size of the pouch

Hi everyone, I've read a lot about people worrying over how much they eat. Our pouch isn't 2oz anymore. At 7 months out it's not as small as it was right after surgery. Your doctors should have told you that you CAN eventually eat a cup of food at a time, but I'll bet not too many can eat a cup of meat, or a cup of something really sugary and not feel crappy! I mean really, how much you can eat depends on what your eating. I can eat 1.5 cups of soup no problem! But I can only eat 5-6 bites of meat (very small bites). I was given a menu by the dietitian before I had my surgery, it was supposed to be a two week menu plan of what I'd be able to eat 6 mo after surgery. THERE IS NO WAY! Remember when we went on diets before and thought NO WAY can I survive on ONLY this, well now go to one of those 1200 calorie menus and you can say "oh man, I can't eat all that!" It really does make me feel good to look at those old menu's and know that my pouch is fine! I love being in control of my eating, and my new pouch gives me that control, I just don't hurt it by overfilling it just to see if I can.

We are not all the same. I can EASILY eat a whole chicken breast. I'm sure I could probably get in a second one although I'd never try. Sometimes people worry about their pouch size for good reason. I have never filled my pouch to the point of feeling uncomfortable and I have not vomited even once since surgery. I eat only the right things (with an occasional extra carb or two). I am one of the unlucky ones that have ended up with a large pouch. I'm still pleased with the surgery and my success. My new stomach allows me to have much more control over my food then I ever have had before. I water load and hold back on drinking for hours after I eat so that I can stay satiated. Just because I can eat a lot doesn't mean I consistantly choose to eat a lot. However it is a little frightening that for the rest of my life I have to rely once again on self control with very little support from "the tool". I wasn't very good at self control before but I'm hopeful that I will be good at it in the future. We are not all the same and some peoples fears are based on realistic challenges that they face.

Hey Dawn -- I agree with you 100% -- I too can eat a lamb chop, a steak, or a chicken breast -- up to 6 oz of solids and easily 2 cups of soup, chili, etc. I am still losing weight, having lost 123# since my surgery in June, though the loss has certainly slowed down. I worry about eating too much, though I have never eaten to the point of feeling uncomfortable or have thrown up. I try to maintain a 1200 calorie diet and keep my carbs below 60g per day, though I have gone over in the past, and will probably go over in the future -- hopefully, less so than more. It is a struggle and will continue to be a struggle for the rest of my life -- however, I am grateful for the tool that WLS has provided me. Good luck to all of us!