight, "naturally thin friends") and adjusted...some might call that a diet, but mindful eating was a way of life for me. Post-pregnancy, let's just say, I didn't return to it. I have lost weight a number of times since pregnancy, but couldn't maintain it. So, if my team can give me a formula that I can easily follow (amount per meal and number of meals/per day) to maintain the my new weight, I am inclined to follow it. I have tried it my way and was not successful.