Question:
8 months post op and I can eat a 12 inch sub in less than an hour...
I was able to eat a sub sandwich in less than an hour today. It was mostly emotional eating - however, I expected to get full way before all 12 inches were gone. I didn't drink anything when I ate either. Could this be a staple line disruption? Please don't berate me, honest feedback and advice appreciated greatly. I had an RNY about 8 months ago. I've lost 175 pounds but I started out a 639, so I'm a long way from being finished and I've gained 6 pounds in the last 1.5 weeks. I'm really worried. I know I can eat more than I did the first 6 months, but today really scared me. I'm going to call the surgeons office tomorrow, but I could really use the feedback and support from this group of people. Thank you, -Edessa — Edessa (posted on July 27, 2004)
July 26, 2004
Well you might have a SLD. But any meal shouldnt last a hour:( You are
grazing, and its possible to eat continously and gain back the weight:( Eat
what you can a bit faster and stop at 15 minutes. You are normal,
eventually nearly all of us face these issues. grazing, overeating, bad
choices. thats why they say suregery is a TOOL. Sadly its not a get out of
fat free card:(
— bob-haller
July 26, 2004
You have come so far, I dont know if you could have a sld or not, but my
advice would be to dont let yoursedlf get into this situation it is too
easy for those old habits to creep back in our lives. Try to get back on
track and only put 1/4 of the sandwich or only the amount you should eat on
your plate be very aware of each bit you take and fully enjoy it. Get
back to the basics and get back on track. I wish you well, I personaly
weigh every day, I know it flucuates, but I feel this makes me totally
aware of how to set my day, and I fill my plate with only the amount I
should eat and if I cant eat it all, I dont.
— wizz46
July 26, 2004
Edessa,
I doubt that there is anything wrong with your pouch. I can eat that much
if I take an hour to do it. To keep myself from eating too much - when I
stop eating the first time I throw the remainder of the sandwich or salad
or whatever away. This keeps me from coming back in a few minutes and
starting to eat again. Good Luck!
— Etta M.
July 27, 2004
No berating here...In fact, I think you've answered your own questions.
It's not very common to have a SLD. I believe the reason you were able to
eat a 12 inch sub is because of the 2 things you mentioned...emotional
eating (NOT eating because you're actually hungry) and eating over the
course of one hour (which is too long a time period for one meal) I'm sure
if I stretched out a sub for an hour and ate little bites at a time, I
could eat the whole thing and not wind up feeling over full at the end.
The other thing to consider is that since you're still needing to loose
weight, you should try to measure your quantities out in front of you, so
that there is no possibility of over eating. If it's not there, you can't
eat it. Good luck to you.
— LMCLILLY
July 27, 2004
Some of the techniques I was taught in classes my surgeon's office had us
all attend was (1) Set a time limit for meals and don't eat anything after
that time limit. (2) user smaller plates and plates with wide
borders--don't use red (3) Use measured portions and don't exceed that (4)
Don't set a serve yourself table. Use prepared plates of food. That way
your portion is measured.
— Cathy S.
July 27, 2004
Sounds like what you did was binge eat. Emotional eating without
consideration as to how much at 1 sitting. Nothing wrong with a sub but a
12 inch with the bun is overdoing it IMHO. Next time order a 6 inch sub,
lean meat like turkey, lots of veggie toppings and eat the meat and veggies
first. If you have room, a little of the bun. You should never sit down
to a meal when you are feeling negative emotions. This is a sure fire way
to overeat and if you are feeling this way often, overeating will occur
often. Could this be why you gained some wt in the past couple of weeks?
None of us are safe from overeating or bingeing, it's right around the
corner waiting for us. Many of us are emotional and binge eaters, that's
how our weight spiraled so high we needed wls to help us correct our eating
habits. Use your tool wisely, avoid restaurants, fast food, buffets,
supersize portions, etc. The other replies have suggested measuring your
portions in some way-very good habit to get into. You have done very well
in your journey so far and have just gotten sidetracked a little. Back on
track, use the suggestions here and never give up on yourself. Give your
body the best food choices, and you will reap the benefits. :)
— mary ann T.
July 27, 2004
Edessa, you've gotten some good advice so far so I won't belabor the point
and definitely won't "beat" you up. I do enjoy the wraps from
Subway and find that I can eat a whole one if I stretch out the time long
enough so I have it cut in half and eat one half within 10 minutes or so
then, if my skinny little husband isn't there to eat the other half, I toss
the 2nd half so I won't be tempted to go back and eat the rest. I try to
eat a measured amount really quickly because I know I'm going to get
slightly uncomfortable then I'll get rid of the rst of whatever I'm having
before the discomfort goes away and I feel like I can eat more. I find
that usually works for me and I don't eat all the bread from the wrap
either. I haven't even tried a sub sandwich though because I know the bread
would make me think I'm hungry and I would have a lot of trouble
controlling the urge to eat. I just decided for me, I'd rather not have
the bread (which I absolutely LOVED before) than to deal with feeling
hungry. You've done great so far and I hope you can employ some of the
good advice you've gotten here and I wish you the best in getting to your
goal.
— scbabe
July 27, 2004
This is the fourth time I've started a response to your question. I
haven't sent one yet as I don't want to lecture since I don't really know
anything about your situation, and I know you don't want to hear me lecture
either :) I keep thinking about this question though, so I'm throwing in
my 2 cents. I'm concerned about the emotional eating part. It's no doubt
what we struggled with pre-op, and it doesn't go away post-op. Have you
ever had any type of counseling in this area? Here's what I'm worried
about... after 6 months, the surgery no longer can FORCE us to stay in
line. At this point we can start eating around it if we work at it. I'm
not saying the following applies to you, but just in case, here are some
observations that I've made: If we consistantly eat more than we should,
it's possible to gradually increase the amount we can hold. If we eat a
bite at a time, for alot of the time, we can eat our way back up the scale.
If we make poor food choices, it will lead to our defeat. I think it's
good to be worried. If your mechanics are in place, I would take this as a
sign that the honeymoon is over, and it's time to really start working with
your tool. I've found I can eat a good bit and still lose weight if what
I'm eating is protein. My advice would be to review the pouch rules for
helpful guidelines as to what makes a successful post-op. Get rid of
ANYTHING with refined flour or white sugar. I know we've all heard it
before, but it's so true... this surgery is just a tool. If we don't use
it, it doesn't work. If you feel counseling would be helpful, go for it!
Post-op life is a big adjustment, and we do need to learn new coping tools
to be successful. Good luck in your journey! Linda
— mom2jtx3
July 27, 2004
Edessa,
I agree with all of the above! Great support people!!!! It's so awesome to
see all the support.
Edessa, there are things you can do for the emotional part of all of this.
I really recommend you talking to a doctor. As soon as I had my first
emotional eating episode, I got in to see her and she put me on some
medication to help with my moods. I am not going to go back the other way.
I will do whatever it takes to continue to watch the scale drop. I never
want to see it go up again! SO talk to you're doctor. You need to get
yourself some help to figure out why you are eating emotionally. You are
doing a great job and you need to be proud of how far you have come!!!
Listen to what the others said and use this surgery as a tool!
Good luck,
Kasey
— kkarmon
July 27, 2004
An operation is not a guarantee we'll learn portion control. You need to
relearn what a portion size is. It is a long road. Congrats on losing
175.
— mrsmyranow
July 27, 2004
Edessa: I am only 7 wks. post-op so I am still learning about the whole
process. I do know that nurses, doctors, and other post-op patients say
that if you gain or hit a plateau, you need to change something. Eating
less or exercising more should do the trick. Good luck with your continue
success...judy
— juju524
July 27, 2004
Edessa, congrats on the 175, way to go, thats alot in 8 mo. Now to address
eating a foot long sub in an hour, well, as others have said, any of us
could do that given an hour. 1st off, if you want to correct this negative
behavior, you have to make a committment to not sabotage yourself. I know
its hard, but 175 pounds is quite an accomplishment, so mentally challenge
yourself to continue down this path and do whatever it takes to turn any
negatives into positives. For example, next time order the 6 inch sub. If
there is no more sub, you cannot do damage. Another tip, next time you
feel emotional drink a large glass of water-FAST. If still feeling the
urge to eat, drink another glass-FAST. You probably will no longer feel
like eating. Or take a walk around the block or down the street or up a
flight of stairs. Just do something to divert your attention away from
grazing and towards something positive You can do this...
— Cindy R.
July 27, 2004
Me again..another tip. Set a time limit to eat. 10 minutes. When the
time is up,all food is put away..if it remains in front of you, trust me,
grazing occurs. I know!!
— Cindy R.
July 27, 2004
Edessa,
Do you realize you have already shed a "normal" sized person?
Please note the quotes... but you have done an amazing job so far. We all
make mistakes and obviously you realize you have made one. I would be much
more worried about you if you didn't seek help here, but you have and that
means you know it was a mistake. Now you must speak to your doctor and/or
nutritionalist or perhaps a therapist. You have realized it is an issue
and it must be dealt with. Both you and I know you didn't come this far to
set roadblocks for yourself. It is scary and unfirmiliar terratory, but
you will love it once you conquer it. Good luck!
— septembergirl73
July 28, 2004
Hi Edessa,
I am a rny patient and a dietitian for my surgeons office. From reading
your questions there are several things that jump out at me.
1. Don't make your meals last 1 hour. Meal times should only be 15 to 20
minutes.
2. Portion your meals before you start to eat and put the rest of the food
away so you are not tempted.
3. You recognized that you were emotional eating. So that is good. So
when you notice you are doing that, change your behavior. Do something
else.
4. Try drinking liquids instead of eating. You can achieve fullness with
out food. Drink liquid quickly before you start to eat. 15 minutes before
your meal. Down as much as you can and work your way up to 8 oz of liquid.
This will make you feel full quicker when you do eat.
You can do this. You have been given the tools. You just need to use
them properly.
If you need more advice, I would love to help you. Please email me. You
can do this. YOU CAN!!!!
Take care,
THinking of you,
Marisa Howard, Murphy Texas
— Marisa H.
July 29, 2004
Emotional eating gets the best of us. For most, it's where we were before
WLS. There is nothing wrong with feeling like you need to turn to food.
You just have to recognize that the action of doing it isn't in your best
interest. I'm almost 3 years out and still battle with this, and I expect
I will battle with it for the rest of my life. <br>You will notice
the ability to eat much more at around 6 months, 1 year and 2 years post
op. The furter you are from surgery, the harder it is. This is because
you are having to rely on yourself more so than the surgery to take off the
weight. You have done an exceptional job so far. 175 pounds is a huge
amount of weight to lose in only 8 months. Congratulate yourself on this
one.<br>SLD. I don't want to say either way on this one. It could
be it couldn't be, only a scope will tell. I will have to go against
everyone posting here by saying there is no way I could eat a 12" sub
even in an hour. It could be the type of food because I can eat ALOT if I
try. I don't know. If it will ease your fears...get it checked out. Most
importantly, don't beat yourself up. If you are hard on yourself it will
make the emotional eating worse. /sigh trust me. :)
— RebeccaP
Click Here to Return