Please consider me a newbie

Okay - so most of you know that I've been through hell with ulcers. Sorry for the grumpiness.  While suffering with these, I was basically anorexic. Eating and drinking was just too painful. Well - hallelujah and pass the potatoes, I'm all better!  I can eat, I can eat.  Well - there aren't many advantages of  not being able to eat except that I did lose 47 lbs. I am now only 25 lbs from goal.

So, here's my issue (since I consider myself a newbie now). My NUT says that all foods are available to me now. I have no restrictions.  With that and the fact that I have truly missed "party in my mouth, yummy, delicousness."  I'm afraid I am not making good choices. But what I do not understand is this:  If you can only eat tiny amounts of food, and as long as you are getting in proteins and vegis, why is everyone so self-concious about eating one cookie or a little dip and chip?

Where I think I am having difficulty is when the food tastes so good, I have trouble stopping. I am basiclally over-eating.  But, it tastes so good and it actually makes me mad when my stomach feels full. I just don't feel like my mouth is done. What do I do with this?  I don't want to put the food down.

**disclaim - dig it,  not everybody is concerned with a little bitta chips, or one cookie.  Not everyone has mental sewage.  I am not saying they do.  I am saying the following is true for ME.

IT might or might not be true for you..

I think you answered your "if you can only eat small amounts, what's the problem"

The problem for some of us is habitual. Its the beginning of the same old self destructive habits we used to have, the habits that got us HERE. 

Welcome to the growing up part.  Just because you want more doesnt mean you NEED more.  The ***** of a lot of this is learning we cannot have everything we want and not have consequences.

And sometimes, we just have to sit through what we do not want (to stop, cuz our mouth is still having fun) because there is no "answer" to how to get "over" bad habits, without sometimes just having to sit thru them.

NOW you are filled with tiny amounts.

Me?  I am 2 years out.  I can DEVOUR a huge assed bag of Tostitos and salsa.  I can eat a bag of ruffles and  a can of dip.  I can eat a bag of cookies.

CAN.  I CAN DO THIS.

I *dont* do this, and part of why is because those things are the bad habits that got me needing surgery.  Just because 1-1/2 years ago I could only eat a little, or just because 2 years later I am lean, doesnt mean I am not sensitive to the same things, have the same triggers, reach for the same sorry-assed self soothing method.

Nothing changed but my stomach size, and my pants size.  And honey - if/when I am hell bent on destruction, then it helps that I am out of the HABIT of my prior self destruction, because I have moments to try and return to sanity before I INVITE that ***** of a bad habit to come and sit on my lap.

Again.

You dont have to WANT to put the food down.  You just need to do it. 

Rubber, road.

Right here baby.

Welcome to your hobo baggage of mental ****  Now is a SUPERB time to make a plan/strategy, to see stuff for what it is, and make a plan for later when you CAN eat waaaaay more than you ever thougth you could after having 85ish percent of your stomach removed. 

I am glad you are feeling better!!

And too, knowing where you are tender, frail, more subject to offroading doesnt make you weak or damaged.  For me? Its not good or bad, its just how I am!!  I can be compassionate on me and SET MYSELF UP FOR SUCCESS!!

yaay! Success!!

**edit to add, I am glad to blurb you the books I use personally to help me with the mental part if you like.  let me know. I think I used my word quota  on this post.  :}

 AMEN!   You have that correction because you could not or would not do iut before...You chose to have surgery, because you had a problem...Now take the medicine and learn that you can control your  eating habits...and maybe you should explore other options for rewarding yourself..
      . I too like food, I just choose what I can have without bad  consequences most of the time...When I don't make the right choices I have a four ounce pouch and dumping syndrome to remind me my blood sugar does not tolerate that, and I'm back on track....  Splenda and stevia are wonderful additions to the pantry...they make things that would  otherwise be illegal   ...now legal and  healthful...

You answered your first question in your last paragraph!  No doubt one of anything wont hurt you unless its one whole cake etc.  The problem for most of us is that it does taste so good that we can't stop at just one..remember the old granny goose commercial? (Nobody can eat just one!)  it applies to us too.

Yup, you're right in the middle of newly post-op hell.  Been there, done that.  Tummy is content; head (including mouth) is NOT.  Listen to your tummy.

It takes awhile for the head and mouth to catch onto the fact that you're full, you really ARE satisfied, you're not hungry even though you've only eaten a tiny meal.  It took me months.  But in the last 2-3 months, the head finally caught on and is now pulling in sync with the tummy.

I strongly recommend that you measure out your food and eat no more than you've measured out.  We're all conditioned to clean our plates.  Don't put more on your plate than you are comfortable eating - don't eat until you're "full."

As far as WHAT you put in your mouth, my rule is that nothing goes in that doesn't have nutritional value.  Doesn't mean it has to taste bad, but cookies, chips, candy, cake are all off my menu.  There's lots of good-tasting food out there that's good for you.  Stick with that.

And, by the way, congratulations on getting through the ulcers.  I'm sure you're relieved to be on the other side of THAT nightmare!  And congrats on the weight loss.  You earned it!

Hey, I just wanted to say YAY! for getting those ulcers gone.. you really had a rough start.

You got some good info from BL & the rest on this post, I just wanted to chime in with a  that you are finally feeling better.

Thank you for that advise. I'd completely forgotten about measuring my food. I guess that's what happens when you haven't had the advise for months. I will start measuring and putting only what I need on my plate.  The kind of food I'm eating isn't really the problem. I was eating a wonderful lunch of walnut chicken salad made with low fat miracle whip, grapes, apples, eggs, and walnuts. All good for me stuff. It was just soooo good. I will start measuring. I'm sure that will help.

Thanks! Oh - and thanks for all the congrats. You cannot even imagine how happy I am to feel normal again.

A year ago I started this process, I made my decision to pursue VSG. I had my surgery 3 months ago tomorrow.

It is the same for me now as it was a year ago....it's not just head hunger and stomach hunger. There's an evil nasty hunger I call 'mouth' hunger. I tells me 'I'm not done eating yet, that tastes like MORE!!', when my stomach screams at me "It WON'T BE PRETTY IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE BITE!!"

I think this will always be with me, but I push to eat my proteins first. If I can do that, then I do not restrain myself from anything. I eat anything.

However, I listen to my stomach when it says 'ENOUGH!!!'. I often eat just a couple of bites then take the rest of the dessert home and freeze in smaller servings in order to have that little something for later that week or the next.

Hi gonersmom:

It's so nice to hear that there are others with the same issues. Well thank goodness mine is not sweets though. I loved sweets prior to surgery. Now, I really don't care for them at all. Once in a while I will eat 2 dark choc almonds, but that's it. Everything seems ten times sweeter. Mine is just plain good food. It tastes so incredibly good. I just don't want to stop. I like your term, "mouth hunger". It's so true.  I try so hard to concentrate on each bite and savor the flavor so that I will be satisfied.  If I can really focus on the flavor while I'm doing all my chewing, I find that it helps me.

Thanks for posting.

I thought the same thing, but then I had some banana laffy taffy (thinking it's just one, what will it hurt?)  Well, it started an avalanche of bad food choices and terrible sugar cravings.  Yesterday I started a carb detox and I already feel better and more focused.  If you can make good choices and have a little treat every once in a while, then it's fine, but if it leads you down a bad road (like it does to me), it's better to avoid those temptations like the plague.