Question about fullness

So I'm beyond nervous to push the limits, and my nut said don't be and to go for it. When I asked how much I'm suppose to eat she basically said until I feel full and that the denser the food the faster I'll feel full. First time I ate a pudding cup I ate the whole cup within an hour and never felt full, I ate a cup of instant mashed potatoes and stopped half way through because of the salt and it made me extremely thirsty but I never felt full. This morning I made a packet of banana nut oatmeal with a cup of almond milk ate the whole thing and never felt full. Am I eating to slow in a long period span? Will I feel full? And how can you not drink when you eat?????

It's what you are eating... personally I'd choose foods that are lower in carbs, yogurt, cottage cheese, eggfaces baked ricotta, things with some protein. Not things like instant mashed potatoes or packaged oatmeal... there's little to no nutritional goodness there.

I'm assuming you're in the soft food stage? If so, I only ate 1/4C, per my center's expectations.

The idea, for me, was to not try to chase that full feeling... #1, I didn't feel full like I used to feel full for a long long time.

Measure your food out. Eat what you measure, and move one.

When you get to dense proteins, like chicken, beef, tuna, etc... I started out at 1-2 ounces, and rarely finished that much.

Chasing the full feeling isn't healthy, to me anyway.

Now, at over a year out, if I ate until I felt FULL... I'd eat too much. I still measure out 3-4 ounces of protein and then add 1-2 ounces of sides - when I have sides, which is typically only at dinner.

As far as not drinking. You just don't do it. Our stomachs aren't the same as they used to be. It's beyond important to give your stomach a chance to work with the food you put in there before it hits your digestion track... if you just pu**** though #1 you will never feel full, #2 the enzymes don't get to break it down at all before it hits your intestines, and #3 I believe it's a good way to stretch out your pouch.

You learn to chew better and take your time eating without drinks to wa**** down.

Well, that was pretty poor advice for your NUT! Your goal is to not feel full. Pretty much feeling satisfied feels like nothing and being full is awful. Instead, you should measure everything. Like Pam said, 1/4 cup is a good measure to start with, with soft foods. As you move on to more solid proteins you want to weigh them. I started with 1oz. In those early stages, it took me a long time to get down even that amount. A lot of folks here subscribe to the idea of "whatever you can eat in 20 minutes is all you need". That worked for me eventually, but I was a really slow eater at first.

Two things about feeling full:

1. I didn't have a full feeling early on because of the healing in my tummy and the nerves which had to regenerate so it was REALLY important to measure. I went beyond the measured amount a couple of times and that did NOT feel good (foamies, feeling like vomiting but not).
2. The full feeling I get now (1.5 years postoperative) generally happens with dense protein (as the others have described), but it is a different full feeling for me than what it used to be pre-WLS. It took quite a while for me to completely recognize this new "full" feeling.

You get used to not drinking. I found it easiest to put my drink away when I ate to remind me not to drink (still do). I also set a timer (30 minutes) on my phone to let me know when it is ok to drink again after the meal. I drink a lot when I'm not eating (have a drink in hand all the time), so I am not super thirsty when I eat.

You're 10 days out from having all of the nerves cut in your stomach, and you're not going to feel anything for quite a while longer, much less feel "full." Some people never get that feeling back, others take a really long time. You won't be fully healed for about 3 months, so don't count on that. IMHO your NUT is a dope for even suggesting that this early out!

Second, you are eating slider foods right now, and they're going right through you. So even if you COULD "feel" full, you probably wouldn't unless you ate a load of stuff. Once you start eating solid proteins you won't necessarily feel full, but you will feel the restriction. And the day you first eat too much, baby you will know it, trust me!

This all is why measuring is so critically important. You want to train your mind that you are eating to sustain life, not to feel full--those are old habits that need to be broken.

Not drinking is hard in the beginning. You just have to NOT have liquids around when you're eating. Then set a timer for 30 mins after you eat, and then go do something. After a while, you'll find that an hour will go by and you'll have to remind yourself to start drinking again. It all gets easier in time.

i agree with other posters, its what you are eating. The dense proteins will fill you.

You and I had surgery about the same time you did. My program had me on 1/4 to 1/2 cup triple zero likes Greek yogurt right away as part of my liquid diet. I could do 1/2 cup in 30-45 min. no problem.

So, when I was cleared for the purée stage and could have 1/4 to 1/2 cup cottage cheese I thought... no problem! I did take an hour to eat the 1/2 cup cottage cheese, but I felt a physical fullness at the end that my docs said was an indication I've eaten more than enough. It wasn't painful, just some definite physical feedback. So, I've pulled back to 1/4 to 1/3 cup so I don't feel the fullness and if I'm honest, I'm still not really hungry. (I know this will not last forever...)

the types of protein/food do seem to make a big difference for me.

Listen to all the advise you've been given here. You won't feel full, even the new feeling of full, this early out. Im a year out and I still don't feel full after I eat my measured amount all the time but I stop eating anyway.

During the soft food phase I only ate cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, ricotta bake etc. I never touched mashed potatoes or oatmeal. Do yourself a favor and measure out 2oz of cottage cheese or yogurt and then stop eating and don't touch the high carb foods anymore and you'll be fine. You'll get used to not drinking. Don't listen to your NUT please.

Yikes. Your nut gave you some bad advice! From what people tell me, it's hard to feel full off soft foods. Make sure you are getting the protein you need, and don't chase that full feeling! Youll end up stretching your pouch. I know a lot of people didn't feel full for the first year.

Those Nuts need some courses on eating after weight loss surgery. At 10 days out I sure wasn't eating A CUP?!! If anything say nothing about mashed potatoes. I am 14 years out from surgery and still don't eat a cup of anything. Well maybe soup. If I feel 'full' I have eaten way too much. Measure your food, protein not carbs first. And walk away from the table . This is not a diet this is your new life