I just realized that I used to eat all the time, hungry or not. It is very different to know what hungry feels like. I eat when I'm hungry now and stick to the suggested portion sizes and surprisingly I am feeling pretty satisfied. I feel like I am being freed from the prison of food. I can love and enjoy food without being overindulgent and abusing it. Just wanted to share my little moment I was having.:scared2:

How great that must feel!! I think that I have been "programmed" for so long just to eat whenever and not to think about whether I was hungry or not that the idea of waiting until I am hungry is a new concept. I am not banded yet but one of the things that I am looking forward to is viewing food as a tool, not as a friend that I turn to constantly. Eating to live instead of living to eat, as the old saying goes. Congratulations on your "ah-ha" moment!

Elgrad

Robbie -

I couldn't agree with you more. To say, "No thanks, I'm not hungry" (and truly mean it!!) is such a neat feeling. While I still struggle with occasional head hunger and clean the plate syndrome, most of the time I'm just plain not hungry, and more often than not I'm leaving food on my plate at the end of the meal. Whodathunk???? :scared2:

I am very tight and am only eating maybe 1/2 cup at a time. What amazes me, is how much I use to eat. Let's say we would go out for Mexican food. After binging on at least 1 basket of chips, it would be followed by 1 Taco, 2 enchiladas and Beans & rice. Now I go and order an enchilada and then I won't eat the entire thing. This will then last me until the next meal.

I look at other peoples plates thinking: "How do they eat that? Where does it all go?" Plus, I am finding that snacking has completely gone by the wayside. So, like you I am finding the concept of eating only when hungry a novelty, along with eating only until I'm full....

p