Hi all! 26yr old male here. I was sleeved 01/07/2021. Pre op diet weight was 296lbs, surgery day weight was 282 lbs, and I’m currently at 262 lbs. I knew this would be hard but I didn’t know it would be THIS hard...I am struggling so bad emotionally - I never realized what a terrible relationship I had with food. I miss stuffing my face so much - and feel so lost without a constant supply of food to stuff in my face. I feel like I’m in a phase right now of “what have I done???”...I weigh myself and I’m happy with the results but then the day goes along and I find myself getting depressed that I can’t eat as I want...then I have to remind myself why I did this and that eating as I wanted is what got me to almost 300 lbs to begin with. I am also struggling with slowing down when I eat. I have always been a fast eater and am constantly having to remind myself to slow down. Looking forward to talking with and learning from all of you. :)

It’s great to hear that you recognize and acknowledge the cause - now let’s get to work! I use small dishes, chopsticks or kid utensils. I weigh each meal. I cut the food up and maybe even mush it. I take a bite and read or look at phone while I chew, chew, chew. I’m more aware of what goes in my mouth. Do I like it? Will I eat it again later? Too salty? It’s become very very routine. I’m at 4 months only - but I find food does not control me anymore. I choose when to eat, what to eat, how much - not it. And it feels great.

Hello and Welcome!!!

Slowing down while you eat will become more natural as time goes on, but for now, you need to concentrate on it and listen to your body and feel that restriction.

Best of luck to you!!!

Welcome, and congrats on getting your surgery! 20 pounds in two weeks is awesome.

The first few weeks are the hardest because you are very limited in what you can eat but you're not seeing all the rewards from the weight loss yet. The good news is that it gets easier! At two weeks out, you're probably either on purees or soft foods, right? It won't be too long before you can start eating real food (it may feel like an eternity, though). I've discovered some great new bariatric-friendly recipes on Pinterest that I really like. There are times when I miss being able to eat like I did before surgery, but at 6 months out, I'm getting used to my new eating habits and I'm loving my results.

I, too, have had to work on slowing down my eating. I bought a set of tiny forks and spoons (they are listed as cocktail forks/spoons if you want metal rather than plastic baby forks/spoons), which helps for taking smaller bites. I set a timer to go off every 30 seconds, and I try to chew for the first 30 seconds and then wait another 30 seconds to take the next bite (so 1 minute between bites).

11 hours ago, daultona4 said:

Hi all! 26yr old male here. I was sleeved 01/07/2021. Pre op diet weight was 296lbs, surgery day weight was 282 lbs, and I’m currently at 262 lbs. I knew this would be hard but I didn’t know it would be THIS hard...I am struggling so bad emotionally - I never realized what a terrible relationship I had with food. I miss stuffing my face so much - and feel so lost without a constant supply of food to stuff in my face. I feel like I’m in a phase right now of “what have I done???”...I weigh myself and I’m happy with the results but then the day goes along and I find myself getting depressed that I can’t eat as I want...then I have to remind myself why I did this and that eating as I wanted is what got me to almost 300 lbs to begin with. I am also struggling with slowing down when I eat. I have always been a fast eater and am constantly having to remind myself to slow down. Looking forward to talking with and learning from all of you.

Do you have any emotional support from family or friends? I have an awesome friend who I walk with 5 days a week. Being able to verbalize what I'm going through, the pluses and minuses of different foods, the needs to "cheat" every once in awhile and have that chocolate candy bar etc. really helps me to keep grounded. Plus as my weight loss gets more noticeable, I find that the positive comments I get from people (even complete strangers in the grocery store), can give me an emotional high.

Once your through the recovery phase, and eating normal foods, you'll find that a lot of those favorite foods can become part of your everyday meals, just in smaller quantifies. I'm amazed how eating 5 Tator Tots with my chicken breast at dinner helps me overcome that feeling of being deprived!

Congratulations on your weight loss and if you don't have an emotional support system, use this forum. I find that just sitting down and reading posts on here takes my mind off of eating and lets me know I'm not the only one who is dealing with these issues!

I don't have surgery until 2/4, but I think the feeling of buyer's remorse is common. I am absorbing the knowledge from your questions, so thank you for expressing your feelings.

8 hours ago, mae7365 said:

Do you have any emotional support from family or friends? I have an awesome friend who I walk with 5 days a week. Being able to verbalize what I'm going through, the pluses and minuses of different foods, the needs to "cheat" every once in awhile and have that chocolate candy bar etc. really helps me to keep grounded. Plus as my weight loss gets more noticeable, I find that the positive comments I get from people (even complete strangers in the grocery store), can give me an emotional high.

Once your through the recovery phase, and eating normal foods, you'll find that a lot of those favorite foods can become part of your everyday meals, just in smaller quantifies. I'm amazed how eating 5 Tator Tots with my chicken breast at dinner helps me overcome that feeling of being deprived!

Congratulations on your weight loss and if you don't have an emotional support system, use this forum. I find that just sitting down and reading posts on here takes my mind off of eating and lets me know I'm not the only one who is dealing with these issues!

I am fortunate that my husband had VSG the same day I did as well as one of our good friends. So I do have both of them for emotional support. Our friend's mom had VSG a year ago so she is good support as well. I also have another close friend that just had VSG about a week ago lol. So right now I feel like I have great support and now I have all of you as well! Tator tots and a chicken breast sound amazing! lol!

11 hours ago, BigSue said:

Welcome, and congrats on getting your surgery! 20 pounds in two weeks is awesome.

The first few weeks are the hardest because you are very limited in what you can eat but you're not seeing all the rewards from the weight loss yet. The good news is that it gets easier! At two weeks out, you're probably either on purees or soft foods, right? It won't be too long before you can start eating real food (it may feel like an eternity, though). I've discovered some great new bariatric-friendly recipes on Pinterest that I really like. There are times when I miss being able to eat like I did before surgery, but at 6 months out, I'm getting used to my new eating habits and I'm loving my results.

I, too, have had to work on slowing down my eating. I bought a set of tiny forks and spoons (they are listed as cocktail forks/spoons if you want metal rather than plastic baby forks/spoons), which helps for taking smaller bites. I set a timer to go off every 30 seconds, and I try to chew for the first 30 seconds and then wait another 30 seconds to take the next bite (so 1 minute between bites).

Thank you! Yes, currently on soft foods. It does seem like an eternity....I could've swore I was at 3 weeks post op today and then I looked at the calendar and sadly realized I was only at 2 weeks lol. I just got some small cocktail forks and spoons in from Amazon so I'm hoping they will help!