all of a sudden, as of yesterday, I feel zero restriction!!  What the he!!?  I can drink liquids, gulp them in fact. I have had terrible problems with liquids since surgery. I felt zero restriction with dinner, which was chicken and broccoli Atkins meal. I caught myself eating like I did before wls. What's the deal??  I do not like this!

Liquids should go through you because they pass right through the stoma (since we don't have a pyloric valve anymore).  The fact that you can now drink easily is a good thing.  It's a relief to be able to get liquids in without trouble and I think that happens when the swelling has decreased and healing is well on its way.

As far as the atkins meal, I've never had one, but you probably want to measure out your serving before eating to avoid overeating.  And eat the chicken first because the dense protein really will fill you up.  At your stage I could eat about 1/3 cup, some can eat 1/2 cup.  If you measure it, you won't be in danger of overeating.

Don't worry, I'm sure your restriction is still there.  But you still have to follow the guidelines for quantity.  And some days are bigger pouch days for me, while others I feel like I can hardly eat.  

What the person above me said about liquids going through, is correct.

Some other thoughts.

First, your nerves in your stomach may still be healing.  You may be stretching your pouch/stoma and not be feeling it. A lot of the vets talked about how they felt restriction many months AFTER surgery MORE than shortly after surgery. I think ****rogirl and LadyHeidi were the two that mentioned that. I would speak with them.

Now-this is where it gets to be a BIG mind game with you. Even though you dont feel restriction, you MUST stick to the portions/weights dictated by your surgeon. Still follow the directions although you still dont have stomach cues. It is hard and requires displine...but it MUST be done.

Also consider changing the density of your food. The chicken is pretty dense put cooked broccoli might not be.

For example, cottage cheese and fresh tomatoe (lots of water in there) slide right on through me and do not hold me or give me a satisfied/restricted/contented feeling.

However, a hard boiled egg and a baby pepper (raw) stuffed with hummus (more protien) is actually TOO much for me.  I end up eating half fo the egg and all of the stuffed mini-pepper.

Stick to the proportions and try other food densities.

Good luck

Was it the chicken and broccoli alfredo meal by Atkins?  That is 9 oz of food.  That is definitely more than I would feel comfortable eating at 10.75 months out.  I weigh all my food -- I eat 3.5 to 4 oz at at a time.  Considering that there are 330 Calories in that meal, I am assuming there is quite a bit of alfredo liquid in it... thus maybe a few oz are liquid that passes through the stoma easily? I have been able to drink liquids quickly from about 5/6 weeks out.  

edited for verb agreement.

Imo - Atkins meals are heavily processed food with more fat.  Fat makes that for more like a slider food. I can eat that and then some. But real chicken, cooked by me - 4-6 oz and i am full. 

Can I ask you a question Kat? when you say weigh 3.5oz to 4oz are you talking scale weighing or measuring cup? Do you weigh veggies too? I do weigh my meat but I was just wondering.

Of course you can!  I actually weigh most foods (dense) on a scale.  I measure only soft foods (like yogurt). I don't tend to weigh veggies-- I usually measure them because they're an afterthought to the dense protein. My whole food amount usually is a total of 4 to 4.5 oz weighed at 10.5 months out. For example: 3 oz meat and a half cup of broccoli weighs about 4 to 4.5 oz. hope that helps!

Thanks, I am 4 months out and trying still to figure it out. I usually weigh out my meat 3oz, sometimes I fini**** sometimes I don't and then a small amount of veggies.

Sounds like you are doing everything right!

Atkins meals are a terrible choice post-op.  You should be developing good habits post op and stay away from processed food.