Capable of Eating More

It seems like lately I'm capable of eating more. I try to eye-gauge portions, as the advice of my surgeon was simply, to eat until you feel full and satisfied and then stop. I'm not sure why it seems all of a sudden I hold more after just 5 months, but over the last couple of weeks, that's what I've discovered. I track my food on fitday and still am getting the same number of calories, proteins, etc, so I'm trying not to obsess about it. Just an example, I can usually only hold about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cooked, split chicken breast, but recently can hold 3/4 to the whole piece. Has anyone else discovered the same thing?

Lisa ... I think I too eat more than the 4 oz. that is listed in my WLS Manual. I wonder if I ate too much consistently and have prematurely stretched my pouch too soon? Some things i feel I eat a lot and then sometimes it seems like just a small amount, so it does vary for me. I would say this has happened to me during the last month or so. I've been curious about this also, so let's see what others have to say. Debbie

Debbie, I live with the fear that I will "break" my pouch and "fail" the surgery. I tend to overanalyze every little things sometimes. I see my surgeon again in July and this is one of my questions to him.

Lisa ... I definitely can understand your feelings. I sometimes think I will be the only one to not lose the weight and the surgery won't "work" for me. Just ask my husband if I tend to overanalyze ... he would go on and on! LOL Let's make a deal that we will be a little easier on ourselves and see how that works ... ok? Debbie

Hi Lisa, I had surgery the same day you did and for the past week or so, have noticed that I am capable of eating more. What I have been told is that our pouches are no longer swollen and therefore can hold more volume. Have you noticed that different foods fill you up differently? Like crackers or cookies (SF!) will go down waaay too easily, compared to dense proteins like chicken breast. I can definitely eat less of the dense proteins due to the nature of their consistency...which is probably another reason why we are to avoid carbs (they go down too easily and don't fill up our pouches!). Last night DH and I went to dinner at Applebees and we shared a Tuscan Shrimp Salad...it was SO delicious and when we ordered, I thought I'd be giving DH most of it. WRONGO! I ate half of the shrimp and nearly half of the salad...and was *just* satisfied. I didn't feel stuffed or overly full. My pouch is supposedly 2cc's or the size of a grape, so I guess it's all just going down the pipe. Anyway, around 4-6 months is when the swelling goes down and we're able to eat more so I guess it's now happening to a bunch of us at the same time. Chele

Hi Chele! I do notice that different things fill it up differently. And like you, the crunchy, carby things go down much easier and in much more quanity. I try to always eat the protein first and make sure to track what I eat. How do you know how large your pouch is? I don't think I ever had a clue and it wasn't a priority question for my surgeon. I do know that I feel better now that I have ever in my adult life. If I didn't lose another pound I would still feel that this is the best thing I've ever done for myself. Like I replied above, I tend to overthink sometimes and I just worry that I'll be one of the few that this doesn't work for.

Lisa, My surgeon specializes in the "Micropouch". You could always ask your doctor how large your pouch is. Usually it's in the range of 15-20ccs, but depending on the surgeon and surgery, it can vary. I worry like you do. Constantly! Believe me! I'm happy that you are feeling great and feel that the surgery is the best thing that you've ever done for yourself. Keep up the great work! Chele

I was told that my pouch would be approx. the size of a small egg after surgery ... holding approx. 2 oz. to start out and over the coming year it would stretch to hold approx. 8 oz. Debbie

I have totally found this to be true during the last month or more. I feel like I should be eating less. I feel like I'm going nuts too! I hope someone can help us out here!

I'm the same way.. I've been able to eat a lot more than I had in the begining. We just went to Subways and I had the Chicken, bacon Ranch wrap.. I opted for light mayo instead of the ranch.. but.. I ate the whole thing... I was a little uncomfortable about a 1/2 hour after eating it..went to the restroom and things are good again. My surgeon said that my pouch is the size of an egg (not the pointed side) so I'm thinking about the size of a walnut not a grape.. it's the only way I can visualize it. Anna