Question:
WHY AM I ABLE TO EAT LARGE QUANTITIES WITH NO DISCOMFORT

I USED TO FEEL FULL AFTER A FEW BITES, I HAD TO CHEW WELL AND EAT SLOWLY, NOW I CAN EAT LARGE AMOUNTS, DRINK WITH MY MEAL, AND FEEL NO DISCOMFORT. WHAT DID I DO, DID I TEAR MY STAPLES. I AM TALKING DOUBLE CHEESE BURGER, NO BREAD, OR PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH ON SOFT BREAD, AND I MEAN EAT AT A PRETTY FAST PACE. I AM REALLY CONCERNED...PLEASE HELP    — j M. (posted on May 19, 2001)

May 19, 2001
You didnt say how far along you are. It would be helpful to know that. It's totally normal to be able to eat larger quantities later post. I began eating larger portions at about 3 months. At nine months, I eat about 1000-1100 calories per day.... Sandwiches are no problem though I would NEVER eat a double cheeseburger. Depending on the day, I can eat like a normal small person.
   — Jeannet

May 19, 2001
I too have that same ability. It scared me, and I did some experimenting as to how this could be possible. I found that when I follow the rules and wait between bites I get full much much soomer than when I eat quickly and drink with meals. Try slowing down, and skipping the drink, outside of the occasional sip at the end. You may be suprised. Good luck, Tam
   — Tam P.

May 19, 2001
Ah, a girl after my own heart...Been there, done that and bought the t-shirt. The first thing you must do is stop drinking with your meals. You are flushing the contents of your stomach too quickly, which will promote hunger. Secondly, you, like me have the double blessing/curse of being able to eat a lot of anything. You need to balance this. If you are going to eat a cheeseburger (particularly fast food), you need to stop when you are full. I could probably eat a whole Big Mac if I really tried, but the two times I have had a Big Mac since WLS, I split it with my daughter instead. I was completely content and satisfied and once my daughter had finished her half, there was no more craving on my end. The other night, I went to the bar and I LOVE jalepeno poppers, with ranch dressing of course. Coulda eaten all of them, cause I hadn't eaten dinner. Stopped at a couple and shared them with the rest of the people at the table. If you are going to indulge in high fat/sugar/carb food, you need to limit the portion and make them infrequent selections. The flipside to this is when you want that full feeling, and want to eat more, make sure you are packing protien. When I grill fish outside, believe me, I can't stop at 3 oz...Yummy! Munch on fresh fruits, vegetables and pickles. I doubt you blew the staples, but you may have stretched the stoma, and that would also allow food to pass more quickly. I also find I eat fast if I allow myself to get ravenously hungry between meals. Sometimes, I have to put the breaks on and get back to the basics of the program and count the protien, measure the water, time the exercise. Cool, 'cause the results are almost always immediate and then I get so pumped, I stay on track. But I do know that I will always have to monitor my behavior for long-term success. Good luck to you!
   — Allie B.

May 20, 2001
To all the long term postops who responded to this question HONESTLY: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU....I cannot express enough the sincere appreciation that I feel towards you wonderful people who are helping others through admitting your own mistakes. Some people would be selfish and think "Let them learn for themselves...no body is going to benefit from my suffering". We are all in this together and some of us are paving the way for others. To those people, I hope God richly blesses you and want to say thank you. Just as an example: I am 5 1/2 mos post op and can't tell you how many times a tidbit of wisdom from many of you has helped me get through so far. I recently experienced a 6 wk plateau and I was feeling it would never end and I had lost all I was gonna lose BUT I remember Michelle Curan's advice from many weeks ago when she said "WHEN PLATEAUS HIT, REMEMBER DRINK YOUR WATER AND UP YOUR PROTEIN...THE PROTEIN GETS RID OF THE FAT AND THE WATER GIVES IT PERMISSION TO LEAVE!" I just broke the plateau which had me bound for so long by doing this very thing. God bless you, Michelle, Barb Day, Allie Bishop, and the many other unselfish people who have stayed on the site and are helping us all!
   — Marilyn C.

December 11, 2004
I am 2 years post op today. I hit a plateau 6 months post op and since then I have gained about 20 pounds. I too am able to eat way more and faster without any discomfort. I appreciate the posts that everyone has made. I'm not the only one. I'm doing online Weight Watchers right now....but I haven't been following it. I need to do something. I just want to get down to my goal of 140 which I haven't reached yet. So PROTEIN + WATER eh? I will try to incorporate this into my day. ;)
   — Susan L.