So, how does it happen?

Granted, I am just shy of being eight (8) weeks or 2 months post-op, but this question occurs to me with almost every meal....

In one of my classes in the lead-up to surgery, we were told that at some point after being one (1) year or so post-op, it is possible/likely to be able to eat a quantity of food roughly equal to that which would fit on a picnic plate...as a concept, I get it...but, when I get full (and I mean full in that even the idea of one more bite is nauseating) after about two or three bites of whatever I'm eating (shredded turkey breast, ultira-thin sliced ham, refried beans, etc.) it is damn near impossible to get my head around that allegedly likely reality...

My surgeon's chief resident briefly mentioned that there have been some who employ "tricks" to stretch and expand their pouch (why would someone do this?) in order to dissuade me from doing so myself...she needn't have bothered...

Could some veterans give some help, here?

Thanks so much in advance...

Not a veteran, but you will discover around your six month mark you can eat more. And it can be a little scary. I eat between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of food at a time now at 8 months out.

Think about this though: It's not realistic to think that 1/4 cup or less of food at a time for the rest of our lives would work.

I didn't employ any tricks to stretch my pouch. I don't want to. Our pouches are made of the least stretchy portions of our stomachs.

I am 71/2 months out and can easily eat a cup if not more but I don't of food.  It was about 41/2 months that hunger came back and I could really eat.  I am thinking at a year out, I probably could eat a plate full but would be stuff.  It also depends on what I eat as well.  If I eat  a 1/2 cup of meat, I can't eat much more.  A cup of of yogurt , plus berries and some veggies......easy.

The pouch naturally expands some over time.  It's supposed to.  You'd waste away if you could never eat more than two or three bites again for the rest of your life.

But, I like getting so full on so little...

I know.  And you'll always get full on less than "normal" people eat.  But you couldn't survive on three bites of turkey for the rest of your life.

I think part of what makes this the so-called honeymoon period is because, right now, it's really easy not to overeat, which is comforting to people who have long histories of chronic overeating. But like Kelly said, you can't live on this early post-op stage forever. And really, would you want to?

That's why it's also so important to use this time of somewhat "forced compliance" to rework attitudes and habits towards food, so that when you CAN eat in higher volume, it will be easier to make better choices and those old temptations will be fairly nullified.

I'm a little over 3 months out, and I can eat a cup of soft things--yogurt or soup, for example. Or about 1/2 a cup of more solid things. It's just a gradual thing, and sometimes, my pouch is tight and I can't eat that much, and sometimes I feel like a bottomless pit. Your mileage will vary, but you'll get to know your own limitations as you go and start adding in more food (both in variety and quantity).

I am about 5 1/2 months out and I can now eat between 3/4 cup and 1 cup of food. It seems wrong but It really is going right along with what the plan says I'd be able to eat. I've was eating around 700-800 calories/day. Now it's more like 800-900. It makes me nervous but I'm still losing:)

Well, you WILL be able to eat much more than you can now, but I am closing in on 5 years post-op and unless the food is something spread in a fairly thin layer over the whole plate, I couldn't eat a whole plate of food.  I know, however, that Nik -- among other RNY folks that I have had the pleasure of dining with/around -- can eat a lot more than I can (even of roughly the same stuff), but I would be surprised if even Nik could eat a whole plate of food.  I use salad plates at home (cannot remember the last time I used the regular plates... they look HUGE!) and probably use 1/2 to 2/3 of the plate.  

Samples of recent meals (keep in mind that I measure nothing other than by sight):
1) one bite of half of a French Dip sandwich with the bread and then the rest of the meat, cheese, and onions from that half, plus three normal-sized bites of broccoli with melted full fat cheddar cheese 
2) half a grilled chicken breast (average size) and two spoonfuls (a standard vegetable serving spoon) of green beans
3) half a turkey sandwich (six slices of deli turkey, one slice of havarti cheese folded in half, and lettuce on one slice of whole grain bread cut in half), 5 or 6 strawberries and half a dozen or so blackberries
4) one scrambled egg with onions, cheese, & green peppers, 2 average pieces of bacon, and a 4 oz container of yogurt

Hardly a whole plate of food...


Lora

Thank you, ****rogirl!

I honestly don't want the honeymoon from food to end...come to think of it, I didn't want the honeymoons of both my marriages to end either and they did...they had to...so will this one...

I can't help but feel that I will need to be even more resolved to continued practice in the newer, healthier eating habits I'm establishing now...