I'm concerned about lunch out today

I had my RNY last September so about 10 months. I have lost 105 lbs and am 135 and very happy with that number. What concerned me today, I went out for lunch (have not gone to restaurants very often since my RNY) and ordered a salad with shrimp. My friend ordered the same, she is by the way about 110 lb. and does not have one 1oz of fat on her body. What surprised me is the amount of salad I was able to eat - actually I ate the same amount she did. I had no bread, croutons or cheese. What I had was lettuce, tomatoes, a few onions and the shrimps. I went back to my RNY manual and it states that in terms of portion size it should be about 1/2 to 1 cup and that's it. Well there was more than 1 cup of on my plate and I ate almost all of it. That is extremely scary for me. It seems I have almost no limit when it comes to veggies. But I have 1 hard broiled egg and I feel like I will explode. Has this happened to anyone here?

Lettuce is almost a slider food for me. It is primarily made up of water with some fiber and cellulose plant material wrapped around it. Think about if you were to put 3 cups of lettuce into the blender...how much fluid would pour out? Definitely not 3 cups.

Apples, watermelon, grapes, berries, and the like similarly "squish" down to much less volume. Your pouch measures the volume of masticated food, not the fluffed up version you see on the plate before you chomp chomp chomp on it. The is one reason why we say "dense" protein...ie thick, dense material.

Popcorn is also freaky magical. I can eat WAY too much of that without batting an eye if I am not careful.

Don't be concerned, just remember to 'weigh' your choices carefully.

~Elizabeth

What Elizabeth said verbatim.

That's is true. It is dense protein that fills us up. We can eat lots of things like lettuce, popcorn, fruit, bread, cereal, potatoes. Your pouch has matured and in a year you will probably be comfortable eating double what you ate today.

That is why regain happens.

Not with lettuce it hasn't!

I can eat about a 5 gallon bucket of popcorn. Some things gring up into almost nothing. Try eating just chicken. You won't get anywhere near a cup of chicken in before you feel like you'll explode.

When I go out to eat I immediately ask for a take out box and put half in the box, then have my lunch with others. To me it's not a matter of how much I can eat but what I choose to eat. I don't go out to eat very much. Just seems a waste. Also I fear if I left everything on my plate I could get to talking and eat it all without thinking. I am 14 years post op and at goal because I am very!!!! Conscious of what I eat. I love shrimp !!

exactly what Eliz said: lettuce, green veg, squash, popcorn, yogurt, jello, popcicles and chocolate!! all are this way...