I feel compelled to post! I'm one month post op on the 15th! I've actually had normal/decent wt. loss! However my mind is not letting me enjoy it . I think since I can eat more calories now, and I actually feel when I'm hungry sometimes, my mind is occupied by thoughts like I haven't lost that much, I'm craving chocolate, my weight is dropping so slowly what if it just stops ! What if I stretch my pouch out. ( I stay under 1000 cal) & exercise , it's just this week I feel like my motivation dropped a bit.

Don't mean to sound negative I'm really not. Just wondering if any sleevers remember any similar struggles in first few months post op?? What did you do if you wanted chocolate or any craving? Any motivations pleassseeee & Thank U!!

Remember "It takes 21 days to form a habit, good or bad." Give yourself time and be patient and forgiving of yourself. Make a checklist of good things you need to do every day (short list) and after about 3 weeks they will come more naturally. Concern yourself less with caloric intake and more with protein. In the short run your would have you really stuff yourself to stretch the pouch and that would cause major complications and sickness - so don't worry! I was sleeved 9/26 and was hoping for a 50lb loss by Christmas. My wife kept telling me I would blow past that and she was right. Recognizing the person in the mirror has taken time, it's like looking at an old photo of a younger me.

Most of us lose our sense of "hunger" for the first 12 months or so, so I'm thinking you are probably not really hungry per se. I agree with the person who pointed out reincorporating problem or trigger foods into your diet might make you "think" you are hungry. Personally I have a few trigger foods and have not added them back into my diet since my surgery 2.5 years ago. Frankly my fear is that I won't be any more able to control myself now with these foods than I was before surgery. If that's true, then I would fail at getting and keeping the weight off. So these foods just aren't worth it to me.

Changing our mindsets about food can be hard, but it's also very necessary. I eat now because I have to, not necessarily because I want to. I concentrate on getting in my protein every day while staying within a certail calorie level. Food is now fuel, not pleasure, security, something to make me feel good or something to fill in empty time. Don't misunderstand, I still enjoy food, but not at all like I used to or for any of the same reasons, if that makes sense.

You can do this, we all can. This tool we've been given will help us lose it and can help us keep it off IF WE KEEP USING THIS TOOL. It's when we stop using it and go back to old eating and exercise habits that we will regain.

PS-ask youir surgeon about restretching. My surgeon removed all of the stretchy part of my stomach. As he explained it to me, I can't restretch it because there's nothing left to stretch. I can eat marginally more now after 2.5 years, but I will never be able to eat as much in one sitting as I did before surgery. Every surgeon does it differently, so ask and find out for yourself what your situation is.