So what does it feel like to "feel" full??

So I had surgery Monday and I have been on a liquid diet ever since. I have only had water, soup, protein shakes, and today I had a unflavored chobani yogurt (about 1/3 of it). So I am not hungry...haven't been yet at all, but nothing has really made me feel "Full". Unless I don't understand what the signal is? Will I definitely know? I am just kind of scared that I am going to stretch out my pouch or miss the cue and slowly overeat. I have kept my shakes and soups to 8oz over 30 minutes. A couple of friends have said that there was no way that they could get that much in this early so I am kind of freaked out! Any advice would really be appreciated!

Thanks,

Kristie

 Early out you aren't going to be feeling full because nerves have been cut and it takes a while for those nerves to heal.  The goal is not to be full but to be satisfied.  To eat a small portion of food and not be hungry any more.
I still have to tell myself that my portion will be enough because every time I fix a meal I look at it and say to myself "That will never be enough.  I will still be hungry after I eat that".  I just tell myself to go ahead and eat it and if I am still hungry in a bit I can have some more.  I have never had to have more.  It is hard to believe that for the first time in my life I do not need huge portions of food.  I can go out to eat and bring things home.  The only time that ever happened before was when I over ordered.  I usually ate every thing on my plate and would be eying yours, too.
Keep measuring out your food and don't wait until you feel full to stop eating because by then it may be too late and you may get sick.
I don't know why I had such a fear of being hungry.  The fact is, I rarely felt hunger because I hardly ever stopped eating long enough to feel it.  Many times I ate so much before I went to bed that I was still full in the morning.  Not that that stopped me from eating.  I never ate because I was hungry and I never stopped because I was full so those are sensations that I can't count on.  I have to look at food intellectually and not emotionally.  That is the hardest part of WLS.

I can completely relate to the worry of being hungry.  That was my biggest fear.  When I got hungry or hadn't ate in a while, I would get weak, shakey, and just yuck.  I have YET to be hungry (ok, I'm only 8 days out, but still). 

It is definitely a mind game that has to be worked out.  I look at my 2 oz of pureed food and think, "I could eat 2 big macs and not get full, how is this going to be enough???"  However, each time I am shocked at the fact that I have to make myself eat my whole 2 ozs of pureed food.  It is definitely something I have to work on myself..

 I never ate because I was hungry and I never stopped because I was full -on point!


 I usually ate every thing on my plate and would be eying yours, too. --- LMAO i love that me toooooo! 

OMG! Seriously Ladytazz what you said about never feeling hunger before and eating so much before bed that you were still full in the morning TOTALLY resonates with who I used to be! I definitely know that I ate emotionally to deal with numerous problems from childhood right on through adulthood. I also know that life is probably going to change a lot now that I can't hide behind food. I am actually really positive about it and looking forward to it. I think my therapist and I will probably be delving into new territory soon haha! I do think that since right now I am still in the liquid phase and not even a week out yet its still an adjustment period and trying to figure out everything. I panic with every gurgle and ache. I am anxious to be in a place where I am not so worried about complications that I can just enjoy the success!

 It's really difficult to judge when you are full very early out, that's why you should follow your surgeon's plan cuz it's designed for early post ops to get your fluids and protein in. The most important thing is fluids, you DON'T want to become dehydrated trust me.

My plan called for 2 ounces of volume at each meal totaling 60 grams of protein a day to start, and ! wasn't able to do even that. My surgeon didn't understand how I could not just drink a protein shake 3 times a day and get the 60 in... well let him get gastric bypass and he will see why  ha ha, but he doesn't need it.

Some say they didn't feel "full" in the beginning.  I really did.  It usually felt the same as full felt prior to surgery.  I think I'm in the minority from reading others posts.

Now, that I'm further out.  I'm having more trouble than in the beginning.  Go figure.  Now that I don't have to chew everything to mush - I'm finding now that I sometimes overeat from eating too fast - and then feel overfull.  I'm training myself to slow down once again.

From time to time however, even from the beginning, I won't get a full feeling, but I'll sneeze.  That weird cue tells me - "don't you dare take another bite".  Even though I don't feel full, the sneeze, with me, means FULL and one more bite will mean overfull and probably to the point of vomiting.  Isn't that weird>?


The advice to measure your food is a good one- from the other post.  Not only will it help you with appropriate portions after WLS, for me, it just helps to retrain my mind about what a portion should look like.  My mind was all distorted -- for example, 2 cups of pasta is not a portion! 

From my experience - the ability to eat a small amount and feel full and satisfied has been the most liberating experience of my life.  I hope you experience the same.