grazing and I feel like a cow

I need help to stop the constant snacking. I do not eat much at meal time, yet more than the 1 cup some of you find filling. Within an hour of my meal, I am hungry again. I snack on strawberries, rice cakes, 100 Calorie packs of treats, and yogart mostly. I still avoid sweets pretty much. Yet, I just seem to want to eat all of the time. I know I don't drink enough water, but I always have a bottle with me and am trying. I had my surgery on Dec. 20 and have lost only 57 pounds. I am reaching that 6 month mark and had hoped to have close to 100 off by now. Help me, please!

I had a short stint with grazing too. I found that my problem was that I have a hard time waiting an hour after I eat to drink water. The times that I drank within my hour I was hungry alot sooner. I guess I was just flusing the food through and it made me hungry faster. We have all spent a lifetime with the boredome eating and snacking, it is going to take a bit to get that habit out of us. I am trying to be healthier about it by cutting my protein bar into about 16 bite size pieces and when I feel snacky I will eat a few of those. I get full on them fast and it stops the snack urge. Good luck hun Brina

Try starting out the day with something super high in protein that tends to starve off the little snacking monsters. Could be a protein shake maybe some cottage cheese or an egg followed by 2 cups of skim milk a half hour later (16grams for the glass of milk). Seems to always work for me.

I had kind of given up on the protein drinks. Maybe I should give them another shot. I am lactose intolerant, but I could sure try an egg for breakfast. I have been eating oatmeal. Is there something about using sweet and low that makes a person more hungry? I thought I read that somewhere. Thanks for your help.

Great idea about cutting the protein bar into pieces. I know that is true about our lifetime habits - I guess I am embarrassed that I still have those habits haunting me! Thanks.

That is a good idea to cut the protein bar in pieces I think I am going to try that as well. Don't feel embarrassed about having those haunting habits because I am sure it's not uncommon. I did fall into the grazing habit and I am working very hard on trying to control it I think what had worked for me was to have some kind of protein snack whether it is a protein bar or lately i have been making sugarfree pudding and adding a whole scoop of unjury in it, and top it with a little sugar free coolwhip. I have also found that if I follow the eating schedule my Nutrtionist gave me I tend to feel satisfied and not want to graze.

Beverly, I too have issues with not eating much at a meal time. The reason I don't is because the meal gets stuck or I don't feel like eating anymore. I don't graze a whole lot but I do drink a soy protien shake every morning and it has 32 grams of protien in it. I think what you are snacking on is not very dense foods so they are passing through. My surgeon told me that yougert is like drinking something and the only reason they let us have it in the begining is to satisfy the sweet tooth. Try the protien shake in the am, buy high quality protien from a health food store and make it yourself. As for the protien bars, I personally cannot stand them. They taste really bad to me. Best of luck to you... Erin

I started to want to snack a lot more in month 4 to 5, so I cut out all shakes, supplements (unless I am really low for a day and that rarely happens) and just focus on the denser protein sources i.e. chicken, lean beef, ham, pork, etc. I also started eating some whole grains with my meals (not a lot) just enough and I am **MUCH** more satisfied now than I was before. Get rid of any mushy foods - cottage cheese, yogurts, or like thin calories like protein drinks (if your doc is ok with this) and go for the stuff that is gonna sit in your pouch the longest. I am losing much better now but I also switched bc methods so not sure if this has to do with it. I have also been drinking 8 0z of skim milk for a snack everyday, either alone or in decaf coffee, etc. Hope this helps!

Hi, I would suggest increasing your protein intake, and then increasing your water. The snack type items tend to make you feel hungrier, or maybe you are bored. Or, you may not be eating enough, and the right mix of foods to satisfy you, everyone is different. I have to keep the snack items away so that I dont start with them, that seems to be my trigger, once I eat 1 thing, I start grazing and I dont want to do that. I enjoy eating the plain graham crackers when I really want something sweet and that helps me, that and fruit. I bought cherries the other day and they fill me up something awful and seems to keep hunger under control. The fiber content is probably whats getting me full. So, with that being said, I agree with the previous posters and I say be real careful about what you are eating and make choices that stick with you longer. Good luck to you (and to all of us>>>) Angela

I'm right there with ya.. .. surg was 12-27 and I'm only down 60.. I feel like it should be alot more too!!! HUGS