Day 5 Post Op- Why am I able to eat so much???

So I'm sort of freaking out a little bit.  Ever since my surgery, things seem just too easy.  I haven't experienced an ounce of nasea, I can take regular sized bites and swallows and tonight, I ate a HUGE meal.  Well, what seems huge for right after surgery.  

I really didn't eat much before dinner today.  I had a quarter cup of applesauce, 6 oz of protein shake and about 2 ounces of pudding mixed with protein. 

I was getting sick of yogurt and applesauce and just wanted something that tasted like "real food" so browsed the message boards a little for something I could eat in phase 2 that might make me feel better.  One poster suggested mixing lowfat ricotta cheese with tomato sauce and a small bit of mozzarella cheese and then heating it up in the microwave for a minute.  I bought the stuff at Target and prepared a half can of the tomato sauce with a few spoons of the ricotta and a sprinkle of the cheese.  I blended it with the magic bullet, put it in the microwave and heated it up.  I made a little bit larger of a portion that I thought I could eat so I could have leftovers.  As I sat down and ate it, it was DEEELICIOUS (seriously recommended for those in phase 2).  But I just kept eating it and eating it and eating it...I was waiting for some sort of trigger to tell me I was full but it never came.  The only thing I felt was a small bit of bloating in my stomach, but not at all the full feeling I have felt in my "previous life"  I ate 3/4 a cup of food!!!

I know that portion control and resisting temptations are a huge part of WLS but I just didn't anticipate having to deal with it so soon.  I'm feeling super guilty right now and wondering if my surgeon made my pouch too big?  I'm scared I'm going to fail and not lose weight if my pouch is this big! 

This happened about 2 hours ago and I feel like I could eat again already.  

Help!

Once you heal more you will be able to eat less and less.

I seriously doubt your surgeon made your pouch too big.  It seems like that would be a really big mistake and not one an experienced surgeon would make.

I think you could eat that  much food because you were eating a "slider" food - something moist and smooth and slippery that could just slide through your pouch.  Which is probably what you're supposed to be eating at this point, right?  What is your stage two, pureed foods?

You didn't get a full feeling like you used to get because when they do this surgery, the nerves that signal your brain that you're full are cut and it takes a while for them to heal so you get that full feeling back.  I'm not sure why you thought you would not have to deal with portion control and resisting temptations so soon, but we do.

Ugh...I hope you are right about the "slide through foods".  I am in stage 2 so hopefully things further down stick a little more? 

I didn't anticipate having to deal with portion control right away because my surgeon told me not to.  He said that I shouldn't be able to eat more than a few ounces at a time and that portion control comes in to play more when you reach solid foods and your pouch stretches a little.  He's literally one of the top rated surgeons in Minnesota so I figured his advice was good.  I'm assuming you tell your patients differently?  

I don't have patients.  I'm not a doctor.

What I've learned from hanging out on OH for quite a while and reading hundreds of posts, is that everyone is different.  Some people feel hungry a week after surgery.  Some don't get a feeling of hunger back for months and months.  Some people seem to be able to eat on a few bites while others (about the same amount of time post op) can eat a lot more than that and are worried that they're eating too much.  Some people dump if they eat just a little bit of sugar while others can eat all the sugar they want and feel just fine.

It seems to me that portion control is important at all times.  It confuses me that your surgeon would say it wasn't important until you reach solid foods.  For one thing, when you're eating slider foods, it might be easier to eat more than a few ounces.  Also, since the nerves that signal our brain when we are full have been cut during surgery, many people don't get a full feeling in the beginning.

But yeah, solid foods stick around in your pouch a lot longer than sliders.

 Since you're not feeling the sensations, you will have to count on portion control and measuring right now until you get the feeling back.  My doc said no more than 4 oz. of any type of food right now at one time.  I can only eat about 2-3 oz. myself.  IYou probably will feel the fullness better once you get past slider foods.   Also, since you're eating slider foods right now, you can take bigger bites but the best thing to do is do smaller ones anyway to get into the habit of doing so.  Because once you're on regular foods, bigger bites will get stuck and it's not pleasant.  How much protein are you getting? Try more shakes to help with cutting down the need to eat all the time feeling. 

Just because you can eat more, doesn't mean you should.

That being said, don't stress too much. Just be aware
that your little pouch can only hold so much before
you will definitely learn about NOT filling it up too
much.

You probably won't feel "full" the way you used to do;
watch for a "High Level Alarm" and when you get it, stop
eating!! For me, it's when my nose runs. For others, it's
when they hiccup, still others burp. Jus****ch and learn,
and then stop eating.

All too often we still cling to the old message "Clean
up your plate" post-op. Well, nobody is going to ship the
leftovers to China, or Ethiopia, or anywhere else, so just
don't eat them. A good way to help get out of that mindset
is to use a small salad plate.

Good luck!

 It is much easier to eat more with slider foods, but be careful to measure  your food. It is not unusual to wanna eat every couple of hours. I have to admit  that I am surpised to hear that you are able to eat this much so soon out. I would assume that is a good thing and that you are healing up very quickly. 

Wait 'til you try eating a scrambled egg. You will find out quick that you really can't eat very much. At least I couldn't. All that I could eat was half of an egg...LOL.....Yeah, solid dense protein will fill you up very fast, so dont beat yourself up, but be careful not to over do it. Just because you can eat something doesnt mean you wont hurt you new pouch. (Not saying that mush would do that.)

It wasn't dense so you can eat more of this type of food.  That is why it is SO IMPORTANT to measure out the portion you were told to eat and stop then.  Your nerve endings were cut, they have to heal.

Once you get to dense protein and are healed I promise you will feel fullness.  I will still be important to eat slow and measure portions out and eat within a certain time limit (my surgeon said 20 minutes).