Question:
1 week 3 days post-op and i dont get feel full

Hi everyone. I'm not sure if its me or my diet but I am 1 week 3 days post-op open RNY and I dont get that OMG I'm full feeling when eating. I'm not sure if it the type of food(blended, mush really)or if its just that I'm eating to fast. I eat just a few bites then make myself stop but I could keep going. I called my surgeons office last week, and was told I ate too much and was going to strech my pouch. I had several crushed crackers w/ cream of chicken soup poured over the top. I had maybe a cup full. I was told not to eat soup anymore and try more dense foods but I still find I can keep eating after I had my meal. (2 tbls tuna and 2 crackers). I am scared to death that this is not going to work for me. I DO NOT have will power, thats what helped cause my problem to start with. If I feel like I cant stop now, what will happen in 6 months? My doctor does not believe in liquid diets, so is there anyone out there that can help me with what to eat and the amounts? Thank you for helping.    — Siddy I. (posted on November 2, 2002)

November 2, 2002
Maybe i can help. I can tell you what my surgeon says to eat anyway. He also sends us home on solid foods. Breakfast is to be 1/4 of an egg, 1/4 slice of toast and 1 ounce of fruit. ( I don't do that. Don't want eggs everyday and I usually eat 1/2 cup of fat free artificially sweetened yogurt, my nutritionist said this is a good choice). Lunch is supposed to be 1 oz protein, 1oz vegetables, 1 oz starch, 1oz fruit. Dinner is the same only it says on my paper they gave me 1-2 oz protein instead of one. I'm not supposed to have any snacks and he only wanted us doing protien the first month. 2 litres of water or crystal light a day and my vitamins. I couldn't eat this much at less then 2 weeks out and sometimes I can't now at 11 weeks out. We are also to avoid fried, fatty and sugary foods also deli meats and things like that. For awhile postop I can't say I really felt hungry but I didn't feel full either. You are still healing and it will take time. My surgeon also says no meal should exceed 1/2 cup in volume (think measuring cup not food scale). Meats will fill you the most since they are the heaviest thing to eat. Good luck to you.
   — Carrie D.

November 2, 2002
I feel you -- I'm 12 days post op, and tonight felt like I could keep on eating. So I examined what I ate tonight and how that was different from every other night, and I realized that tonight was the first night my meal wasn't predominantly protein. Usually for dinner I'l have an egg or 1/2 c. cottage cheese, but tonight I had 1/2 c. mashed potatoes, and what do you know, I'm starving. Maybe if you cut the crackers out? I don't know, I'm just saying that for me, it appears that carbs are the real trigger. Good luck....
   — Tamara K.

November 2, 2002
I am 3 and a half weeks out. After 5 days I went to full liquids and soft stuff like yogurt, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese and sugar free jello brand chocolate pudding. I am told that they all function as liquids and go thru very fast. I started solids and they fill you with much less. Yogurt is a life saver. I had mashed potatoes a few times and cannot look at them anymore, but had a piece of a baked potato and that was good. Stay with it, it is working.
   — Steve B.

November 2, 2002
For one thing, soups just go right through your pouch as they are liquids and as such won't give you that "full" feeling. You won't "stretch" your pouch on soup! At your stage you should not have more than 2 or 3 crackers with a meal as they contain carbs and will only add calories, not protein. Two to four oz of pureed or soft food every 3 to 4 hours is a good amount the first few weeks post-op. Tuna fish, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, shredded cheese all can be eaten in the pureed-soft food stage and are loaded with protein. My surgeon said to take 10 minutes to eat each oz of food. That way you chew thoroughly, eat enough to be full and stay satisified longer. He stressed that the meal should not take longer than 30-45 minutes however. Any starchy foods like crackers, potatoes, etc will only make you crave more (it's the carbs)--- so eat your protein first then if still hungry eat the veggies and a little of the carbs to fill you up! 4-6 Tbsp of tuna (2-3 oz) on 2-3 crackers would have probably been better. Be sure to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before you start drinking your water and sugar-free liquids. Hope this helps.
   — LLinderman

November 3, 2002
Hi there. I can relate to your question 100%. My surgeon had us on solids right away also and I didn't feel stuffed on the tiny amounts of foods either. I really agonized over this and felt something was wrong. After all, I had read where Carnie Wilson would eat a tablespoon of peanut butter for lunch and that would be enough for her. I honestly belived this is the way it would be. A bite or two of something and I'd be fuuulllll. NOT! I always felt that I could eat more than my peers (or at least what they admitted to being able to eat). Finally out of frustration, I asked at a support meeting, why are you only eating half of a peice of fruit (that was a comment someone made)..I said is it because you feel too full or is it because that's what the surgeon told you to eat. The answer was an eyeopener for this hard headed girl. They said it was because that is what the surgeon told them to eat....ahhhhh ok. At anyrate, I still ate a bit more than I was told too, because I was hungry, and I'm never gonna let myself get into that diet/deprivation mode again. Anyway, I felt that it took progressively more food to satisfy me as the months went on. I had the same concerns that you do, like, well if I can eat this now, what about 6 months, a year, etc. But honestly, I felt that my appetite stabalized at about 8-9 months and I eat no more now than I did then (I'm about a yr and half now). I used the rapid weight loss period to retrain my habits to lower calorie/fat choices. Pre-op I would have been like, yeah right, give me the good stuff. But as the weight came off, it gave me the incentive to at least try the reduced foods...let me tell you, they have come a long way with them...they taste pretty good. I ate about 1000 calories early post op and eat about 2000 now. I exercise five days a week (I started really exercising at about 7 months post op) and am going to start weight training monday. I do still loose at this caloric level, but it's veeeeery sloooooow now (3-4lbs a month avg)...which is OK with me as long as it's creeping down and not up. So the moral of this long drawn out comentary is, eat smaller portions because you're told to (not because you're stuffed). Your appetite will stabalize. And finally, this WILL work for you...hindsight is 20/20. God Bless! -Kim open RNY 7/17/01 -137
   — KimBo36