I NEED THIS PLEASE: Anyone else who is about 6 months out have this issue?

Hello my gang of skinny people!  Youa re my only source of solid information and I'm trying to make sure that everything is fine versus crossing over boundries that shouldn't be crossed. 

I'm having a couple of questions about my eating habits that are just strange but I'm uncertain if maybe I'm just not thinking too much about it.

My issue is that I'm not in any form of food lust or anything, so I'm eating 3 meals daily that are wholesome, very nutritious, and filling...

The problem is the last bit....filling...  There from months 3-5 I had big portions of food, and now, suddenly I'm not able to eat much again.  I fill up (not to the point where you have the fist in chest syndrome, but just till i feel full)... and then i stop eating but the portions are shrinking to the point that I'm not hungry near my mealtimes. 

(My snack is a protein shake made with 8 Ounces of Almond milk, 1 packet of splenda, 2 tablespoons of coconut fiber, 2 scoops of Nectar powder.)   After that thing, i have no need to eat...

I also drink at every single meal and have always drank during that time... yes, yes,bad tommy... but i wanted to inform you. (i've been doing that since week one of solid foods).  So i was wondering if anyone else is going through the same experience or if I'm on my own.  I will also let everyone know that I eat a ton of soups (mainly at lunchtime for the sake of convenience and the sake that it's easy to eat and normally i can enjoy more quantity (because the RnY leaves us with no pyloric valve, so it's necessary to eat more to keep it in your belly....another reason tehy don't want you to drink since it flushes out your tummy).  either way, even the soup trick isn't doing it since I can't eat the whole can like I was doing before...  Anyone? Anyone?  i would like to know what an appropriate portion really is now...and I don't mean ounce wise...I mean like what is i that you're used to eating?  Is it a big portion?  a small portion?  can you eat a can of something for a meal?  how big is the can?  I ould like to compare sizes of the 6 month-9 month surgeries to see how ur portions have gained size and how full we feel.... so this could impact a ton of people including those who are getting their surgeries now to help them adapt to real-life standards of how to gauge what is normal versus some text book definition.

The reason it's so important for me personally because I'm still pulling weight and although i've slowed the weight loss down by eating more, it hasn't stopped.  Many of you would recommend talking with the doc, however, it is my wish to continue to be more relaint on the actual results that you are experiencing because I know that you are also still losing weight. 

I know many of you would say that continuing to lose weight isn't a problem, but it is a problem when I reached my goal and i'm looking like my ribs have a life of their own.  (I never in a million years thought that it would be a bad thing to be able to count my ribs, but sometimes it's seems to make others think that there's an eating disorder when i'm eating so healthy and i'm doing the things that i always wanted to do, but I'm not gaining muscle yet I'm losing my toughest fat reserves and it's looking like my weightloss is unhealthy.  (I've got nutritionist approved meals that she says are the healthiest she's seen while being on this island.  She's sent my examples to Atalanta to confer with her collegues to confirm, which they did.)  So your answers mean a lot, and I APPRECIATE the time you would take to respond to this post.  it would help more than just me.

To any of you *****spond and who are upfront and frank about your results and examples, i say grassy-ass.  And I mean it and stuff...

T.

Hey there T.,

I'm about 7 months out, and I've noticed that depending on how I'm sitting, or standing, makes a difference on how much I can eat. Eating sitting down, kinda slouchy, I can eat about 9 ounces give or take, but standing up, that gets cut in half  just about. Also if I eat carbs, ie, bread, pasta, rice...i can eat more of that than if I was just eating straight protein. It's all very strange and very relative to the situation. I would keep tabs on how you are positioned when you eat, and see if that makes a difference.


Michelle

Well T, I'll give you an answer even though I'm not one of the "skinny people" yet!  I can still barely eat a whole scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast.  I'm eating (yesterday) about 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with 6 or 8 mandarine oranges in it.  For dinner I had ordered 2 meatballs with some sauce and I was only able to eat one of them.  I still can't tollerate large portions at all.  When I have a chicken breast it can usually eat no more than 1/3 of it.  I don't do much soup at all.  If I do I drink the broth off my stew and then eat the beef and carrots etc. 

I'm trying my best to stay compliant so that when my "honeymoon" is over at 9-18 months I have learned and adjusted to new eating habits.  I don't claim to do all of this perfectly but...I NEVER want to go back where I was before.  I have actually seen and know of a few that have gained 20+ pounds at about 2 years out and that thought scares me to death.  I wouldn't be concerned at all with not being able to eat very much.  I would consider that a bonus for me any way!!  This was probably not much help to you but I'd think just trying to eat more often would be an answer for you.  Just a thought!

Hi, Thomas.
I have absolutely no experience on which to draw, but I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry you're experiencing this and I feel (and share) your concern that you are losing too much fat and not gaining muscle.
I do have an observation and, despite lack of experience, I hope you won't mind a suggestion or two. You said that after your protein shake, you have no need to eat. I wonder if cutting out that shake for a few days might cause an increase in appetite, and then you'll be able (hopefully) to get in your protein in more solid foods.
Also, you (of all people) know that carbs increase appetite, give energy (at least for a time), and cause weight gain. What if you added more carbs to your diet, at least until you see some improvement in appetite.
I know you know the drill as far as small bites, eating slowly, etc., so I won't even go there. :)
I just thought of something else. What about trying those shakes (have no clue of any brand names because, obviously, it was never an issue for me) that are used by people who need to gain weight?
Well, T., that's about all I can think of. Please know that I'm praying for you, and I believe that God will give you wisdom and a way to get to a place where you enjoy eating and are able to eat enough to get all muscley and stuff. :)
Blessings,
Mary

Hi, Sherry.
I just wanted to clarify. I'm not advocating NOT following the WW diet guidelines. I am concerned that T. is losing too much weight, his ribs are showing, and he's unable to increase muscle mass. I wondered if adding more carbs would help, in the short term. I'm not an expert, for sure, but I felt it was all right to make some suggestions, food for thought, as it were, even though they are not part of the guidelines. Keep in mind that the WW guidelines are to help patients reach their goal weight. They do not address the issues involved in losing too much, too fast. I'm sure it's difficult for T., being so far away from the staff who helped him with the surgery, but I know he'll be able to find his way.
Blessings,
Mary

Hi, Sherry.
It's okay. I'm not upset or anything. When I got to the "You guys are not following doctor's orders" (something like that in your last line), it hit me that people could read my reply to T. and think that I'm advocating eating carbs, not following the diet guidelines, etc.  I've just been concerned about T.'s rapid weight loss, etc. I meant my reply to you to be a clarification and, most of all, a clarification to anyone reading my original reply to T.  It's all good (hopefully). :)
Blessings,
Mary

Hi there,

I would just like to defend the whole rice, pasta, bread comment that I posted above. I never said that I eat those things regularly, or even seldomly. I just said that if I do eat them, it tends to work that I eat more of them than I am normally able to eat of healthier foods. I'm not advocating eating carbs, nor am I saying that is what my doc or nut told me to do. I was replying to T's post, because I know that he is allowed to eat carbs, he has talked to Dr. Broussard and gotten approval from all the right sources.
I was giving him an example of how carbs affect my eating capabilities, not telling him that's what he should be eating. If anyone reads that, I'm sure they could deduce from tha post that eating carbs is a bad thing  for post WLS patients. Because I specifically said that I am able to eat more of the carbs...and that is a bad thing.
I would really appreciate not getting bashed for giving a friend some advice based on HIS diet, noone else's. He is the only post WLS patient I know that has lost all of his excess weight too fast, and is having trouble staying at a healthy weight. Therefore, of course the Nutritionists and Doctors aren't going to talk about his situation as a normal thing. This subject is not something you learn all about in one Diet class. What they teach in the diet class is the basic rules that you should follow in the case that everything goes normally and smoothly.

Obviously, T's situation isn't normal, so it is between him and his doctor and nutritionist as to how he should go about his diet. Since I'm guessing you are neither one of those people, it is really not your place to bash him or anyone else for not following the specific rules, as you do not know their exct situation.

We all get the fact that you don't approve of T's methods of dieting, but I will be one to testify that his recipes do work, and my nutritionist is completely fine with most of them. I know that you haven't had your surgery yet, so I'm not putting you down about not knowing some of the stuff that happens afterwards, but stalls are frustrating, and they do happen. And T's recipes and methods have been one of very few things that have gotten me out of my stalls.

I guess all I'm saying is don't diss what you haven't tried before.

Hi Honey-Bunny,

Frst I'd like to say that I am glad to see you back, I've missed you and those wonderful recipes!!

Okay so let get into the nitty-gritty of things, I am not quite as far out as you are (my RNY was 7/30) but I have noticed that for a while I was able to eat about maybe 3 -4 oz. and honestly sometimes maybe even a bit more than that.  So yes I was able to eat more for a while but, this really started to make me nervous about reverting back into my old ways so I began to limit my intake and try not to push my limits of being full.  Here within the last week or week in a half I have noticed that my appetite has decreased (except for late at night, this is my inner fat-girl trying to get out again!!! ) and my intake has decreased too. 

I honestly can't tell you how much I am eating, I just recognized that my pouch seems to have shrunk back down  (which I am okay with).  I do also drink while eating, but I don't drink very much as it makes me "Full" faster. 

I am rounding the corner on my goaled weight, I have about 30 lbs more to lose and it seems that this week my numbers are dropping like flies...  I lost probley 7 lbs this week alone... 

But I too have wondered how and when my numbers will begin to level out.  My ribs are out there too although I don't quite feel that I am beginning to look too thin (I think I may have a bit of body Dismorphia b/c I still feel like I am kinda Heavy...).

I have planned to have plastics done and I am wondering do I need to be at goal when I have everything nipped and tucked ( I think I could lose about 20-30 lbs in skin alone...)? If I don't reach goal when I have plastics then I would be at goal or maybe even near it Post-Plastics.

I do agree that with time and definately in moderation we (RNYers) are able to have starches once you've reached the point of trying to begin to level off.  Soda well Not so much but you know that.

I hope I've given you at least a little bit of insight about your concerns.  I know I tend to ramble...

MUUAAH!!!