Not Hungry vs. "Full"

I had my 6 week check up at the Weight Center and in talking w/the doc, he told me that because all of the nerves i the stomach are cut during surgery that the full feeling will be hard to feel when eating. He told me that instead of eating until I feel "full" I should eat slowly and only until I'm no longer hungry. That looking for the "no longer hungry" feeling is a better indicator and will help me avoid the over eating that could stretch my pouch.

I thought it was a good idea to give it a try, so it's my goal for the day.

What do you folks think about that distinction?

At nearly 5 months out, I still have difficulty identifying when I'm full...depending on what I'm eating.  If it's something soft, I could probably eat until I throw up.  More dense foods, I can feel something that's hard to describe...like a bubbling feeling, sorta?  I count that as my indicator. 
My NUT and surgeon both told me to measure foods.  Just eat 1/4 cup of food, slowly, and be done.  I do eat snacks between my 3 meals, also, because of blood sugars. 
The last few days, I've not really been hungry, couldn't even eat 1/2 of my 1/4 cup of tuna.
Also, I've even forgotten to eat.  I don't believe that I've EVER, in my life, forgotten to eat! 

Measure your food it is hard to tell what is full.

It took a while to recognize what that felt like. Now I usually only eat until im just satisfied...usually eating slower makes me feel this way. I very very much dislike the full sensation now.

Definitely measure your food. For me that is the only way, because at almost a year out I still don't have any feelings of hunger or fullness. If i don't measure and overdo the amount even by a little, there are unpleasant consequences.

 

My surgeons team deemphasizes measuring food because they want you to learn to listen to your body and only eat enough for you. That's why they were telling me to use that no longer hungry feeling as a measure.

That may work for some, I don't know?  My NUT emphasized only 3 meals, with no snacks, at 1/4 cup each meal.  If I hadn't done what my body was telling me to do (and with help from some in OH), I'd probably have ended up in the hospital to deal with blood sugar crashes. After talking with my surgeon, he said that everyone is different...what works for most, doesn't work for all.  I think I'd listen to your body, do what you feel works for you.  It won't hurt to measure...? and listen to your body. 
I know that even before surgery, it helped to measure or weigh foods just to have some idea what a "normal" portion looked like. 
I measure everything, so that way, I have an idea what my limit is for the next time.  I do, however, measure again from time to time because my mind plays tricks on me and I end up with much more than I should...the old me, I think.  When I do, I can feel it...unless, like I said, it's a soft food.  Even with those, I get that bubbly feeling, sometimes. 

I'm a year out today and have a hard time telling the difference. It's very easy for me to eat beyond being not hungry to being too full. Every person is different and has to decide what works. For me I got to 300 lb by not being able to tell the difference and I'm working on it but surgery didn't change that part of my brain so I measure things to avoid crossing the line. My goal is to listen to my body and be able to tell the difference but I'm not there yet. Great post!

Learning to listen to your body is important, but it won't hurt to measure your portions. Just because you've measured out a certain portion size doesn't mean you have to eat all of it.

It will also help to give you a good baseline for portion sizes; as a nation we are horribly off in regard to portion size. What we consider a single portion is closer to two or three -- so measuring out your food will help you going forward to know exactly how much you're eating. I would measure out my portions the day before, so I could pre-pack portions for lunches, etc.

That is EXACTLY what I encourage new post-ops to do.  My surgeon had the same thought process, even though I was given a quantity to eat at certain points it didn't mean eat it all if the no longer hungry feeling was gone.  I actually was never hungry so had to force myself to eat but I get the "I'm satisfied" feeling before I finished the weighed amount.

I still do this today and believe it's one of the factors that has kept me below goal.