I'm not sure if this is good or bad

I'm 5 1/2 weeks out now.  Went to restaurants for the first time the last two nights (assuming you don't count takeout Wendy's chili) and I have discovered something.  If I eat slowly, and stick with soft stuff (which is the food stage I'm on right now), I can eat something close to a full dish.   Yesterday it was a bowl of chili verde, today was a Thai basil beef dish.   Granted, this is *nothing* compared to what I ate pre surgery, and part of me really enjoyed feeling normal, but I wonder if this will be a problem in the future.

1) your nerves were cut pre-op..... you might not get messages of "ohmigosh I'm so full I'm gonna die" from your pouch, but even so it might be sending those messages.

2) When you extend a meal over time, you're letting the earlier bites process through the pouch, particularly if they are slider foods. This is why a lot of surgeons recommend keeping a meal to only 30 minutes in length. Theoretically a person could eat the entire livelong day if they gave enough time between bites.

3) This is the time to set up good habits, and pushing your limits this early is counterproductive to this aim.

I think we're always so in awe of the difference in what we eat now and what we used to eat, that it sometimes seem just fine to eath a portion that is bigger than recommended....because it is so much smaller than what we used to eat.

Hubby can scarf down a plate of food like I used to eat pre-op and I jus****ch in amazement...... it seems like he's eating for a family of six....and if there were six people who ate like me, this would definately be true,

Yeah I'm anal about measuring stuff at home and work.  Funny thing is. my pouch doesn't tell me I'm full, but normally, man I do I feel it in my abdomen if I have even a bit too much.  I'll probably just continue to avoid restaurants for awhile.  I don't think I went over 30 minutes, but if I'm in the situation again, I'll time it.  I guess I can also bring measuring stuff with me, just thought that might seem a bit lame :)

A lot of people find it really helpful to package part of their meal into a to-go container as soon as they get their meal. That way you're not tempted to keep eating past your normal portion size. It's easy to lose track of how much you're eating especially when you're with friends and enjoying the conversation so only having part of it on your plate keeps you from overeating.