Will it ever get better?

Hello all!

I am just shy of two months out from my RNY.  And, although my husband constantly reminds me that this is a long journey, not a race, I am getting frustrated. I feel like I hardly eat anything. Not as in compared to before surgery, just in general, I feel like I hardly eat anything.  I feel like I ate Thanksgiving dinner after eating a stick of cheese and I will feel full for the rest of the day.  I'm not asking to be able to eat 3 slices of pizza, I would give anything to eat a meal with my family of a piece of chicken, steamed broccoli and some rice.

For instance, last night my husband and our two year old daughter went to Bob Evans for dinner. I ordered the 3 cheese omelet, a good choice right? I ate probably 4 extremely small bites and had the feeling that I was full and if I ate more, it was going to come back up. This was after not having eaten in about 5 hours (bad I know).  Does anyone think my trouble is that I'm not eating often enough and my new system doesn't know how to handle it when I try to eat? I admit, I don't eat 5 to 6 meals like I'm supposed to, it's more like 2 or three (again, bad I know). 

I'm just having so much trouble eating. Not only is there no desire to eat to begin with, when I do, it's uncomfortable.

Has anyone else experienced this? How long did it take you to be able to eat a meal consisting of multiple items? I've got a case of buyers remorse right now.

 The absolutely hardest part of my whole journey was the 6 week span between 6 weeks post-op and 3 months out. That was when I transitioned to solid, dense foods and had to really learn and understand what "eating" meant. The physical part of eating was tough since I wasn't chewing well enough and got food stuck a lot - a lot, lot ... like a couple times a day.

But mostly it was the mental part that was even harder. Feeling like I was so unusual... abnormal... and all I wanted was to feel like everyone else. Of course I was dealing with time right during and after the holidays when everyone around me was indulging and I was suffering. 

Yes. It does get easier. A lot easier. Soon your pouch will be fully healed and all the surgery-swelling will have gone down and you'll be able to eat a bit more than 3 or 4 bites. In fact, it's pretty common for people to freak out around the 3 or 4 month mark because they notice that suddenly they're able to eat "so much more" than in the early days.  So yea, it's right around the corner for you. 

My big concern for you is if you're getting all your protein. Are you doing protein shakes between meals? or are you relying only on the 2 or 3 meals a day to get all your protein in?  By now you should be consistently getting 60-70g per day. 

Right now you NEED to eat. Even if you don't feel hungry (which you won't anyway since the nerves in your stomach are still not working) -- you still need to eat.  Figure out a schedule and stick to it. I had an hour-by-hour schedule for fitting it all in when I was early out and now, 3 years later, I"m still following the same basic plan for eating.  At this early stage, while your body is still healing, protein is essential. Think of it as medicine if you must. So yes, you need to be eating 5 or 6 meals/snacks a day and a couple of those should be protein shakes of some sort. 

Good luck
Pam

I totally agree with Pam, and since our surgeries were only 2 or 3 days apart we we're very similar in our experiences (at 6 weeks out we had already endured Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years!).  As I recall at 6 weeks I was eating 1-2 shakes a day and 2 meals a day, my meals consisted of 1/4 cup of refried beans w/ melted cheese, but within a couple of weeks of that  I started putting the refried beans in tostito baked 'bowls' w/ a bit of guac., or 1/4 cup of tuna w/ allot of mayo on 1/2 a wasa crisp, or egg drop soup, I loved salty foods back then, yummy!

Be patient you'll get there, in the mean time, learn to listen to your pouch, it will start telling you when it's full, it's important to listen, if not you may regret it :).   As Pam said your still healing, your pouch is still swollen, you will be able to fit in more food, in fact much more than you ever though you could, or some days wanted to :).

Good luck,

Edie

I completely agree with Pam and Edie!  It is tough at first, but I promise, it DOES get better!  I experienced the same thing you describe where I would only eat a few bites and feel as though I had just finished a Thanksgiving dinner.  And I was getting the foamies all of the time because I wasn't taking small enough bites and chewing well enough.

For me, it was about 5-6 months before I finally felt 'normal' as far as not getting food stuck or getting sick after eating.  My daughter had surgery May 10th so she's just over 4 months out and she called me this weekend, first of all excited because she was under 200 for the first time in years and secondly because, as she stated 'finally felt normal again going out to dinner with friends'. 

I am a year asnd a half out and can eat quite a bit more, obviously that when I was 3-4 months out, but I still have days where I eat a couple bites and feel stuffed.  And other days, I feel like a bottomless pit. 

It does get better!!  You'll get there.  For now, it's just important to try and get in all of your protien, vitamins, and fluids. 

Nan

 

That's the wonderous thing of this surgery - its a tool to help you get the weight off. 

A month after my surgery was Thanksgiving and I remember sitting with a small plate with a small spoonful of several things on it.  AND it took me as long to eat that as everyone else ate their huge plates of full.  I still find it amazing when I watch people eat a lot of food and remember I used to be like that.  I concentrated on the reason for the holiday - not just the food. 

I honestly enjoy the fact I can't eat as much as everyone else.  Like Nan, there's some days I can and some days I can't - its the nature of the beast.   I have never mourned food.  I am SO glad I'm not able to eat like I did in my old life (quantity wise).

Sorry to hear you're having buyers remorse - but I will promise you - it WILL get better.  Enjoy these times when your restriction is at its best, to learn your new eating habits and be able to have the benefits of quick weight loss.  There are times I wish I could go back to that.