giant pouch

wow... who would have thought? I can eat an entire 8 oz can of asparagus or spinach. wow. who would have thought. now I think that it is 8 oz in weight rather than liquid volume, because that is one small can. SEEMS more like 1/2 cup size. went through Wendy's and ordered a chicken sandwhich, got 1/2 down. pretty large volume. breakfast was a 'normal' size bowl of cheerios with milk. as for McDonalds, tested out the filet o fish. ditched the top of the bun and ate 5/8's before I was full. so the HONEYMOON is over, I have a giant tummy. now I would say that my only limitation is my choice of portion controland watching the clock for regular scheduled meals. btw. that chicken was pretty darn yummy. oh, got down 1/2 a starbucks pumpkin scone. way too sweet. I was totally tripping on 1/2 a scone and 1/2 a latte. Kat [Photographer & Mom of 5] [[ Some people are like slinkies, they don't really have a purpose, but they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs.]] 275/247/154/150 start/surgery/today/goal

Hi Kat! I totally hear ya. All the sudden my pouch seems to hold more too. Ugh! Today for lunch I had half a ham and cheese sandwich. I know that doesn't seem bad but I used Oroweat bread which is a slightly larger size bread. Still only used one slice but I was amazed that I got the whole half a sandwich down! I guess we need to stop and think about what we would have eaten before surgery ... I could have easily polished off an entire sandwich, chips, cookies, etc. All in one sitting. Thank goodness I can't do that anymore! I know I'm still eating fewer calories than my dietician authorized me to eat. So I figure I'm still doing okay. After all, usually when people "diet" they try to stick to a 1200 calorie diet. So I think we are doing okay! Deanna P.S. I wouldn't worry about eating a can of asparagus! Isn't that a good thing??? It's better than lots of other things you could have eaten!

I was 'counting' on that small pouch forever, not for a few months. yes, I lost all the weight. I learned that I can survive off of 400 calories a day. I know now that people in general eat an obscene amount of food. I was vegetarian for years and still gained an enormous amount of weight (50 lbs in 5 years) so veggies are not all good for me. today I had a whole bowl of cheerios, granted, I didn't add any sugar, that was a better choice than 1 year ago. for lunch I had 1/2 a Venti latte from starbucks, a year ago I would have had two venti's so that is a better choice. even if the 1/2 a pumpkin scone was a good choice, (major buzz) but I did stop at 1/2. for lunch, I had 1/2 a chicken sandwich, a year ago I would have had a whole one, with the fries and the 32 oz soda. but the sugar free chocolate was not without consequences. for dinner, I had a whole wendy's chili, which gave me lots of fiber and protein. okay for the total damage: Calories Eaten Today Total: 1217 Fat: 56 500 42% Carbs: 124 463 39% Fiber: 9 0 0% Protein: 58 233 19% 42% fat from that chicken sandwich and the latte followed closely by the scone. hard to believe that the chicken was definitely not a good choice. but 58 grams of protein, that is a good thing, 50% from the chicken. so it is a catch 22. I am still shocked on that 1217 calories. GOOD LORD!!!

I have never really thought about the maintenance thing in detail before - I know I know but I just thought it would sort itself out!!!! Anyway, I am guessing that this is more or less the phase you are now in Kat? Do you think we have to count grams / calories for the rest of our lives? This isn't a 'flame' but a genuine question. Can we 'trust' our bodies / minds to: a) give us the signal that we have had enough? b) listen to the signal to stop? Because at some point we need to stop loosing don't we, so therefore I would think that we have to either burn up less calories or eat more to bring the calories consumed v calories used into balance. It's gonna be a while before I have to deal with this tho'.

Hi Snookie Pie! After having a long chat with the nutritionist at my hospital we discussed this situation and she said eventually we are going to have to watch and count like the rest of the world does. This is only a tool and we need to make sure it works for us not against us. Make healthy choices don't just eat whatever is in sight because it's there. Be Well, ANDI FYI it'll be ages before i have to deal with this as well but i'm not going to avoid food until then.

Thanks Andi

the research that I did before led me to believe that I would have an 8 oz tummy for life (assuming I didn't stretch it out) I knew that I would have to 'watch' since a friend that is 3 years out is now like 5-10 lb fluffy and has to 'watch what she eats' and frequently resolves to 'get back to exercising' heehee she forewarned me that it was a temp fix and that I would be like everyone else when I was a couple of years out and have to do it the old fashion way. limited intake, increased exercise when I fell out of balance. I am still aware of 'full' feeling at about 6-8 oz RIGHT NOW and I hope that doesn't go away. it really does help me gauge, and when I went back to fit day and properly recorded .5 sandwhich and .5 scone, it did give me a more accurate accounting and I had consumed 887 calories, which was more inline with what I THOUGHT I had consumed for the day. which yes, 887 calories for a NORMAL person is insane, but for me it is 2x my normal intake and knowing what I do, I can see where I am going to have to eat about this much to maintain, and that is okay. but it just seemed to JUMP so much in volume in such a short period of time. just two weeks ago, I was barely able to get 1/2 a Wendys chili down in one sitting, and I have found that I am snacking more, and getting more 'adventurous' in my food choices. I was the last of the month for surgery and the first of the group to try new and exotic goodies. I am just a little trend setter.

I have noticed that with softer food....soup, chili, canned veggies, things like that I can eat a little more. But, still with solid proteins like meat...I still can only eat my 2-3 oz. On average I am getting in around 700 calories a day. Some days a little more ....some a little less. I still have about 40 more lbs to lose so I am not really worried about it seeing as I am still losing. But, I also pay very close attention to the choices I make. I do not deny myself anything I just make better choices and eat wayyyyyyyy smaller amounts than I used to. I have not tried any sugar nor do I wish to. Fatty foods and things with more natural sugar still make me very sick to my stomach. I like my body telling me that and I hope it stays that way. Bacon was one of my favorite foods before surgery and it still is...but I just eat it in moderation now. Instead of eating the whole pound of bacon 1 or 2 slices satisfies me. Sometimes I miss all those king size candy bars I would eat but instead of dwelling on it I eat a nice juicy orange. It seems to satisfy that craving. I know this is a tool and we just have to learn to make the right choices. Remember this is a lifestyle change not a diet. I keep that in my mind all the time, it makes me stop and take a step back before my old Kelly takes over and sabotages me. Like I said...I dont deny myself anything but the sugar and fatty foods. But, I dont eat those out of fear of the dumping thing....It's not the major dumping but still drains me like crazy when it happens. The surgery helped with the body part to heal...now we just need to get a good grip on the head part and heal that ourselves. Kel