I don’t know what it is but I feel completely dissatisfied after eating. My stomach restriction is telling me to stop eating but I don’t feel physically or mentally content. I’m one month out from sleeve surgery and I’m just struggling with this. I don’t know if it’s mostly a mental thing and I’m just no longer hitting those pleasure centers in my brain? It just feels like there’s a finish line and I want to get there but I never get there and eating is just not satisfying both physically and mentally. I could make a dirty analogy here about the finish line - I think you get my drift.

Any thoughts? Thank you

I have the same feeling. I'm 6 weeks out tomorrow and have to wat 5-6 meals a day to reach my protein goals.

It seems I no sooner start eating and I'm full.

Hopefully further out we can get more in?

Best of luck!

I went through that too, like I wanted more (in my mind) but I was full (in my stomach) and the eating process was just no fun or pleasurable anymore. It gets a little better further out.

My drug of choice was food. I don't drink, smoke, gamble take drugs so I derived so much pleasure from food. Once I had my WLS I no longer derived pleasure from food. In fact, I started to despise it. It was there to only give me nutrition, nothing else.

It didn't end there, my compulsion to over eat started to overcome me and my good sense. I started eating pastries again because I not only succumbed to my compulsion but I wanted something to make feel good. it was only when I found out that I was a compulsive overeater (through therapy) that I understood the problem. Today, I get my pleasures from my family, friends and my volunteer work. Food is something that fuels my body nothing more nothing less. I don't want to get pleasure from food. If I do,my compulsion to over eat will lead me to fail at my WLS. I've been down that road too many times and failed each and every time. I needed to retrain my mind to accept food for what it was intended to be, a source of nutrition. I corrupted that by making it a source of pleasure and by doing so I lead myself down the road to morbid obesity and poor health.

I'm forever grateful for the WLS and for being able to see me for what I truly am, a compulsive;sive overeater who continues to struggle each day. I wish you luck in your journey and I hope you find the things that work for you.

Edited April 7, 20197 yr by Danny Paul

I feel the same way. I never feel full, I just stop eating. Honestly it’s really hard to not have that feeling because it’s easy to eat too much and god knows I do not want to stretch out my stomach! I feel mentally dissatisfied too

But we are in a society where we celebrate with food at weddings and other big events. We meet for lunch....I am the same...No vices but I like food. And not that much bad stuff. But the bad stuff I like is pretty bad. My night of partying is a big salad....all healthy.... a few fries and non stop cola (and I don't mean the diety soft stuff either) Or a potato. This has served me well but now I have illnesses...Not fatal. Not yet. But I'm gaining too much and it's so hard too lose. But the thought of not ever enjoying food again. That this WLS becoming the center of my life instead of eating. It seems worse. Are there people that just don't adjust? And I love my friends and work etc. But I know eating has been a big part of my life and my life with them.

You have to do the head work--some how, some way. If you can't do/won't do individual counseling OA is a great org--and even if you do a therapist, OA works!

But part of it is in "getting right with your own mind" and reframing the situation. I guarantee that there will come a time where you will be able to feel pleasure from food and that you will be able to eat more than you can currently. The bigger thing is how long can you get out of the surgery before you HAVE to start dealing with the resurgence of those feelings. Right?

So reframe your reality. Instead of taking pleasure in "how much can I eat" then despairing that you no longer can eat much...

Take extreme pleasure and think about "how LITTLE can I eat to satisfy my hunger." That way, you can be proud of hitting macro goals and cal goals and losing weight VERY quickly (which is hellah motivating).

You can worry about the rest of your life later. Not today.

On 4/12/2019 at 12:46 AM, gabrielle1 said:

But I'm gaining too much and it's so hard too lose. But the thought of not ever enjoying food again. That this WLS becoming the center of my life instead of eating. It seems worse. Are there people that just don't adjust? And I love my friends and work etc. But I know eating has been a big part of my life and my life with them.

@gabrielle1

Being obese is hard and weight loss surgery is hard. You have to want to change.

Life does not stop just because you had weight loss surgery. I absolutely enjoy life. It’s a great feeling when food does not rule your world. I eat at restaurants, social events and holidays. Nutrition is still flavorful, and I’m not deprived. (sitting here eating healthy pizza)

You are afraid of WLS becoming the center of my life instead of eating.

Like I said above, you have to really want to change. Either you can focus on your weight loss surgery and getting healthy. ...Or you can choose the path you’re on, eating and gaining more weight.

Are there people that just don't adjust?

Pre op psych evaluation . It’s a good thing to be denied until mental issues/eating disorders are addressed pre surgery. Are there people that just don't adjust? Yes, many that can’t follow plan and have gained weight use counseling to battle their eating issues.

Thank you so much. I do want change and I do realize that for awhile this surgery will be the center of my life. But that's a good thing too. I like to hear about people like you. People who enjoy a healthy relationship with food. As long as I can get to the point where I can taste here and there... It's a journey. I realize that. I just need to have this done already. Thanks!

PS. Food is not the center of my life now. But it's a big part of the social aspect. I quit smoking 12 years ago. I don't drink..... I'm lucky that I have very entertaining friends.

It’s a compulsion. We have this idea that we need to finish our plate, grab just”one more” plus we have no idea what being satisfied feels like. We ate until we were overstuffed. It’s going to take time to retrain your brain

38 minutes ago, gabrielle1 said:

As long as I can get to the point where I can taste here and there.

You are going to eat real healthy foods and great recipes in "real food stage" (protein shakes are only first stages) You will learn how to order at restaurants, how to navigate the grocery stores and stay on plan.

Here is a link to my dieticians’ site to get ideas of what food can look like after surgery. (follow your own dieticians plan)

https://karenmangum.com/recipes/bariatric-friendly-recipes/

https://karenmangum.com/category/bariatric-friendly-main-dishes/

https://karenmangum.com/category/bariatric-friendly-desserts/

https://karenmangum.com/category/bariatric-friendly-snacks/

I empathise. While I’m valuing the restriction with every fibre of my higher thought processes (the ones that made this huge commitment to lose) my lizard brain is struggling to stop grieving the satiety I used to feel.

There’s also the drive to have just one more bite to hit protein goals backed up by an entire lifetime of emotional social pressure to clear a plate.

I’m doing great, but I’ve had to make numerous adjustments to tackle my head along the way, like having cheap (lower fat, low carb) sources of protein always to hand so I remind myself that putting 3rd of my carefully prepared last protein rich meal of the day in the trash is ok.


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14 hours ago, gabrielle1 said:

Thank you so much. I do want change and I do realize that for awhile this surgery will be the center of my life. But that's a good thing too. I like to hear about people like you. People who enjoy a healthy relationship with food. As long as I can get to the point where I can taste here and there... It's a journey. I realize that. I just need to have this done already. Thanks!

PS. Food is not the center of my life now. But it's a big part of the social aspect. I quit smoking 12 years ago. I don't drink..... I'm lucky that I have very entertaining friends.

This is red flag thinking in my honest opinion. You WILL be able to taste. As soon as you hit your regular food stage. I promise you WILL eat that pizza and test how badly it affects you. Everyone does. But every time you choose the "comfort" thing that is associated with an emotional tie, it makes it easier and easier and easier to do the next time and the next and the next. Pretty soon you are doing it every day and every meal and you are back in 6 months crying because you are stalled for 2 months with no losses or that you didn't make your doc's goal for 6 months of wl, or that you are gaining--or you're drinking too.

It's emotional behaviors and ties to food that you simply MUST change while it's the easiest to do it. That's part of your honeymoon period. REFRAME to think: "I just hope I can get to the point where I don't want to taste here and there and prefer healthy foods--while making great choices as I am out living life."

Another study just came out and "faking it until you make it" is actually a proven thing. If you don't feel this thought just keep saying it and acting like you do--until it's the truth.

Edited April 14, 20197 yr by FluffyChix

I remember coming back on these forums and calling bullshit on the “you’ll eat to satisfaction!” line a couple months after the surgery. I was happy with progress and sticking to the plan, but “satisfaction”? No. I remember satisfaction, and this ain’t it. It made me kind of angry that people were selling a “satisfaction” line that I thought post-op to be completely misleading.

I used to get a chemical rush off of eating too much. There are some people who enjoy the process of eating food and savor every bite - that wasn’t me. I was doing a logical, explicable thing: if I had a **** day at work I would buy Ben & Jerry’s and eat a pint. I sometimes would even be aware partway through that I really wasn’t into the taste in my mouth right now, but it didn’t matter because once I’d had too much, something in my system would kick in and wash good, happy chemicals through me. Overeating literally altered my body chemistry to a state where the negatives were less immediate.

I actually asked around about this, and was somewhat shocked to find that what I’d always thought of as “satisfaction” was totally alien to most average weight people. No happy bump after eating - this wasn’t just that my happy-satisfaction had a trigger that was way delayed compared to others, for others it didn’t exist AT ALL. Their “stop eating” cue was feeling full or just being done with a specific taste. They were not chasing a chemical high like I was at every meal, thinking it was normal.

Realizing this helped balance me out, as did recognizing what my max-out signals are. Initially I was enormously frustrated that I wasn’t getting that post-food high, but once I knew it was abnormal, I could focus a lot more on the sensation of coming up on being too full, or evaluating whether this giant strawberry is really tasty enough to merit eating the whole thing. I’ve also gotten a hell of a lot better at gauging the hour or so after eating; I can eat a one-egg omelette and feel fine at the time, but know I will feel my stomach working on that egg for the next hour so I’d better not bump it to two. Meals have stopped being a source of mood regulation and have turned into energy/fuel-ups. Still tasty, but different motivation.

Am I ever “satisfied” like I used to be? No. But it turns out that sensation was abnormal, so now I think of “satisfaction” as just not feeling hungry anymore. Which is also a good thing. Switching that mindset can take effort and sometimes outside influence, so going to a counselor to talk it out is a good idea.

...and the comparison of orgasm and meal-related satisfaction is, in my view, EXACTLY on-point. How frustrating would it be if you suddenly stopped having orgasms and everyone else is chirping “I’m totally satisfied!” And then later you find out none of them have ever HAD an orgasm and are talking about cuddling. Both good sensations but VERY DIFFERENT.

Edited April 20, 20197 yr by sideeye

On 4/7/2019 at 8:42 PM, yoshimon said:

I don’t know what it is but I feel completely dissatisfied after eating.

"Satisfaction" is something maybe everyone has a different definition for and I admit I have a hard time to describe what this "satisfaction" feels like.

I think for me it's the feeling that after a meal I don't want to eat any more right now. There is a feeling of "full" and -this is very important for me - I ate something I actually like to eat and/or wanted to eat at this moment.