My Eyes are Bigger than my Sleeve!

 So I still get this feeling of disappointment every time I make my little serving of whatever. I get this sinking feeling, like "that's not enough food". Then, I eat my portion and I feel content, but initially looking at the small amount of food, I just feel like "where is the rest?"  I mean do you ever get to the point where you can watch your friends or family eat their non-sleeve sized meal and think "Holy crap, that's so much food, I could never eat all of that", because my brain still tells me that I could even though obviously I can't. One of the nurses at my surgeons office had a bypass 8 years ago and she told me that she STILL thinks that way even all of this time out, and she uses her little plates to help her get over it.  Anyway, I just wondered if any of you have been able to get over that hurdle with time.

 My husband and I shared crab cakes the other night at a restaurant...on the way home, I expressed I was a little sad I wasn't able to eat ALL my crab cake.  And, he said...look on the bright side you have lunch tomr.  And, he's right!  That sadness didn't last long, but I do know what you mean.  And, because most people are eating faster than I do, we finish at the same time or I'm still eating. I try not to focus own he amount of food the other person has.  Hard to do, right!!!  When I'm having those feelings, I try to think of a positive.  It does get easier. It's a new normal!  

I know exactly what you mean. I've gotten better about it now, but at three and four months out I was still expecting myself to eat way more than I realistically could lol.

The little plates do help me. When I'm eating out with friends, I focus on the conversation and the company. By the end of the meal, I've taken as long to eat as they have, so I don't feel like I've eaten less, even though I definitely did.

I have gotten to the point where I do get shocked at how much people around me can eat. Sometimes I catch myself wishing I could eat more... but why? Because I want to go back to my old habit of medicating with food?

I do still have a twinge of regret sometimes that I can't eat more, but that's the former foodie in me talking, and I know that I'm getting exactly what I need. I also know that when I get to maintenance, I'll be able to modify my eating plan slightly to include a few more calories, so I keep telling myself that this too shall pass (within reason) and the feeling does subside.

I have the opposite problem... I have to not look at the plates piled so high. It makes me physically feel ill.

It's why I favor small plate overly expensive restaurants now. LOL.

At first I felt like you - especially in the very begining when a couple of tablespoons of food would totally be too much.

But now I'm quite happy to have my little bit of steak or chicken and some veggie and feel totally satisfied.  I love going for quality over quantity! 

 It's been over a year since my surgery and I do look at food differently.  At first, my friends would catch themselves and stop mid sentence while inviting me to lunch.  They thought it was like offering an alcoholic a drink.  As time went on, I resumed going to lunch with colleagues without problems.

The hardest thing to overcome was wasting food.  The plate sizes even in for appetizers is often too large even today.  Growing up in a home where you ate what was on your plate still is a mental challenge.  As for getting a doggie bag...that does make me feel somewhat better when eating with others but I generally toss it without even opening it up.

What is my typical meal 14 months after surgery?  Chic-Fil-a's kids meal with six grilled chicken nuggest with a fruit cup.  I generally can eat all the nuggets and part of the fruit cup.  I do swap the toy for a small ice cream cone.  It should be known that Chic-Fil-A's icedream cone is the only ice cream that I can tolerate.  I did try a small Dairy Queen cone once only to feel terrible for several hours.

I do people watch while eating.  Their plates make me sad...not for me but for them.  I've learned that my body doesn't require much food to work properly.  

My coworkers love having me around because I hate wasting food - so they know they will get my leftovers!  So I don't worry about wasting food - I've got human garbage disposals around to help me over that! 

I'm struggling with this too. Sometimes it's just that the food tastes so damned good my taste buds are demanding more but my stomach is shutting down for business.

It's not that it's not enough, because very obviously it is, but being a really cheap date hasn't sunk in fully I think. You can't erase (in my case) 46 years of eating what appears to be a normal amount of food.

What I find funny is looking at a menu and planning out my meals for the next 2-3 days based on leftovers.

 I'm 5 months out, I think to my self God I cant believe I use to eat that much!  It will catch up just give it time... Everyone is different!