Am I Setting Myself Up For Failure? Guys, I Need Input...

Open RNY 12/27/06  Starting Weight 566 Current Weight 390 Probably above average results. I'm not complaining.  What I'm worried about is stretching my pouch.  Doc told me I would only eat 6oz of food over a 45 minute stretch up to 4 years after surgery. Here I am 5 months out and on a normal day at a normal time,  I can eat a complete Lean Cuisine dinner AND drink some Splenda Kool Aid at the same time.  I'm worried my results are masking possible future complications. Yanno what i mean? Ya gotta understand, Pre-Op, It was not unfounded for me to put down 5000 calories a day. Now that i'm down to less than 1,000, its no surprise i'm driopping like I am. So.... Old time RNY'rs. I need input. From 5 months to 5 years, what are y'all able to put down at any 1 time?                                                                                       

I can eat just about any entire TV dinner without any problems. (Exclusions would be Hungry Man or similar) I sometimes worry about eating too much myself. One thing to always keep in mind is to stop eating at the first sign of being full. I tell that devil on my shoulder that I'll save what's left on my plate and eat it later, even though, most of the time I don't.   You may try the cottage cheese test. If case you're not familiar, here's how you do it. First buy a 16 oz tub of small curd cottage cheese, the next morning (first thing) eat what you can, as fast as you can, once you get that first feeling of being full, STOP!, now take a measuring cup and fill it with water (make sure you know exactly how much water is in the measuring cup), pour the water into the cottage cheese container over the cottage cheese that's leftover, fill the tub up with water to the point where the cottage cheese was before you ate it, now figure out how much water you poured from your measuring cup, the amount of water that you poured into the tub is how big your pouch REALLY is.  I've heard that the pouch can be from 5-10 oz. and still be considered normal post rny. Hope some of this helps! Ron

I would say regardless of how much fits you just have to make sure you're eating according to the guidelines.

On a second note, eating and drinking at the same time is a sacra-sact no-no according to my surg/nutritionist. Anyone else weigh in on this comment? They tell me it can "flush" the system, making it difficult to properly digest the food matter. Granted, I'm only 5 months out, and this could change as the body re-invents iself. Just my .02

I've never heard anything about eating & drikning together causing digestion problems (Even if it did, would that be a bad thing?  Unless, of course, it causes intestinal distress.  When it's a natural consequence of the surgery, doctors call that "malabsorption" and claim it's a benefit.) I think the main problem with drinking with food is it empties the pouch, and therefore you can eat more food and will be hungry sooner.  That probably explains why the OP can eat so much at this point.  If he didn't drink with that TV dinner, I think he wouldn't be able to fini**** without discomfort.  I can eat a whole can of chunky soup in 45 minutes (and feel very full at the end for hours), because the liquid drips into the intestines (carrying some of the solids with it****il it reaches a roadblock.  But I can only eat about 5 ounces of grilled chicken before I need to stop or face consequences. It has taken me some time to adjust to eating without drinking much.  I was one of those guys who ran the waiter ragged getting refills before, and washed eat bite down with drink.  Now I sip a tiny bit only if I feel discomfort, and the frequency of that has gone down with each passing week. My only other thought to the OP is, are you sure you're only eating 1000 calories?  I thought I was only eating about 650 or so, but I logged everything on fitday for the past week, and the range was 725-1150, avg about 925.  Little things add up.  I'm not upset about this number, so I don't plan to cut back, but if you are eating larger meals, it stands to reason that you could be at a higher calorie intake than you realize.

3 Lean Cuisines a day at an average of 300 calories per, 22gr. protein, 7 gr. fat, 3 gr. or less sugar  and 625mg. sodium.

Morning Fish... Theses guys have given you some good direction...I never was able to do the cottage cheese test....but there are a lot of people that swear by it.... you pouch will ....relax....and that is normal..but I understand. if yo are making some poor shoices, you wanna get back on the good foot.... First...get away for the drink with the food...no matter what any methodology some one has...they all include no drink with the food....unless its a sip to mositen the food... If I drind...i'll ge the foamies sure as the world.... at 2 years out...I can eat a healthy choice....I have to streth it to 30 mins...or I will dump...I dump on anything.... if you are getting in about 900 cals a day, you should be fine... If yo hit the heavy protein first, it fills you up faster.... on a universal scale...I can eat all but about 2 bites of a whopper junior...now that is given for portion size....not for a good choice...(no fries and no drink) Watch you exercise, and you will be fine....Great topic...stay in touch Russ