Question:
Any suggestions on food tolerance and eating

I am 52 days post-op and down 54 pounds (a pound a day for now); am getting my protein 65 grams; almost getting most of vitamins (some days it is such an effort); have no complaints about how I feel & full of energy. My problem is food - it became too complicated waiting to drink after meals at work - so I go to the gym at 4 am - and stop drinking (water/teas) at 9 am - about 2 liters. At work I have yogurt/farina or oatmeal for bfkfst - after that I cannot get any more food in - I wait as late as 3 pm to try lunch (soup/tuna/or egg salad) - won't stay down - or I get that full feeling immediately (my pouch is 2 ounces) then when I get home I'm so hungry I end up eating too fast (my fault) - so that won't stay down either - I need help I'm really hungry but find it such a task to eat. On weekends I have no problem - because I can take 5 hours to eat a few tbspns of tuna or I can drink all day - Longer Post-ops I'm open for suggestions. - I guess I should stay on fluids longer - but I am terrbly hungry - Thanks.    — Anna M. (posted on January 21, 2004)

January 21, 2004
I'm sorry but I've ALWAYS drank with my meals. I'm over 2 years post-op and eat and drink like I did before I had surgery. 3 meals a day. I just don't eat as much. I think you need to eat smaller meals more often - 5 or 6 a day. That's what I did when I was in my first year and it really helped. I never was hungry because I always had a little bit of food in my stomach.
   — Patty H.

January 22, 2004
I agree! More frequent small meals is what has helped me. I'm still relatively new (at 5 months out), but it has gotten progressivly better. Sometimes a meal is literally just a few spoonfuls. And let's face it, that just seems wrong! Our minds are so ingrained to eat large portions that the tiny amounts we can tolerate just don't seem right. But practice make perfect, and LISTEN to your body. Mine has gotten very good at telling me when to stop, and if I ignore it, I pay the price. Everyone says "grazing" is a big no-no. But that is how I eat and always have. Only now I eat smaller portions and better, more nutritous choices. Concentrate on getting protein first. I heard this over and over before surgery and use it to this day. There's so little room in a 2 oz pouch that filling it up with other things doesn't leave room for the stuff your body needs to heal and maintain healthy organs (hence so many people have hairloss. Nails, hair, etc. are the last to get any leftover protein, it goes to the essential organs first). It sounds like you're doing good on protein intake, so relax. Eat for the other items your body needs, calcium, Vitamins A, B, C, E, etc. And FIBER! :)
   — keva M.

January 22, 2004
I have always had a drink with my meals too. That was on thing I could never get the hang of. Anyhow, your post....eat several small meals each day. You say you are not hungry at work, but by the time you get home, you are starving. Try keeping a snack in your desk or car. Some peanuts, jerky, protien bar. I know I kept a stash of protien bars in my desk. I couldn't eat a whole one in one setting, so I just rewrapped it and put it in a zip loc bag. (no need for critters). It may help with the starvation when you get home. Rebecca 10/03/01 265/140
   — RebeccaP

January 22, 2004
I had this problem of not getting enough fluid in. Basically it fixed itself around month 4 or 5 when I became able to drink faster. I don't recommend drinking with meals because you'll get hungry. now now, but in a few months when your real hunger returns. What you are eating sounds like only 20 grams of protein or less a day so I assume you are doing protein drinks? I don't have advice for eating more because that, unfortunately, will come with time. And for most of us, it comes with a vengeance.
   — mrsmyranow

January 22, 2004
Anna, now is the time to develop good pouch habits while still a fairly new post-op so that the further out you get the better you will use your new tool. Your body needs constant fuel (food) and constant water. My main rule, if hungry, EAT. There is no need to be hungry. You are definitely not eating often enough. If you SCHEDULE meals every 3 hours, keep the amounts small, and concentrate on protein, you should not end up eating too fast or get overly hungry between feedings. Your metabolism will also burn smaller amounts of protein more efficiently, helping with the weight loss. And regardless of what others say about drinking with meals, it is a bad habit to get into. Liquids right after a meal wash the food right out of the pouch and cause hunger to come back faster. For those who haven't gotten their appetite back yet, its not an issue, but for others who are hungry often, this is self-defeating and not recommended. You'll always find some that go against the pouch rules but to do it right and maximize your window of opportunity, don't drink for a good 1/2 hour or longer after eating. I try for 1 hour and am almost 2 years post op.
   — Cindy R.

January 22, 2004
Hi Anna, I think the problem is you are not washing the breakfast out of your pouch before you try lunch, that is why you are not hungry. (you said you stopped drinking before breakfast). Even if you wait hours before lunch (yes I have tried this), some of the food is still in there because there hasn't been any fluids. That is one reason why they say don't drink for an hour after you eat, so you won't wash the food right out, but after an hour you do need to drink to make room for new food. Say you finish breakfast at 10, at 11:00 get a nice glass of water, it isn't all that hard when you think about it. As of now, about an hour after I eat my mouth gets real dry, almost like it is telling me to go get water!!!! GOOD LUCK
   — GAYLE CARMACK-LYONS