Question:
Am I eating too much?

I will be 11 mos. post op on the 17th and I feel like I can eat so much. For lunch I just ate an entire Atkins wrap from subway. 1/2 at a time in about 1/2 hour. Is this too much? Help..I'm afraid I am stretched out. I am down 15 lbs. with 30 more to go and have been on a plateau for about 6 weeks. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks    — KellyL (posted on February 9, 2004)

February 9, 2004
Original Poster Here**** I meant I am down 115 lbs.
   — KellyL

February 9, 2004
Kelli, I am where you are, only I'm 9 months out and been on a plateau for several weeks too. I think it's just our stage of the game. I've increased my exercise and decreased carbs, increased protien and water too... still nothing. Hopefully soon this will end. As far as eating too much, I don't know... I'm about to try one of those wraps for dinner tonight. I'll let you know.
   — Happy I.

February 9, 2004
I am only 7 mos post op and I could eat that now, probably. You are wondering if your pouch is too big or are you wondering if you are eating too much food?
   — mrsmyranow

February 9, 2004
I would say you need to set a time limit to your eating. You should eat no longer than 20 to 25 minutes per meal. If you haven't finished in that time you must STOP! Otherwise you start to graze and you will eat more than you should. Set a timer. Good Luck.
   — Linda R.

February 9, 2004
In my humble opinion, you are eating over too long of a period of time. If I remember correctly, according to our nutritionist, at nearly one year post-op, that is nearly grazing. I would look at the calories in those wraps... Yikes. <br>From my stand point, I eat half of one of them in about 15 minutes, and stop. If you ask, they will cut the wrap in half, and wrap it separately in paper. Then it is a lot easier to stop with only half of the wrap and save the other one for another meal.<br>Check out the Pouch Rules for Dummies, and give "water loading" a try. <br><br> I might get bashed for this, but sometimes we CAN eat more, but sometimes we also have to try really hard to decide to stop to do something even though we can eat more, you know? A lot of it is discipline, even though we can hold more food in there. We only have so many calories to work with. <br>Be strong, and good luck!
   — kultgirl

February 10, 2004
at about 10 mos. out, i've become a big fan of the wraps. i usually get a subway club (ham, turkey and roast beef) with various veggies and mustard, but substitute a wrap for the bread. i think i could eat a whole, but instead i eat half for lunch and save the other half for a late afternoon snack. i am definately at a point where i realize i can eat pretty significant portions (a whole lean cuisine, for example), and am trying very hard to be mindful of how much i'm eating. it's not the breeze it was in the first six or so months!
   — carolsaunders

February 10, 2004
Hi - I am almost 10 months out and just went to my dietician. She told me I should be eating about 1 cup for a meal and that amount is about where I want to stay for the long term. I am doing just that - sometimes it's a bit more or less depending on how dense the food is. I'm down 124 lbs and still losing slowly so it's seems to be working for me. Just thought I'd share. -Lori
   — Lori J.

February 10, 2004
I agree with both Carol and Sheila. You are spending too long a period eating-limit to no more than 10-15 and a great idea is to cut the wrap in 1/2 and eat the other half a few hours later for a snack. I doubt you are stretched out beyond what is normal. Not unless you have consistently overeaten for quite a while. I'm 2 years post op and could not eat an entire wrap in 15 min. Give me 1/2 an hour though and I could eat an entire one. A six week plateau is not unusual at this stage-the rest of the 30 pounds is now going to be work on your end. Try adding an extra workout a week (heart pumping cardio), up the protein, lower the carbs, up the water, watch the snacking-the usual! I had a plateau at 13 months that lasted almost 3 months!
   — Cindy R.