Question:
Could you eat this ?
I am almost 9 months post-op and today for dinner ( I felt very hungry), I had a sandwich (2 pieces of toasted atkins bread, a slice of cheese, slice of turkey,slice of bacon, light mayo) and a pickle. I ate it all within 10 min. and didn't feel overly full at all. Is this normal? I usually don't eat bread and assumed that it would fill me up faster. I am scared that I am going to be in worse shape than before the surgery if the food is just going right through me. Has anyone heard of people being able to eat more post-op than pre-op? P.S. I was hungry about 2 hours after eating. — Heather S. (posted on February 20, 2004)
February 19, 2004
From what I understand, you should not be eating a meal in 10 minutes,
because you are not giving your brain a chance to tell you that you are
full. Plus, are you drinking with your meal? This may explain why you
were hungry so quickly afterward. When did you stop drinking before your
meal? My surgeon's rule of thumb is: nothing to drink 45 minutes before a
meal and nothing for 1-1 1/2 hours after a meal.Also, Whether it is Atkins
or not, bread is bread, which means it is carbs. Carbs make you crave more
carbs. Better to stay away from them as much as possible. I hope that
this helps.
— SherryWeber
February 19, 2004
— wildbrat
February 19, 2004
Hi Heather, I found that I could eat a "whole" sandwich at 9
months if the bread was toasted. I am 17 months out down -132lbs and 2 lbs
from my personal goal and already past my Drs. goal.... feeling great. Oh
by the way some days I can eat a whole sandwich now untoasted and other
days I can hardly eat 1/2 of one. A lot different than the 2 or 3
sandwiches and 1/2 bag of chips I used to eat before.
— Brenda T.
February 19, 2004
I can eat a whole sandwich if the bread is really toasted with no problems.
It is normal to be able to eat more after a few months post-op. Now we
HAVE to watch ourselves to keep us on track because the hunger does return.
This is the time where the real work to make the most of your WLS tool
comes in because you are able to eat more and eat things that maybe you
couldnt eat early post-op. You sound like you do have a handle on what you
eat so I think you should be just fine. As for feeling hungry after 2
hours, maybe your blood sugar dropped. Becoming hypoglycemic post-op is
common and I have to eat every few hours or I become very ill due to the
drop in blood sugar. It may be worth checking out with your doc. Take
care and good luck to you. ~Sidney~ Open RNY 10-23-02 down 130+ and below
goal
— Siddy I.
February 19, 2004
You will doubtful be in worse condition post-operatively than you were
before-- don't be quite so hard on yourself for slipping up and eating too
much, too quickly. First, I suspect you appreciate that you ate your meal
much too quickly and secondly, that it was probably more food that you
needed (at 16 months out, I could not eat that much even if I gave myself a
full 30 minutes). You can't undo what was done, so learn from the
experience. Try to isolate what was going on when you scoffed your
sandwich and see if it was just an isolated instance-- were you distracted?
upset about something? feeling weakened by the hunger you experienced?
Then experiment with ways to avoid giving in to the urge to eat that
quickly the next time you feel so hungry (whether drinking some water when
the hunger hits to take the edge off of it, or chewing sugarless gum to
distract yourself). Ultimately, you'll figure out what works for you.
Good luck.
— SteveColarossi
February 20, 2004
i wouldn't stress too much. I eat a sandwich everyday for lunch, lite bread
and usually a half a cup of soup as well. in the beginning i was stressed
out that i was eating too much...but you know, i realized that we're
SUPPOSED To be eating "normally" the farther out we get from our
surgery. 6-8 ounces is what we can able to hold (so i'm told anyway). i'm
15 months post op and i started at 340 and today i weighed in at 138..so
overal not too shabby. and yes, i have days when i can eat more than others
and some days i can eat practically nothing at all. End of the day..i don't
stress nad if i cheat every now and again i dont' lose sleep over it. i had
this done so i can live a normal life...in society today all we hear is
"no carbs no carbs no carbs"...and yes, we have to watch them to
an extent..don't go eat a loaf of bread...but there has to be a balance
overall and that will include carbs. Everyone is different and the amount
you eat will be different from teh amount i eat. Just be careful, watch
what goes in, don't go overboard and enjoy living life...even if it
includes a sandwich every now and again :-). well...i suppose thats my two
cents...
— hdziema
February 20, 2004
Hi Heather, I think you will get about a 1000 different opinions here as to
whether you're eating too much, too fast. From what I can see in reading
these boards, even at many months post-op, we seem to have different
stomach capacity. I'm five months out and I can eat about 3/4 of a
sandwich and I can do it in 10 minutes too if I wanted to. I don't eat
sandwiches often but if I really want one, I have it. I just make sure it
is heavy on protein filling and then I just enjoy as much of it as I can
hold. Some days that is more than other days. I'm usually more concerned
about the calorie content than I am the quantity because this far out, I
can tell when one more bite would be too much. I try to eat about every
two to three hours anyway but if I get concerned that I'm eating too much,
I'll record everything I eat for a few days just to ensure I'm staying
right around 1000 calories which is about right for me based on my age and
my exercise level. You might try recording and just see how many calories
you're having. Good luck on the rest of your journey.
— SCbabe B.
February 20, 2004
I am a little over one year out and I can't eat but one half of a sandwich.
I had open rny.
— Delores S.
February 20, 2004
I am 7 mos post op and every once in a while can eat that much. Really I
can eat 1/2 sandwich and the meat from the other half right now (depending
on the amount of meat).
— mrsmyranow
February 20, 2004
Your eating capacity increases over time, so I'm not shocked by that
intake. I think the best advice is, if it bugs you, don't eat it (whatever
"it" is) too often.<P>The further out you are, it is truly
amazing the difference in how some foods will fill us up, and some won't,
and it varies by individual. That's why I don't eat the "slide"
foods too often, once I realize I just don't get very full on them.
— Suzy C.
February 20, 2004
I don't think that was too much at all. That Atkins bread, which is ultra
thin and toasted with just A slice of turkey and cheese/bacon is not much.
Now, in comparison, make a sandwich with a hearty untoasted multigrain
bread, and put a few slices of turkey and bacon on there and see how much
you can eat. At 2 years post-op, I can eat 1/2 of that hearty sandwich but
I bet if I had a thin toasted Atkins with just a thin slice of turkey and
bacon on it, I could easily do that. As far as the time,you may want to
slow down a little but not much. 15 minutes is all we should be taking for
a meal and I can tell you it usually takes me much less time depending on
what I am eating to feel full. To stave off that "very hungry"
feeling, try eating a little more often, smaller amounts to satisfy as
opposed to fill so that you never get "very hungry", and
concentrate on more dense foods (the sandwich is considered dense). And do
not drink after eating for a good 1/2 hour to an hour. I try for 1 hour.
— Cindy R.
February 20, 2004
I worried at about 8 months post op, becaue I was able to eat a intire lean
cuise frozen dinner, but then other day just a couple bites fill me up. My
doc said that was ok.
— Jodie S.
February 20, 2004
I was able to eat 6-8 ounces per meal at 2 months post op. Sometimes I feel
very hungry for several days and then I am back to nothing looks good to
eat. It can change day to day. I do track my calories closely and now 4
months post op I have lost 95 lbs. My Surgeon says all is going great!
— Steve D.
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