Under Eating Your Sleeve-Repost

Under Eating = Common Sense

Early out I kept reading about foamies, hicups, runny nose and vomiting.

So common sense says all that is from eating to much.........

Than I read something about "Eating till your full is how we got fat"......True.....

Than from my surgeon I learn what a "High Pressure" system the Vertical Sleeve is. You don't have that huge expandable balloon like stomach (fundus) to buffer over eating.

When the Pyloric Valve is closed from eating a dense protein first...... food begins to stack up.........till it hits the Esophageal Sphincter which by design is a one way valve only going "in"

So DING DING...... it's not hard to figure out that eating less would be the key to avoiding the above issues.

What happens when you try and fill a cup all the way to the very top????? Your gonna spill sometimes.... Now try and do it blindfolded !!! and that's what your doing by trying to feed your sleeve by going for full.

Now take that same cup....... and you know from past experience that it has about a 4oz. capacity. Now fill it up 3/4 of the way....now that would be under filling the cup with a little room for error. Not gonna spill nearly as many times than going for full !!!

Under eating your sleeve is the same concept. If you have a 4oz. capacity. Eat 3.5oz. Very simple.

This way of eating has many important advantages......

- First, eating fixed/measured amounts of food gives you an accurate count for your food logging for meeting nutritional values.

- Eating under your sleeve capacity will reduce any of those issues listed above.

- Most importantly..... Under eating your sleeve capacity is the only thing that you can do to preserve your long term restriction for maintenance when your really going to need it.

- Constant over eating is how you stretch out your sleeve. If you understand the description I gave above you will understand the high pressure is what stretches your sleeve.

- And if you have a larger sleeve you have more stretchy tissue, so this becomes very important for long term.

Try and read my post on Pyloric Valve 101 to get the basics on the Pyloric Valve.

Hope this helps.

frisco

Thank-you for this post. It naturally makes sense. I am 3 weeks pre-op and appreciate posts like this :)

Ridiculous question, but I keep on thinking about this and need reassurance.  

I am just now 3 months out and my surgeons' plan had me eating 3 oz of dense protein since week 5. I could not eat that much at first, more like 2 oz, but now I measure 3 oz and usually can fini****  I don't feel any of the signs you were talking about other than feeling full. Honestly, I could probably still stop at 2 oz since I usually feel full after a few bites, but I feel like i need the protein so i will continue eating the last ounce. Will eating 3 oz of dense protein this early out stretch the sleeve?

Sorry again if this seems common sense! 

Not a ridiculous question......

I can only tell you what I did/do and I am not your doctor and don't have the authority to tell you what to do. (disclaimer in place)

At 3 months out there was no way I could eat 3oz. of dense protien..... I was more in the 1-2oz. range.

If it was me, I would do 2oz. and supplement protein with a shake.

I do about 2-3oz. of protein now at over 3 years out and have been doing the same amounts since about month 6 

Maximize your WL and preserve your restriction.....

frisco

Thanks Frisco!  I really appreciate your answer and I think I will be reworking my meals. :)

Thanks....Makes sense

Thank you for this timely reminder!

Thanks for posting, I'm less than 3 weeks pre-op and this will be good to keep it mind.

I love your little reminder posts.  But I do have a "stupid" question.  You talk about filling a cup, and from past experience, it is 4 oz.  Are you talking about 1cup, or a cup?  Because last I heard, 1 cup was 8 ounces. 

my reference to a cup wasn't intended to mean a measuring cup...... I maybe should have been more clear....

frisco