I EAT TOOOOO MUCH

yep the eating without drinking is REALLY hard for me too... i didn't realize how difficult it would be.. the one thing that has helped me with this is chewing sugar free gum after eating, but i still struggle.

 although surgeons disagree on this, but my Dr.'s office won't permit us to chew gum at all.  It has to do with the stomach acids created when you chew without swallowing.  But again ... DO WHAT YOUR SURGEONS TELL YOU TO

I'm a big gum chewer too. As soon as I have the last bite of what-ever I'm eating, I do two things... 1)Set the alarm on my phone for 30 min, so I can DRINK! and 2) pop a piece of gum in my mouth!

Thanks for posting, Joseph... I am still "honey-mooning" as I am only about 7 months out. I try to read, read, read, and learn from you vets.

I have another friend that is almost 6 years out struggling with old habits, head hunger, grazing issues and of course, regain. She has been sooo inspirational to me, so I am trying to provide some small inspiration to her now. I am trying to convince her to attend our support group. She really wants to, but isn't willing to make it a priority yet. Is there a support group near you?

I'm glad to see you here on the message boards. Maybe we can help each other!! Hang in there!!

I'm not supposed to chew gum either. I thought it was because it makes you swallow air. I guess not.

Smaller Annie, your advice has given me an idea. I take two calcium chewies three times a day. I bought some of those lemon chewies that taste like Starburst fruit chews. They're really sour and make your mouth water for a little while. Since I take six of them a day, I could probably have one after each meal instead. I will have to experiment with this and see if it helps me. Maybe not, because you can't really chew these thing for a half an hour but I'll see what happens anyway. The only thing I'm not sure of is if you can take calcium with meals.

hey icarus that's a good idea!
let us know what you find out
good luck!
 :)

Don't throw in the towel! You can fix this! And yes...food is yummy!  I love the taste and I love eating. I ate because I liked it.  Ok....you recogonized that you drink when you eat. How about....drinking a glass of water with some metamucil 30 minutes prior to eating.  It will do two things...1)make you feel a little fuller (fiber fills you up) and you won't be able to down 2 burgers or 3 slices of pizza.  2) you will be less thirsty and maybe won't drink while you eat.  That's just one suggestion.  Another thing you can try is a support group.  Good Luck and check in every now and then.

Your story illlustrates well why I am firmly AGAINST the 5 day pouch test. If I heard folks say they did it once and straightened themselves out, I'd feel differently but most folks who are passionate about it have had to do it several times. You know what that tells me? What's going on is not in your stomach, it's in your head.

So what have you been doing to deal with the WHY of your overeating? Believe me when I say I know about overeating. I am an addictive eater. The fact that I can walk through life most days and not binge is a wonder to my mind and I marvel at it every day. I think I can ONLY attribute that success to digging into the reasons. You overeat for a reason. You break the rules for a reason. Find the reason and you find your way out of your current predicament.

So far as pouch stretching, the only way to know for sure is to go to your surgeon and ask to run some tests. Then you will have accurate information. I would be willing to bet, however, that your pouch has not stretched. You've simply learned either a) which foods you can eat a lot of without feeling overfull or b) learned to override your fullness cues, something many obese people do quite easily.

I've found there are two remedies to over eating as a further out post op. Neither are pleasant and both take some measure of diligence:

1. Eat less. Seriously. When I eat less, I CAN eat less. The pouch, as a normal stomach, is sort of elastic so if you eat less, you'll get the fullness sensation back. It takes a good week of eating smaller portions for this to kick in for me, but it does work. It's hell, but it works.

2. Go back to the basic "protein first, always" rule. When I eat solid protein first I can't eat very much at all. I can only eat about 4 oz. of chicken breast before feeling full, maybe 3 oz. of steak.

The drinking/eating thing? Stop it. There is no easy way to stop it but to resolve to stop it. The longer you wait after a meal to drink the longer you'll feel full. I usually wait about 90 minutes. It takes about two weeks of habitually doing something to form a habit so perhaps just commit to doing it for two weeks.

Good luck. I know where you are coming from. It's hard but you can do it.

Thank you so much Nik for posting this, I needed to hear this.

 You're right, Cleo and I know it.  I think the main reason I can eat as much as I do is because i DO drink while I eat, which likely pushes the food out of my pouch and makes room for more food.  I KNOW i need to stop it.  I know its hard, but I know its what I need to do.

You have a good attitude!

When is the last time you saw your surgeon? Honestly, if you think you may be stretched you should make an appointment. It's hard to "'fess up" but they are there to help you. They want you to be successful so if you need their help, call upon them!