Question:
Having a hard time stopping at satisfied...eating till stuffed

Lately I have been feeling like I can eat more than usual. I am almost 5 months out proximal RNY. Down 113 pounds but it has slowed considerably. I know that the pouch "relaxes" a bit, but I am starting to be afraid. I have always been anxious about the volume of food that I eat, but it's especially bad this week. Today I had about a cup of salad with chicken. Then I had a half of a turkey sandwich minus 70% of the bread. Then I had a chicken taco, ate almost the whole thing. The friend I ate tacos with said "wow, you ate almost the whole taco!" Just now I had some grape tomatoes with blue cheese, probably 1/2 cup. I have found that eating slowly doesn't work for me, I chew very well but eat at a normal pace. I find that if I eat slowly I can eat more. I am having a rough time with stopping when I am starting to feel satisfied though. I keep eating until I am stuffed. Not to the stage where I feel so stuffed that I need to vomit. But close. I am starting to feel like the old days where it tasted good so I just keep eating and eating. I have been feeling really lonely lately, so I think I see where it's coming from mentally. But this can't be good for my poor pouch. I just need to reset it or something. Does anybody have some good tips for controlling your portions? I do use saucers as my plates, I use baby silverware. I know the really obvious answer is "put less on your plate" but I would also like some tips for when I go out to eat (I eat out a lot.) I read in the new people magazine that Carnie Wilson puts salt all over her desert after a couple bites so she doesn't eat it. I think that's a good idea. I just went grocery shopping and bought a lot of soups. I was thinking that I could go on liquids for a couple days and then kind of start over, carefully measure things out and put smaller portions on my plate. Do you think that would work? I know that this kind of question is asked a lot, and I really am looking through the library as I type, but can't find the answer I'm looking for. Thanks for any help.    — Nichole B. (posted on June 12, 2002)

June 12, 2002
Nichole, Hey! I am into my 4th month and down 67lbs. I have weeks or days that I seem to be so hungry that I can't seem to control that urge to stuff. So when I do that I just make sure that what I am putting in is "good for me foods" and not junk. I think that you have made good choices with the foods that you ate alot of. My urges to over eat go away because I get tired of that over eating feeling. Thats what I am so thankful for, a built in constant reminder. Glory to God! Keep up the good work. I also joined a gym and force myself to go. I started tanning and doing things that will pay off eventually. Makes me feel better and stay on the right track. WE WILL ARRIVE!
   — Cara N.

June 12, 2002
Based on what you said you ate, it doesn't really sound like you "stuffed yourself". You should add up the amount of calories that you just described above and I think you'd find that you didn't eat as much as you thought. I'm a little over 7 months post-op and I understand how you feel. A couple of weeks ago, I had a couple of days where I FELT like I was eating like my old self would. It scared the crap out of me. Then I went onto fitday.com and totaled up ALL of the food I had eaten for a day and it came out to 1250 calories!!! I think we're so used to eating just a couple of bites and being finished that when we can actually eat more (and do) that it freaks us out and we think we're doing bad and going to regain all the weight just like every other time. My weight loss has slowed down quite a bit but I'm only about 20 pounds from my goal and my surgeon is thrilled with my success.
   — Patty H.

June 12, 2002
I'm similar to you. I have a higher capacity for what I eat, have never vomitted so I eat at a regular pace. I don't even think about eating slow until I'm looking at an empty plate. What helps for me is protein drinks. They help to keep my mind off of food so that if I have one, I am eating less food later on. Doesn't always work for me because I still have to make the conscious choice to make the shake or to not eat later -- but this isn't foolproof. I like the ProScore 100 in Chocolate because it is about 10 oz, thick like a McD's shake, and takes a while to get down (I'm still a fast eater so when I say it takes a while, that's saying a lot). Anyway, I get the stuffed feeling after drinking one and it helps me stay away from the food for a while. Try it for a week and see. I had to get used to the taste of that particular brand of protein. I hated it at first but my taste buds changed I guess. Good luck and God Bless!
   — Kimberly L.

June 12, 2002
Hmmm. Look at whether you are 1) Eating alot of carbohydrates, and 2) whether you are eating alot of sugar substitutes. If I do ether one, I want to eat till I puke. I was doing tons of Splenda, and could tolerate sugar (because of it) and was eating alot. Now I do Splenda "occasionally" and generally don't over eat alot now.
   — Danmark

June 12, 2002
Original poster here. I spoke to my taco eating friend and he wanted to assure me that he did NOT say "wow, you ate almost the whole taco!" He said he was just curious as to how much of it I could eat. My brain still distorts things like that, heh. Thanks for all the answers, I am feeling better today. I think I really need to buckle down and exercise regularly before I really have any right to get freaked out. Thanks again!
   — Nichole B.

June 13, 2002
Nichole, I too eat at a normal pace like you do, tho I chew well too. It surprises me as I read of lots of others that have to eat very slowly. At 4 1/2 months out, I probably eat as much as you do, if not a little more. It sounds like you are doing OK. When you get the urge to eat alot or stuff, try something healthy. I always have huge tubs of cut up fruit in the house, and my "in the car, on the way home from work-stuck in traffic" snack is either a small bowl of fresh fruit or 1/2 of a protein bar. Keeps me full until dinner a few hours later...try it!
   — Cindy R.