I think I am eating too much.

Hi, my name is Luann and I had my surgery 7/07/05. I have noticed that I can eat alot more than I should be. The other day I bought a small subway sandwich and I ate all of it but a 1/4 of it and I knew it was wrong but I was testing myself to see if I can eat more. Now I am scared that I stretched out my pouch this early on. I am also on a 5 week no loss plateau and that I am definately not liking. I walk 30 minutes everyday on my lunch break at work and then I go home and do another 30 - 60 minutes of walking of biking 3 - 4 times a week. I am doing the excersise. Can someone please give me some advice as to breaking this plateau and if I should contact my doctor about the amount of food intake I can eat now. I am really scared and don't know what to do. Thank you for all of your help, Luann.

Hi Luann, First....don't beat yourself up. My guess would be that you would have eaten ALOT more than 3/4's of a small subway sandwich before your surgery so don't fret too much. You just really need to ask yourself when your eating if you're truly still hungry and stop if you're not..... or save some on the carbs and throw away the top of the grinder bread even. It's really unlikely that you've stretched your pouch. My surgeon said that eating more has do do with your hormones and that the pouch really doesn't stretch out like you think it does. We are really now all at the stage where we can eat a weigh****chers portion size of food but the cool thing is that now we don't walk away from the table feeling like we're going to starve to death. Don't worry too much about the plateau....my last one lasted longer than five weeks but is now finally moving. Try cutting out all or most carbs for a few days and see if that gets you moving again.... Good luck!! ~Sue

Hi Luann, I think plateaus happen for many different reasons-too many calories, too little, not enough exercise, body is just resting, hormones and on and on. The hard part is figuring out why you hit this plateau, and it might be something that you have no control over at all!! Frusterating, I know!! You might want to try logging your food intake for a few days (if you're not already). I do this when I have not lost anything for a while. I'm always suprised at how many calories I am consuming when I actually write them down. Yikes!! If nothing else, it will give you a clear idea of what you are actually eating. It sounds like you are doing enough exercise for two people! My surgeon mentioned that after three or four months, walking looses it's effectiveness and that resistance or weight training will do much more for weight loss. Food for thought!! I'm sure that you will get the ball rolling again very soon! Chin up girl!! Keep us posted! C Leigh

luann- I think we all feel we're eating too much now-- But if you log your calories you shouldn't be over a 1000 calories at this point. Watch you liquid intake while eating, though-- that can be flushing food through your system quickly. I was told that walking NO LONGER counts as an exercise for me. I should do it but make sure I am doing other things at least 3 times a week. I lift weights with a personal weight trainer once a week and just started doing yoga. Hang in there- Andrea

Luann If you ready my post from a few days ago "Freaking Out" I have just come off a plateau of 5 weeks. My weight went up and down 2 lbs. I actually increased my excercise and protein in take and nothing. I can say what finally worked for me was I went to FitDay.com and tracked everything I ate. Although my calories were about 800 or less I was eating too much fat. So I changed the way I was eating. Ate more veges and tried to stay as fat free as possible. I do not eat any flour products (bread,pasta,crackers ect) or sugars. I stay all sugar free products and most of my carbs come from veges. What worked is that I had to change something. It took a couple of days of trail and error before I finally saw results. Sticking with good eating habits along with an excercise plan you will eventual lose. Good Luck and Take Care Hugs Pam

Hi Luanne, I have days I can eat.. and days I cannot not. I can eat about a 1/2 sandwich.. the bread gives me trouble and so does pasta and rice.. I avoid it.. I eat the contents but for go the breads. I admit crackers are my weekness. Just yesterday and today I ATE 5 peanut butter cookies with a chocolate kiss on top with a almonds. I immediately felt yuck.. I got them in though... was suprized since the hard boiled egg white I eat for breakfast every morning is harder to get down. I guese this is trial and error period.

I too am eating more - but much, much less than I used to. I eat just the inside of a Subway small sandwich (the meat and cheese). Can't handle much bread. However, mashed potatoes - I can eat a lot. I'm starting to worry about the honeymoon period we are on, ending. Fitday is a great site for logging food and excercise. I'm not consistent about logging, but have done it some. -Pam