Mental block

**DottieG** · 02-22-2019 12:21 PM

Hi guys. Its been a while since I checked in. Overall, I am doing well. I have lost 52 pounds since surgery, so I am pretty happy with that. Its been 75 days since surgery. I don' t know if that is average pace or not, but I am still feeling pretty good about the weight loss.

My mental block lately has been with food! For probably the first 60 days after surgery, I was severely limited on how much I could eat. Literally 4 bites and I was full. 5 and I was uncomfortable. 6 I was sick. Then all of a sudden, it is like the clouds parted and I could eat more. Like nearly double. Now I can eat 8 bites of food. Even as I type this next part, I feel like it is ridiculous, but now I feel like I eat way too much. Couple that with, every time I eat, I am full, which was never the case before, even though I was eating way way more.

Any one else struggled with this craziness? The scale is dropping, so I know I am doing the right things, but mentally, I feel guilty every time I finish a meal. I worry constantly I am stretching my sleeve. Is it normal to almost "all of a sudden" be able to eat more than you were before?

sraebaer · 02-22-2019 05:09 PM

Sounds like you're doing fine to me. Yes, you can eat more the further you get out, but at 8 bites of food you will continue to lose weight! You would die of starvation if you could only eat a few bites a meal for the rest of your life.

**Dutchie** · 02-23-2019 01:13 AM

I wouldn't call this "craziness".
You will notice, that you will be able to eat more as time passes, until after around 2 years (some more, some less) you have reached your max.
See these years as a learning curve.
So much has changed for us and still is changing.
It takes time to get used to that.
Not only our bodies change in terms of weight, but also in appearance.
That happens so quickly, that our minds can grasp that.
Don't worry, this wil pass.
You will be fine and you will get used to your new body, eventually.

**Sandra3** · 02-23-2019 07:56 AM

I think you are doing great.

And yes, as obese patients we are conditioned to think that we became obese because we eat too much and it does twist our point of view after the sleeve. Post-op I was sometimes wondering the same thing : is it too much? when I actually was under (in calories) what was supposed to be my daily food intake!!

So no worries, have a look at your guideline if it can help, look at what your nut said you should be eating at that time (calories/quantities), do the maths and you will probably see you are under too.

**AnnieG** · 02-23-2019 10:52 AM

If it helps, pre sleeve the average stomach held 32 ounces (max if are not gorging).
Post sleeve, you hold less than 8 ounces (a cup) of food. Some people do more, some do less. And no its not crazy to feel like those few bites are a ton of food. Compared to where you were with 1/2 that amount, you feel like you are going wild!

As long as you hit your protein and take your vitamins, and drink your water you will do fine. <3

**Stacey03** · 02-23-2019 05:30 PM

It sounds totally normal, congrats :-)

**Christie13** · 03-01-2019 08:12 PM

As long as you are eating healthy and exercising relax. I can tell you I can eat quite a bit now at 2 years and 4 months. And I say quite a bit but really it is not that much. It seems like a lot because compared to the early days of a few bites it is considerably more. But I eat healthy 90% of the time and I exercise pretty much every day. I have no issues maintaining my weight and I weigh daily to ensure if I see the scale go up I can make adjustments accordingly. I know in the beginning there were times I ate too little and had to consciously up my intake. You are eating more because your body needs it. Just make sure you are eating healthy proteins and veggies first. If you eat certain foods like fried foods, breads, junk food, cakes, ice cream, crackers etc you can eat a lot more of them than you can meats and veggies. Keep doing what you are doing, though, because you are losing weight really well.