pouch nightmares!

HI! I am 2 days shy of 11 months.. I am down to 176 .. I feel like the weight loss has stopped! It seems like I can eat more at a sitting and if I get the throw up feel.. nothing comes up. I am also "snacking" at night again.. why I don't know. But the strangest thing is I have had 3 diff nightmares about my pouch getting stretched. Weird I know! The last one my husband woke me up due to I was crying. I dreamed the dr did a test to see the size of my pouch and he told me it was bigger than before surgery!!! These dreams are freaking my out. I am down to a size 14 and I have about 30 or so more pounds to go! I am so scared I am not going to make it to my goal weight! My hair is growing back in and don't want to lose it again! Does any one have some advice? Melissa

Congrats on your weight loss! Your pouch is bound to stretch some and hunger will return, as far as snacking I do too, if your hungery eat, but make a good choice, 1/2 c sugar free ice cream, pop corn, cheese stick... I read someplace, on here someone dran**** cold water before eating and it helps to constrick the pouch, and you wont want so much. Did you do the cottage cheese test? Some foods I can eat 1 cup, but things like chicken, and beef only a small amount and they take longer to leave the pouch, and are higher in protien. You may be starting on a plateau, you body needs a break from all this loss. just keep your protien up, and you will do fine. Enjoy the ride

Melissa... u seem to be feeling "convicted" I mean, feeling guilty that u r doing things wrongly... that is the same cycle that makes people eat, regret, eat... Try to talk with someone abt ur feelings towards food now, and ur body... lots of changes have been happening... it can be hard to handle... At this time, u should be able to eat anywhere from 3/4 c. to a little over a cup at a sitting... depending on ur situation... but rather than having a goal or paranoia of being able to eat more, keep focusing on the quality of foods u r eating... carbs r forever out of the equation now, or at least should be... and carbs can get u in the most trouble... once u start getting back on them, it is hard to break that cycle... just like caffeine and sugar addiction... Pls check out the "pouch rules for dummies" on Richard Varney's website... it has lots of useful hints to manage ur pouch even years later... http://rcvarney0.tripod.com/ and a wealth of knowledge on his site... he is a member of the Gastric Bypass Support Group that I attend...