Talk me off the roof - portion size

Hi folks!

This has been weighing on my mind a lot, lately.  I feel like 6 ounces of food just isn't enough for me anymore.  I think I'm not full until 7 or even 8 ounces of food.  My first meal of the day often has me wanting even more - 8 ounces at least, I think.

I know that this is WAY less than I used to eat, and I feel almost silly worrying about going over my 6 oz ration by two ounces.  It's just that I'm only 5 months out and I'm comparing myself to the amounts I hear other people eat on here.  Some people say they're satisfied with a couple "egg bites"...I need 2 eggs minimum to feel sated (I usually eat half of a 3 egg omelette, or 3 eggs with a small amount of something else like corned beef hash or fruit).

When I do strictly limit myself to 6 measured ounces, I'm usually hungry about 2 hours later.  That extra ounce or two of food helps me get to 3 or 4 hours.

What's the deal?  Have I stretched out my stomach already?  Is this head hunger?  Am I silly for stressing over two more ounces?  I haven't had foamies for months, now, and only have a minor tummy rumble if I eat more than a few spoonfuls of the corned beef hash I like to treat myself to once a week or so.

I'm still losing, I think - tonight's weigh in will be my first in 6 weeks, so I'm hoping for good things and that I haven't been secretly blowing it by eating too much.  The "thin" jeans I bought a month ago won't stay up without a belt anymore, so that's a good sign, I think.

I'm stressing.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I don't know that I have any real good answers for you Sweetie... except I will toss these few thoughts out there and use what works.

One of the things I do to alevaiate the angst is I weigh every day. After WLS, the results of what you do one day are pretty clearly expressed the following morning. Now, I understand that it's not just about the food, I can stall loss with not enough water as well as eating too much but it is a fairly good indicator.

I am 7 months out too and find myself not being satisfied with only 1/3 - 1/2 cup. And I do eat more but not every time I eat. Only sometimes, only when I feel it's truly necessary.

Another thing that helps me is to look at what you are eating. Try a few days of the more dense proteins. Eggs are soft, cottage is soft, even hash is pretty soft in the way it digests fast. Try more dense proteins like tuna or as dense as your pouch can take it. Dense proteins will keep you full much longer. If I eat cottage cheese or eggs or soft beans, I'm starving in 3 hours.

Also if you are eating more than protein in a meal (some carbs) eat the protein all first. Eating all the protein first will keep you full longer as well. Try starting with 6 oz of just dense protein and see how that feels.

And yes, this is the time the head hunger comes back. I'm wrestling those daemons as well. And it sucks! 

Big hugs for better answers. :) 

Thanks for the ideas.  I do find that I can be perfectly happy with just the 6 ounces of dense protein - but my NUT chewed me out for doing that, and is making me eat more vegetables.  They just don't fill me up, though....  Totally get your points.

I can't wait to be under 350 so I can weigh myself at home.

Seriously you were told to eat MORE veggies? I know every program is different but everything I've been told, especially for the majority of the time you need to be really pushing the loss (that optimal window of opportunity) that veggies are really useless filler and that 75% of everything that goes in our mouth should be protein and of the highest quality. I'm not saying don't listen to your nut but if it's not working for you, you might question it. There are three sources of calories and only three... protein, carbs and fat. Veggies are carbs and don't contain anything you don't get in your daily vits. So why eat them when they digest really fast and with your malabsorption you aren't getting much from them anyway? Your body is busy converting your fat to glycogen for body fuel. The protein keeps your muscles from wasting and gives you a source of compacted energy that keeps you from total starvation. I mean it's only my opinion, and I'm not a nutritionist, but I have had bypass surgery as we all have and I'm voting for less veggies and replace it with the same amount of dense protein.

Another thought is since veggies are carbohydrates, it may actually be triggering your cravings. True it's not like toast and jelly but your body gloms onto the sugar they do have and it may be making you more hungry, chemically.

You'll get there either way but which is more comfortable for you?

I was told to eat more vegetables because there are enzymes in them necessary for processing your food that are not contained in vitamins.  According to my nut, my meals are supposed to be 50% protein, 25% starch (non-white starch, like sweet potato or whole grain), 25% veggies.

Makes it hard to get in my really high protein goals.

And yes, we each need to follow the dictates of the program we're in. I just don't know how you're expected to live on 9 oz of protein a day. I don't think I could do it. I find even eating 2-3 small (wheat thin size) crackers makes me start craving. I have to stick with almost all protein to not feel hungry. I would be interested to know more about the enzymes your nut is talking about... to do more research on this. Maybe I'm not getting enough. I don't eat any veggies. I do protein 75-90% and 20-10% grain and 10% fat such as olive oil or nuts. The fat is really necessary for cell regeneration and brain function. Anyway, good discussion. I wonder if it wouldn't hurt to take a week and try going back to the protein and see how you feel. I'm not advocating misbehaving but I've found that if I did everything my nut said, I'd still be eating cottage cheese for three meals a day. I think we have to find what works for us... a program is good but individual bodies and reactions are different. As long as you feel good and still lose, make it your own. IMHO

Well, on my program I'm supposed to have 3 meals and 6 protein based snacks.  So there's more protein than it looks like at first glance.  Those snacks don't carry me far, though.

I must disagree with you on this one.  Glucose is the ONLY fuel source for the brain, central nervous system, and red blood cells.  The body requires a minimum of 100 grams per day to meet the brain's needs.  Look at the symptoms for hypoglycemia:

• hunger
• shakiness
• nervousness
• sweating
• dizziness or light-headedness
• sleepiness
• confusion
• difficulty speaking
• anxiety
• weakness

These are mostly brain issues.

Also, fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber and vitamins.  Just sayin'.

ETA:  converting fat to glycogen of VERY inefficient and ater a while, the body stops doing it.

Hi Sharyn,

You are right that the brain being only 2% of out total body weight does require a full 20% of the total calorie expenditure to stay healthy and it's true it does run on only sugar (glycogen); however, no matter what we eat, the brain is going to take it's lion's share of what it needs. Our bodies are hybrids... we can use anything for fuel and although there is an optimum ratio (some say) of fat, carbs, and protein, but the body can easily make glycogen (convert) from fat and doesn't need the carbohydrates we've been told it does by the traditional nuts. Since most of us have an abundance of fat reserve and because we are burning it off at an excellerated rate via the bypass surgery, we have all glycogen our brains need to keep running efficiently. And by virtue of the bypass surgery, we can eat practically no carbs (10% total intake) and not run into the blood sugar problems that non-WLS people would eating the same carb/protein/fat ratio. The theory is that is why most people who have WLS have instantaneous cure of diabetes... bypassing the stomach and the dumping of even a tiny amount of carb directly into the intestines stabilizes the insulin spikes (both highs and lows).

Because our bodies have been reconstructed in the way we absorb nutrients, I still don't believe we need the amount of carbs, especially in the form of vegetables that this nut is recommending. Actually a more efficient form of carbohydrates rather than veggies (or fruit) would be whole grains since they metabolize much slower. Two small whole grain crackers take up less space than broccoli in that tiny pouch and is a more concentrated source of carbohydrate.

I do believe in eating some carbohydrate every day but to replace proteins in a meal with veggies, this soon out from surgery when the pouch is still so small, I think is ill advised.

And this is just my opinion, albeit an educated one from the research I've done.

And this is one thing I love about this forum... we can share ideas. I'm going to do more reading on this and talk more with folks tonight at our support group meeting (which is attended by the docs and nuts). I may end up eating my words but I'll be sure to let you know.

While what you are saying is true, it doesn't change the fact that when the body uses stored fat as a fuel source, the byproduct is ketone bodies.  An excess of ketones can lead to an acidotic state.

Also, vegetables are a good source of antioxidants (what I think the OP mistakenly referred to as enzymes) and natural is better than man made any day.

Also, I don't get hypoglycemic from broccoli, but do with crackers, even when they're whole grain.