help please.... newbie is confussed

Hello All,  I am 17 days out from RNY WSL I am not eating 6 times a day like i should be but am doing 4 times. I am getting all water and protien in!! But not sure if I'm eating too much I get one cup of a shake, soup, or mushie foods. I'm still on full liquids but have mashed potatos and that too is just under a cup. I do feel full but on overly! I also do have the major burps after i have anything to eat.  Any comments would help.

hi candy.congrats on having your wls,if you have any questions about your eating after wls. call and talk to your dietician. after surgery you have to learn to eat all over again.your pouch is smaller and therefore your not able to eat like you could before.i think that you getting all your protein and water in is good.just dont drink fluids soon after your done eating cuz it just washes the flood and nutrients out of your body and then you want to eat again.i am 7 years post op and still careful about what i eat and still eat out of a small plate and bowl.burps and gas is natural after wls.one thing you can try is take a bite of food and then set your fork or sppon down that way it will help you to eat slower. i still do that.also.i try playing a computer game while eating so it will take me longer to eat. refreid beans are good to eat and a good source of protein. my dietician told me it takes your brain 20 minutes to tell your stomach that your full so as you start  feeling  the least little full stop eating.hope this helps you.

Spread you meals out so you release nutrients all day. You pylorus valve doesn't do that any more so you have to. Don't eat to be full. Eat to supply fuel. Cravings will come soon too and that is your body saying it isn't getting something it needs so the body memory calls for the food it remembers having what it needs. Take note of what it is that you are craving - figure out the real need. But don't give in to the craving. Look for the proper food. kp

that's really good advice about the cravings, kevin...

Hi Kevin, You are right about not giving in to the old cravings.  When I feel like I want something I shouldn't have, I grab some granola or a graham cracker.  Every time I give in and eat junk food, I gain a couple of pounds.  I look at it this way:  our BODIES crave fuel and nutrition, our HEADS crave the junk...it's a mental thing.  There are times when I get that "I want something but just don't know what" feeling and will eat a bite of several different types of food until I "feel" satisfied.  Each time I open the fridge or cupboard in search of that -something- I know I should just get a protein shake or eat some yogurt, but like anyone else, I sometimes give in to the head hunger/ junk food craving.  I'll eat 4 or 5 potato chips, or maybe a handful of pretzels or something.  I sometimes even eat the bread.  I know....BAD KATHY!  But my BODY always talks to me when I give in...I get really full and yucky feeling, bloat up like a methane balloon, or fall asleep from the carb bolus.  I never get to the throwing up point although I know if I could just get it up and out of that pouch, I'd feel better sooner.  Feeling like that is what keeps me on track.  I am human and I do fall off the wagon from time to time, but I get right back on by having the granola or graham crackers instead because I know if I eat those chips I'm gonna feel like crap for a couple of hours. To update you, at 19 months post RNY, I am holding fast at around 155 pounds, give or take 4 or 5 lbs. I play with every month due to being female.  My highest weight was 309 lbs.  My plastics were done in November '07.  I still have one stubborn suture causing minor aggravation on my abdominal incision line. My stitches didn't dissolve---each and every one, literally hundreds of them, came to the surface and abscessed until I could pull them out with a tweezer.  Labs are excellent, WITHOUT taking vitamins, so apparently I am doing -something- right.  I do however, take the sublingual B-12. Ed hovers around 185 lbs. at almost 4 yrs. post RNY, down from his highest weight of 445 lbs.  He looks emaciated to me but he feels good and except for a low platelet count, his labs are good.  His skin issues are manageble so he will not have any plastics. His son Chris had his surgery March 1, 2007 and has since lost over 300 lbs.  He's around 245 lbs. and looks great.  His highest weight was 561 lbs.  Major skin issues there but his surgeon doesn't want him to have plastics until he maintains his goal weight of 220 lbs for a year.  He doesn' t take vitamins either and his labs have been good so far too.  Life is good. KathyG