Please help! Eating too much?? :( so scared!

I am about 5 weeks post op and so far have had no complications. I never get sick on foods and I can get all of my water in. For this I am grateful. However, I feel like I am eating so much! This is what I had today: B: 3 oz of low sugar/ low carb Dannon yogurt w/some banana mushed in Snack: 2 oz of peanuts L: 1 oz of cheese and 2 tbs of peanut butter D: 4 organic tortilla chips w/cheese Snack: 3 oz of low sugar/ low carb Dannon yogurt w/some banana mushed in Sometimes I don't feel full anymore like I used to. Sometimes I feel a bit hungry. I have slipped back into old habits and have been eating a few tortilla chips w/cheese per day. I know this is really nothing compared to eating an entire bag per day before, but I am afraid that I will start to increase my intake. I can't believe I am doing this! I have already lost about 50 lbs. You would think this would motivate me not to cheat! Every couple of hours I eat a table spoon of peanut butter or a slice a cheese, or 1 oz of peanuts. This is just way too much. I'm really scared. I really thought this surgery would make it impossible for me to do this, but it hasn't. Sometimes I wish I would actually get sick on something so that it would deter me from grazing. I haven't tried sweets which I do not plan to do - too scared of what could happen. Please help! Thanks :/

It really doesn't sound like you are getting enough protein in. Have you calculated the totals each day? (fitday.com is great for doing this). A bare minimum is 60 grams per day. Any idea on the amounts of carbs too? It should be 30 or less for the best results. If you really have to have the chips, there are many low carb varieties out there that are really good. The surgery is just a "tool" not the magic pill that will cure obesity. It would be nice if the surgery worked on our brain and head hunger too. I found as a pre-op that if I elminated the carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes) that my cravings reallys subsided. If I ate them, then the cravings would kick in again. So the chips could be sabatoging your efforts. My surgeon recommends 3 meals a day and sublimenting with protein shakes. Some surgeons recommend 5 small meals a day (that is not considered grazing). You have to find what works best for you and what will keep you on track. Know it is hard at times. I'm 4 weeks post-op. I'm sure you aren't eating way overboard, but grazing isn't a good idea. Hope you can find a good solution for you. Definitely add more protein if you aren't at 60 grams a day. Mary

I agree with Mary's advice. Calculate your proteins. It doesn't look like your eating too much. But you may have to re-evaluate your choices. My surgeon made me give up caffine before the surgery and I have stayed off of it and I think that helps with the cravings. Different physicians have different reccomendations for eating. My surgeon suggests eating only 3 meals a day, 1/2 cup of food at each meal. She says that if you only let yourself eat the 3 meals that it will help kick the grazing habbit. I think the biggest challenge is head hunger. I often think of eating when I'm bored. Try to replace the cravings with excersize.I go for a walk when I find myself wanting to look in the cabinets. Even though you have lost alot of weight it often takes a while for our self image to catch up. Trust yourself, you are so worth it.You were strong enough to go ahead with this surgery you are certainly stong enough to control your choices. Good Luck I'm rooting for you! Eileen

Like everyone else said, you do what your doctor told you. Mine told me no snacking between meals. If you want your chips with cheese and can add them after a meal of sufficient protein, then veggies, but can eat all of that in 15-20 minutes then it is ok and that is usually because you will get too full after eating enough protein. If you are not getting full, then up the protein, and add the shakes. I found high protein soy milk and have that when I get munchie. It fills me up so much.

My dieticain says 6 1/2 cup serving a day, protein in first.

PROTEIN FIRST! If you body tells you that you are hungry then by all means eat! When you starve yourself it slows down the WL process. I get very naseous when its time for me to eat. Your stomach is too little to have too much to eat in this point in the game. Good luck! Jaunine

I'm in complete agreement with everyone else; protein really cuts your appetite. But consider also doing the math. I'm going to liberally approximate 4 tortilla chips to be about 3 oz. Adding everything else up, you ate a grand total of 12 oz in your example. That's 12 OZ in a DAY! Why do think that's such an unreasonable amount of food? Remember, it's not just the physical that needs to adjust to the surgery, it's also the mental. You have a mental program for food that needs to be completely rewritten. This will take time and patience. Be easier on yourself. You've lost 50 LBS!!!! Your doing great!! Best wishes, Darrin

I know exactly how you feel! I wonder sometimes, too, if I'm eating too much. I've found over the past several days that I've been really hungry several times during the day. Real hunger, not head-hunger. I *think* it is because I had started to drink some caffeine again! Needless to say, I'm cutting that back out. It's tough, and I miss the coffee, but I'd rather not have it and do without the gnawing hunger so often. My husband and I had a long drive yesterday, and we had a chance to munch on some things and talk a bit. (I actually had some doritos and sugar-free chocolate and felt SO guilty, even though the total of what I had probably didn't even equal 1 oz.) I think the reason I have perhaps felt like I'm eating too much is because I'm eating for longer periods at a time. So, it feels like I'm eating more than people I'm with sometimes when I'm actually not. It took me the same amount of time to eat 4 McDonald's french fries as it took my husband to eat an entire DOUBLE Quarter Pounder with Cheese. BIG difference in food there. I keep trying to trust that, if I don't routinely abuse food, things will work out as they should. It's not easy to do, and I haven't gotten much support on that area from those who have 'been there' yet, but I'm hoping I might. You don't sound, to me, as though you're eating too much, though! And you've lost 50 lbs. That's awesome! :D

You've already lost 50 lbs in 5 weeks! That's GREAT! It doesn't seem to me that you're eating too much. If anything I'd say you could stand to eat a little more. I've found that when I eat too much, it comes back up! If that's not happening to you, you're probably OK. Be careful with the peanut butter though. I've heard of one poor man who ate it and plugged up his stoma. They had to pump him out! My advice would be to get busy when you feel like grazing. Find something you can do instead of eating (get a hobby?) or start exercising to take your mind off of eating. And remember you're not going to lose it all overnight. You've only been 5 weeks. If you're losing 5 lbs a week, that's plenty. And we all hit plateaus. It will take more than a year to get where you want to be. Just keep at it! Tom