Mind VS Body

Okay friends I'm having that problem where your brians screams eat more and your tummy is saying no way jose! It's quite an uncomfortable feeling and it makes me feel guilty after every meal. I'm only 2months 3wks post op and my doc said I'm right on track with everything, but I'm having a hard time tricking my mind into thinking right at every meal. Its like my evil conscience. Besides literally measuring out the amount I'm planning on eating and fighting against the urge to even take a single little bite more, does anyone have any ideas?

Nope sorry, I measured everything out for months in the beginning.  Actually sometimes I still measure stuff out, it helps alot to visually see how much you can have.  Sometimes I measure stuff out and don't even eat it all, but I know that once that is gone its gone.  Then there are no urges to fight against.

One thing I have done is to eat about 2/3 to 3/4 the amount of food I have measured out. Then I get up and do something else for several minutes. If I still feel true hunger I eat the rest, if not I get rid of it, and brush my teeth, then try to do something that will totally distract me from food. A 15 min. walk really helps because by then I have spent about 8 minutes cleaning up and brushing my teeth then the walk, so that 20 minutes it takes to register that I have eaten is up. I have a difficult time eating super slowly, so if I add this it really helps, if I don't then I have to fight the head hunger. Sometimes I have to do a quick teeth brush and the walk before I clean up. If after all that I am truly convinced I need more I might have one more oz. of either the protein or veggie, whichever my numbers for the day indicate I need more. Sometimes I need very little to be satisfied and other days I need more. That's why I keep my calorie allotment loose.

There is nothing magical about the absolute numbers except that we need to get a real visual of the amount we are really eating in order to make the portion control deeply ingrained. If we remain lightly flexible it seems less like punishment, at least to me.

Good luck finding what works for you. Sue

Boy, is this a familiar feeling!  There are many times my brain wants more (esp if the food is really tasty!) but tummy says NO. It's great you recognize this is going on and are trying to come up with a technique that works for you.    The hardest part of any wls is the head game.

Generally when I want to eat more I have to do some "self talk" to get over this. Sure, it's easiest to toss the food out and get up and get moving doing something else. And, I do that too, but I want to be able to learn to some degree why I want more food than my tummy will allow and how I can get my mind to handle these feelings correctly (and ideally to know think that way at all, but that might take a miracle. lol)

I've found when I want more food, I have this feeling of somehow being left out or missing out on something if I don't eat more, deprived maybe? When I'm feeling this way, I try to analyze why I think I would be left out and tell myself that food won't make me feel more included. If eating in a group I try to really concentrate on the fun of just being together and the company instead of more food. If alone and stressed out (like some lunches at work) I try to focus on the good things about my work life and maybe a good book, or a walk or something else that is positive that makes me feel whole and good about myself.

This is a hard battle to fight and kudos to you for hanging in there!

Trixie

okay i was too embarassed to admit it but thats exactly how i feel! when i sit down to eat my brain is saying "gobble it all up! hurry up and eat everything you can bc you'll never get another meal again!" and my tummy is like "please god no". it literally that extreme for me everytime i eat and i feel like a guilty overeating fat ass just for thinking that way even if i dont over eat that meal and eating out is the worst bc even though i now share a plate with my husband and my child i lose track of what i'm eating sometimes and usually they bring it out in courses so my brain goes through that at every course. i also try to order healthy high protien foods just incase. in reality i probably dont eat too much but how can i psych my brain out of this bc its just an embarassing awful feeling. i hate being this g+uilty at every single meal.....

Well if anyone can tell you the magic trick - please tell me. I have been looking for it for almost 5 years.

But it should get easier! The early stages are the hardest, unles you are one of the lucky oens who get early restriction!

My one tip, stop eating before  you feel full. Put down your knife and fork. Even walk away for a couple of minutes. Then go back. you may need more, but you may well find,. as i often do, that you have stopped feeling hungry.

Kate

The only answer for me is exactly to weigh/measure my food -- take it away from the kitchen -- sit down and eat it slowly and mindfully.

When the food is gone, I am done (or before, if my body tells me that I am done).

I always tell myself things like
1.  there will be another meal
2.  you have had enough for now -- let the food work to fuel you
3.  you can eat again in a few hours
4.  you are eating to be satisfied not stuffed or full
5.  you are eating to fuel your body --- this is enough to do that -- your tank does not have to be on "F" -- it just needs to be off of "E" -- this was enough to take it off of "E"

This life change is so much an 'Inside Job' -- the work is in my head much more than it is in my stomach.

 yep...

me too.

And it's hard.  When I feel a little full I have to take a breath and put the food in the garbage or the fridge.  My brain still wants MORE.  I have to tell myself the fact I can't have more is a very good thing.

I also have 3 teens that are willing to clean up any leftovers...so that helps too.

 There was a study recently released about how often women think about food, here is an amusing article that you might enjoy about the results:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2010/12/study_finds_women_think_about.php

But if you want to just make yourself not hungry, you have to check out this article I ran into while trying to find the other one

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2011/01/the_five_worst_canned_foods_yo.php

No matter how bad I am on any given day I cannot see myself eating pork brains in milk gravy.

I think I can be good for the rest of the day now.

Pam