Can You Re-Shrink Stomach After Stretching It?

I had my surgery 03/02/2004. I lost 100 (250 to 150). Over the last two years I have been gaining. I went from 180 to 197 inn month in June and FREAKED. I realized it is time to get serious. I started Keto July 1. I've lost the 17 lbs and now Interminit fasting. My hunger is gone. No sugar, no processed carbs, Lots of greens.

Today I made my first meal of the day (Keto Shepherds pie) and could not eat half of it.

Now I think my stomach is shrinking back to surgery size. Is that possible?

I'm no vet or expert, but from what I've read, it's possible that your stomach didn't stretch as much as you thought it did, but a lot of the carbs and starches we love are "sliders." At 6 months out, I could likely still eat a whole bag of potato chips, for example. So if you'd started adding those types of foods back in, you likely just didn't feel restriction as much. But if you're cleaning up your diet and focusing more on dense protein and veg (which is fiberous), those things allow your tool to work its best and give you that restriction more than you've been feeling.

Mom sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in :)

*I'm, not mom :P

really helpful. I believe you are right.

I completely agree with you. I'm 4 years post-op (sleeve), and what you describe is exactly my experience.

Eating "bariatric clean" (my term) with protein forward (and first), fibrous veggies, a few fruits, and whole grains, my restriction is sufficient to lose a few vacation and travel pounds and to satisfy ALL my appetite.

Honestly, I think this combination of sleeve + bariatric clean eating is a bloody miracle.

It may take a few days or a week to get back in the groove, but I bet you will feel the difference very fast.

Very best wishes to the OP.

It's impossible to shrink a stomach that's been stretched. But stretching a stomach post WLS is really very rare.

As you and many others have discovered, your stomach wasn't actually stretched at all. You were just used to eating things that you shouldn't have been eating -- things that we can eat more of.

I can eat a mountain of crackers if I let myself. Like, 3 days worth of calories in one hour. But if i eat a piece of chicken or steak, I can see just how small my a stomach really is.

You're doing great with weight loss and getting back on track. Keep it going.

You can't really stretch out your stomach to pre-surgery size. What surgery did you have? If you had RNY, the pouch is not very stretchy at all, but you can stretch out the stoma that connects your pouch to your intestines, causing food to move through much faster. I understand that takes kind of a lot of dedicated overeating--like eating to pain constantly.

For VSG, put your two index fingers together tip to tip. That's about the size of the VSG stomach. Think about how incredibly painful and dangerous it would be to stretch out something that tiny.

It's more likely that you are eating things that crush down to nothing and slide right on through. If you focus on dense protein first, I think you'll find that your restriction is still all right. :D

Jen

I had an RNY. Thanks Jen. Can you believe no one told me about dense protein! All this time. Very helpful.

I'm 9 1/2 years post RNY. I had an endoscopy and my pouch is 2-3 ounces in size. Very rare to stretch your pouch. Like others said you can eat "slider" type foods as they just empty rapidly out into the small intestine - like through a funnel. There is not a sphincter on your pouch so fluids, soft, puree and foods that break into small particles from chewing just pass quickly out of your pouch. That's why dense foods (meat, veggies, raw fruits) take longer to leave your pouch and you feel satisfied longer.

My pouch won't let me eat more than about 3 ounces of dense food before I feel bloated and feel like I could vomit - I know it's time to stop.

These are my experiences. Best wishes,

Penny

I hope so. Not sure. I am like you but I am 18 1/2 years out. I lost a 130 pounds and kept it off until 5 years ago after my mom passed away and have regained 30 pounds. I just kind of lost myself. Slowly started eating slider foods instead of my protein. Well, I am freaked out but something clicked in my brain a few days ago. That was I have this beautiful little tool and I need to just utilize it. So, I have gone back to the basics just like I was a newbie. Already, I can tell a difference in how my pouch feels. I am mainly doing liquids and soups right now but in a day or two will be advancing to soft proteins, then to firm proteins then to solid proteins along with vegetables. I am planning on measuring all my food out not to eat more than 6 to 8 ounces per meal. I am happy to hear that your pouch is telling you to stop. I think protein is harder to digest and that's why it stays in our pouch longer. Things like carbohydrates and sugars are called slider foods. One thing I did as well was stopped paying attention to the 30 minute rule of water. I drank fluids with all my meals and even before and after my meals and it seemed to make me want more. Since not drinking water even though I am only on liquids right now, the protein shakes and protein soups are keeping me satisfied until the next meal. I have already lost 4 pounds. Granted, probably mostly water weight but hey, it's weight. LOL. I wish you the best and just remember and follow the basics your surgeon told you to follow. I think you will find the weight will come back off.