Help! How do I know if I am eating too much?

I am just about 5 months PO. I can have 2 ounces of meat and about 1-2 cups of salad before my pouch says "stop". Am I stretching it out? How come I can fit so much salad and not as much of something else? I went to a nutritionist and she said that if I can tolerate it, it is fine. Am I stretching out my pouch though?

The reason you can fit so much salad is because it is mostly water. When you bruise the cell walls of salad by chewing, it releases the water. If you want to see this, take some salad and put it in a blender or chop it up, and you'll see that what starts as a large volume is actually wilting down to a couple of tablespoonsful. I think you would be stretching your pouch out if you are constantly eating past the point of comfort into the discomfort zone. Some enlargement of the pouch is to be expected as healing goes along. In other words, as the pouch heals, it will be able to expand more during meals. Just don't make it a habit to eat to the point of being sick. One of the MOST important things for longterm success is to learn to eat to the point of SATIETY. This is the point where you've had enough to be satisfied both mentally and physically so that you won't be hungry too soon after eating and it'll be able to hold you over till the next meal. irene

Thank you so much Irene. That really makes sense. No, I try never to eat until I feel stuffed or sick. You have made me feel so much better. I was really worried, but you are right, it is all water. Sincerely, Judy