Weight Loss Sisters

I posted this on the main bb and didn't get much of a response....what do my surgery sisters think? Am I the only one that laughs when they hear this? My tummy is not the size of an acorn or an egg. I laughed when Oprah said that we could only eat 4-5 grapes....LOL. Everyone thinks that!!! My doctor actaully makes his pouches 3-4 ounces from the start. At 8 months out I can eat a 8-10 ounce Lean Cuisine with no problem. Sometimes a yogurt too. I realize that there are people who can only handle a teaspoon of food and 1 ounce at a time...but this was NEVER my case, even in the beginning. Can anyone else relate?

One thing that you need to remember is that we can eat more or less based on the density of the food we eat. A huge ice cream cone or a small hamburger... Hmmm ice cream becomes a liquid, taking up no room, while a burger doesn't just run right thru us. I THINK that in the beginning our entire system is in such a delicate condition that we don't want to eat because of the discomfort. As time goes by and we heal, we are able to eat more and there has been no change in the size of our pouches. I also get really frustrated because people hear and remember that walnut/egg comment and look at me like I am being a bad WLS patient when I eat a small salad. When in that dish, the salad may look huge but when I chew it up and it goes into my stomach it is a tiny meal. Our pouch does tend to get a bit larger but if you are still losing weight or maintaining your loss who cares ! Yes, I can relate but hang in there... Don't get frustrated and just keep on "Using the tool!" - Terri

Thanks Terri. It's true about food density. It also seems like I can eat a lot of "crap" but I can only fit a bit of the healthy stuff...duh maybe I should take a clue from my own body, huh?

I can so relate... I must confess that I too can eat an entire Lean Cuisine. Sometimes I think that maybe I'm eating too much. I've seen on this board that some people are only eating half a Lean Cuisine at a time and they say they are stuffed. I can't believe it. :-l Maybe at first (like the 1st 4 weeks) my pouch could only hold a few grapes but certainly not now. I could probably eat a whole cup of grapes AND a Lean Cuisine. Then I think that maybe I should only limit myself to 1/2 of the Lean Cuisine... but that would only be like 120 calories and 8 grms of protein and my body NEEDS more than that to function. So my conclusion is that it's the food choices that we need to concentrate on as well as the portion size. I mean, really, we could either drink 16 oz of water or 16 oz of Jamba Juice but which is really better for us? (THE WATER!!) I'd say eating a whole Lean Cuisine is better than a whole In-N-Out burger (which I could probably eat too but I don't ) Just wanted to let you know that Sista, I hear ya...

HA! So true. I think that if we are not overly stuffed from the whole food portion ie Lean Cuisine, whatever, that we are fine...that's just what our body needs. I do feel cheated sometimes, like, I wish I could be stuffed after 1/2 a Lean Cuisine...LOL. But, whatever. I guess we gotta work with what we have. I agree about the cals thing, I hate it when I get high cal drinks or coffee stuff, alcohol.....what a waist!!!!!!!!!!

I do that too....."am i eating to much???" ok so i did this...the otherday i had a whole heat em up meal (lean cuisene) and i was stuffed. and i thought dang i ate that whole thing. BUT pre surgery i could of eatten 5...no joke. like i can eat (sometimes) a whole kids chicken nugget meal 4 nuggets and fruit cup. and i think wow i ate the whole thing when before i could eat a number 10 supersized with a 6 piecenugget on the side lol....so its all relative....so when you think you ate to much think mack what would i of ate if i had not had the surgery!!!! and you will see your doing fine! REMEMBER...WWIOE? (what whould i of eaten) J

Julie, you are hilarious... WWIOE?

HA!!! WWIOE? Wow I guess a lot of us can eat a LC-Lean Cuisine. I just freak because I still binge eat sometimes. Without getting sick. Just the binge part. Today I made sugar cookies with the kids and ate 7 of them (900 cals) and I was FINE!!! Then a while back I ate a bunch of Twix bars and chips and crap, I felt the way I did pre-op. I wanted so bad to become violently ill so I'd never do it again.

I can usually eat a whole Lean Cuisine, if it's not the sandwich - then I have trouble. For me, it depends on the kind of food and if I am following the pouch rules well that day - if I am not on top of my fluids I am hungry. I don't know what size my pouch is, but I can eat and I pretty much have always been able to eat. Some days I seem to be able to eat more than usual, without any explanation, occasionally [rare, though], I just can't get enough food in. At night food goes in {too} EASY, in the morning NOT AT ALL [I don't eat breakfast and I don't have my protein shake until around 10am, I usually don't get real food in until around 3pm]. I don't eat grapes, so I don't know how many I can eat LOL. I can eat about a cup of strawberries, a carb control yogurt with about 1/2 a cup of peaches mixed in. I can eat a regular serving of meat [3oz], veggies and about 1/2 serving of starch for dinner [I don't eat and drink at the same time]. I can eat a half of a McDonalds salad, depending on what dressing. Hmmm, trying to think of something else to use to compare - I can eat about 6 pieces of su****he one with rice]. I CAN EAT, which is why I took steps to reinforce learning portion control. It surprises me [and makes me slightly envious] when someone only eats 800 calories a day and is satisfied, and on the other hand, I was super envious of Scoot saying he could have 3 eggs for breakfast [I *think* that is what he said, or that's how I remember it;)]. I chose to balance out the envy and remember to change what I can, and be happy with what I have. HTH. xosm

Yes-portion control. That was my biggest issue pre-op too. It really seems like junk can go in easy and a lot-portion wise-and the good stuff, lean protein, veggies...fills you up faster with a lot less, and less cals of course. I am still really struggling with the "diet" mentality, and binge eating. My angel is a year out and she has to remind herself to eat, and struggles to get in even 800 cals a day. Food is still all I think about and I eat 1500-1800 cals a day and sometimes that's hard!!! I guess the misconception that people have about "the size of an egg" like this is easy or something really bothers me...