How to know if I'm full?

im never hungry, it's hard work to get in all liquids and anytime I try to eat puréed my stomach cramps. How do I know how much to eat? What's the minimum amt I should be eating?

You cannot rely on your stomach to send "fullness" signals. Weigh and measure your portions before eating, it's the only way to know if you're taking in appropriate amounts.

If your stomach doesn't like purees yet, then don't pu**** Go back to full liquids for a while and give your body more time to heal.

At minimum, you need 60+ g protein per day, whether from shakes or purees. You may need to sip shakes all day or try 1T of puree at a time several times a day to reach that point at first.

My surgeon said to focus on getting my fluids in as the #1 top priority no matter what. Then she said do the best I could to get my protein in each day, and just keep working at it. She said sometimes it's very difficult to get the protein in early on after the surgery and a short time falling short isn't critical, just keep working to get more in each day.

However slowly you're eating, work to slow it down further. I can tell you through every stage, and even today, that's my biggest challenge. I used to wolf my food down VERY fast, and it's a hard habit to break. If I eat to quickly, I am physically miserable. Only when I slow down to what seems a ridiculously slow pace do I avoid that.

And as another poster stated, we all heal and are ready to progress at different rates. If your body doesn't like purees right now, stick to liquids a while longer and then try a little bit of purees again. But SLOWLY.

Once you're on solid food, it's important to measure out what you're advised to eat by your team. You may not be able to eat that much right off the bat, but that resolves over time, and you may not get feedback from your sleeve that you're full until you're PAST full and that can be VERY miserable. So if your team says 1/4 cup, measure it out, and if you don't eat all of it, that's fine, but don't eat MORE. The eating slowly also gives your sleeve more time to give you the signals that you're full and avoid the TOO FULL. Some people also get clues like hiccupping as they get full even if they're not getting the full sensation yet. So pay attention to your body and look for signs you can rely on.

The nerves in your stomach have been severed, so you may not experience a physical sensation of fullness for several weeks. I think I did around week 5.

What do your surgeon's plan recommend?

Mine was 80 grams of protein and approximately 800 calories or less. In the early stages, Premier Protein shakes were wonderful because they provide 30 grams of protein.

You need to get in all your liquids or you could become dehydrated. Try liquids at various temperatures.

In addition to what everyone else said, also know that some people never really feel "hungry" or "full" again, at least not the way you're used to. I know at this point I can eat no more than 6oz per meal, or it's too much...and depending on how much of that is solid protein, even 6oz can be too much. I try to stick to 5oz because often that 6 is just a bit too much, and it sits at the bottom of my throat, I can feel it. NOT a pleasant sensation. That's the only way I know I've eaten too much.

I've heard it can take a year for those sensations to come back...and maybe never. That's why I measure and weigh religiously, every single time.

At your stage, 2 weeks out, I was on soft foods and probably managed a couple of tablespoons at a time, no more. By 9 weeks I was only able to manage a half a cup...so don't push yourself!