what does restriction feel like?

Two weeks post op. Surgery went great. No issues post op - slept a lot in the hospital but no nausea, vomiting. No diarrhea. I think that covers that lol.

While sipping I felt restriction. My doc cleared me for soft foods 3 days ago. I'm now totally confused about how much I can eat and what restriction feels like. Example, I ate 1/3rd cup mashed carrots. 15 mins later I still felt hungry. Ate 1/2 banana. Stopped because I didn't want to overeat, not because I felt full. Just drank 8 ounces of water - I can take normal sips now and no feeling of ughhh lol. So - what's the deal?

Now I've lost 20 pounds at the weigh in Friday, so I'm certainly not unhappy. I just want to understand if this is a normal experience...does restriction come on further in the process? I'm seeing lots about nerves not working yet...how long until I start feeling everything?

thanks in advance for your help!

Kay

 PS my profile says 26...it should be Jan 16.  I can't figure out how to edit it!

Keep doing what you are doing. For now measure your food. There's no timeline when nerves start working. You have to look for signals for fullness like a tight feeling, burping, nose starts running or a hiccup. Learn your new stomach. You won't feel "real" fullness until you start solids. To me it feels real lumpy and tight... Not sure how else to explain it. The hunger you feel is head hunger. Head hunger was the hardest part for me and I didn't feel any relief from it until almost 4 months. 

You will begin to feel restriction as you eat more dense protein. I got hiccups at first, then a need to burp. Now my head tells me do not take another bite. The few times I took an extra bite made me feel stuffed and uncomfortable. Not good. This is a learning process that takes some time. You will get there!

Just to expand a bit on what the others have said.

1. during the surgery, nerves were cut. they will regenerate but for now, don't rely on accurate signals.
2. the "restriction" you felt while sipping immediately post op was from all the swelling after the trauma of the surgery, not the true restriction of the sleeve. That restriction won't really kick in until you are eating dense protein.
3. Now is when we need to change our thought pattern from "eating until full" to eating our proper portion size. We are no longer aiming for "full". Did your doctor provide guidelines for amount to eat (for example my surgeon said 2oz initally on purees/soft food and eventually work my way up to 4oz and even when well out from surgery - more than 8 months, maybe 3/4cup but no more than that)? It's important at least initially to measure everything. At over 7 months out - I still do, I'm not good at eyeballing portions.
4. How is your protein intake? I only ask because of the items you mentioned eating - carrots and banana, both fairly high carb and virtually no protein. While there were not forbidden on my program, I was to focus on protein first and only add in something like that after I had met my protein goals for the day. I find that after I have the protein first, I don't want much of anything else. It was a couple months before I really incorporated any significant amount of veggies (even now, only 1 or 2 oz) and fruit is a rare item for me. Again, this is for me. But I would suggest focus on meeting protein goals first as that will help you feel more satisfied for longer.

I'm also two weeks post op and I can drink fluids "normally" now (a normal mouthful every couple minutes). I just started on purees and I've been given direction to only eat protein until the point I can take in 4oz of dense protein. At that point I'm allowed to move to veggies and then when I get in a couple ounces of veggies I can move to complex carbs (2 TBSP). 

I don't feel restriction per say. I feel like I always feel the same. Hungry, eh maybe a little. Full, eh maybe a little? So I'm measuring everything and doing very small portions. I notice I hiccup when I'm full. I can eat about 3/4 of a Oikos Triple Zero yogurt and today for lunch I'm attempting 1/2 cup of cottage cheese. My plan when I move to meats (canned for now) is to do 2oz portions and see how it feels. Also; I'm eating incredibly slow. Like, it took me 1/2 an hour for a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese. 

I'm noticing not fullness per day but I'm noticing I'm not hungry for so many more hours than with the full liquid diet. I ate the 1/4 cup of cottage cheese last night and went to bed without so much of a thought as to eating. 

On top of what others have said - at this point hunger is most often due to acid.  Are you taking a PPI such as prilosec or nexium?  

Yes - 30 day prescription that started when I left the hospital.

For me, restriction feels like I want to vomit and someone is smashing all my innards up into my chest.

Yup.  This is my full.  Hate it.

Thank you all - exactly the info I needed (especially Heidi).  I'm focusing on protein now  (I had 40 grams yesterday).  I will definitely start weighing/measuring.  One issue I have is that cold food doesn't sit well with me.  Warm food seems to soothe my stomach (strangely enough I had this same issue during pregnancy. Many years ago).  I truly appreciate the info and advice!!!