Should I be measuring?

I am about 3 months post op and I can't seem to figure out this whole eating thing.  Sometimes I feel like I don't eat enough and other times, like tonight I felt like I ate what I needed and guess what I vomited shortly thereafter.  I have a friend who had RNY 5 days after me and she can eat so much more than I can.  We have different surgeons and I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not.  I have looked through all the materials that my surgeons office provided and there is nothing in there about measuring food.  My info just says to stop when you feel full, the problem being I don't seem to know if I am full or not.  Tonight when I ate I was feeling good, I felt like I was eating the right amount and I didn't have rumbling feeling in my stomach any more but about 2 hours later I was throwing it back up.  If anyone has any suggestions or advice that would be awesome.  Also wanted to know how everyone else determines they are full, what tell tale signs do you experience? 

when i eat i weigh my protein sometimes. i try to eat 4oz of protein at a time. I eat chicken and ground beef mostly. i chew my food thougherly (i mean i obsess) because i hate throwing up, and luckily i have not since my rny in feb 08. i also try to eat slowly about 15 minutes and eat small ammounts on my fork at a time. maybe i have been lucky!!!! to me throwing up is one of the worst experiences i could have, so i stop eating before i feel full, but i feel satisfied. Arlene Swanko at Dr. Averbach's office is a great nutritionist who cares about her patients and always returns calls if you have questions. She has been a big help to me!!!!! GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am 8 weeks out and had my surgery with Dr. Andrew Averbach ( i had a vertical sleeve gasrectormy...a little different than most of you). Thus, Arlene Swentko is my nutritioist, too.  Both have said that measureing carbs is not necessary but knowing how much proteint you're getting is important.  Besides, we have to fill out a food diary each day which asks for the amount of protein you eat at each meal and for the total protein/day.  I  measure my proteins at each meal.  That's all i measure.  I am still at the stage of 1.5 - 2 oz. of protein/meal.  I cannot get down more than that.  Arlene has said that i am doing well.  Thus, i believe her.

I THINK ARLENE IS THE BEST!!!!!! SHE IS A REAL PRO!!!!

Lisa,

Funny you should mention it......

I've found that I'm a 4-5 oz max per meal.

I've taken to measuring to insure I don't exceed the total of 5-6 oz for everthing.  If I go over 6 oz then I'm miserable after everything gets down and am almost guaranteed to "see it all again".  Under 6 oz and I'm O.K but full for a longer time so I've found that 4-5 oz is just right.  I measure the heavy and dense stuff-protein, nuts, cheese, etc. and then add a reasonable amount of the veggies/salad/etc.  I've also found that the small GLAD reusable containers carry just about the right amount so I stuff it full to make the right amount

As far as feeling full....if I take an extended time to eat....like 20-30 min then I find that as I hit the 4-5 oz mark then I start to feel "full".  If I rush the meal or go too fast then I may go past the 5-6 oz mark before I feel the pressure/full signal.  You either need to extend the meal time into a signifgicantly longer time period to get the signals from the pouch or put a stop on the total volume/amount at your "size".  The secret is to spread the meals out into 5-6 small mini meals.  I split the day into three parts and target 20-30 gms protein and 20-30 oz water for each section.   Start at breakfast, say 6:30 and then space them out about 3 hrs between....9:30, 12:30, 3:30, 6:30 and finish the day at 9:30 with a shake or light snack.  I haven't had any issues with feeling deprived or hungry and have stopped getting sick when I go over the 6 oz limit.

Old timers on the mens's forum have described a similar experience and when I spoke with Dr. Moein he said that eventually I'd be able to increase to 6-8 oz over the space of a year.  So far I'm feeling OK with it...

Hope this helps