How To Know When You Are Full? Eating first real food after my Gastric Sleeve Surgery

[FaithfulIntercessor99 1]

Tonight I got to eat my first real food. But I don't know how to tell that I am full. Any advice?

[DebiC 181]

I'm assuming you are taking small bites and eating slowly (I'm still working on those). I find if I eat slow enough I get to the point where I can just tell that one more bite will not go down (on several occasions I have taken that one more bite because it tasted so good.). For me if I eat too fast or take bigger bites I miss that cue and then I get pain in my esophagus and start to feel like I'm going to vomit (I haven't actually vomited thank heavens). This lasts anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour and is quite painful.

I know some people get a burping sensation or hiccup when they are full. I don't get that and have just had to learn the hard way. It's really just a learning process. I got sleeved 11/14 and have been on "real" food for two weeks and I am just starting to figure this whole eating thing out.

[BethH 1]

I have the same experience as DebiC. I was sleeved 11/8/11. Once I started on real food, I learned the hard way. I ate too fast and had stabbing pain in my esophagus that is just unbearable. Chew, chew, chew and take tiny bites. In between bites, you should start to get a fullness. You really need to pay attention to your body signals. Eating slow is the hardest part for me! I live alone and it is so hard! Good Luck!

[emily_0192010 168]

I hiccup when i've had too much... for me it was simply a learning process. At first I had no clue so I'd just have a few tiny every now and then. Once I was confident I was good to go, at about 2 months, I started to try a little bit more and I have found some cues to tell me when I've had too much. At this point I just stop before I hit that point. Like I know that I can eat one egg, but one egg plus veggies and cheese? A bit too much, I would have to stop before I finished the whole thing.

At the point where you are at, just go slow. When I stop, it takes a few minutes but then I get that "comfortable" feeling. It also doesn't help that I never get hungry to begin with. I know when I have gone too long based on how my body feels (tired and headachy when i shouldn't be) so I just make sure I eat at least once a day. My surgeon said that was fine, as long as I continued the Protein shakes. In fact he suggested it!

Good luck. And as hard as it is to hear, it really is very individual. You will figure out your own boundaries soon enough. But don't push it on purpose!

[FaithfulIntercessor99 1]

I have been on full liquids for 6 weeks. I was sleeved on 10/31. My surgeon is really strict. So far I only get hiccups when I suck in too much air (like if I talk too much or laugh super hard). I ate 2 small strips of chicken from my husband's fajitas. I cut them up into small bites and chewed for at least 25 times. But I was too scared to try to eat any more because I didn't want to get sick. Even with my shakes I couldn't tell you that I was "full". It's like I have no body signals unless my stomach doesn't like the first drink (or I guess now bite but I tolerated what I ate fine). I feel full before I eat so I guess I don't know how I will feel full after. Thanks for your advice. I think it's helpful to know other's experiences. I will try to be patient as I live and Learn!

[Lissa 2,631]

Valerie, You will eventually develop a full feeling or signal. Right now, your tummy is probably still numb and somewhat swollen, so you don't recognize it. Immediately post-op my signal was pain in my left shoulder...and I thought it was gas! Now, I burp when I'm getting full. I know to put down the fork and push away from the plate as soon as I burp.

I'm 3.5 months out, if that helps you any. It does get easier, but the best thing to do is exactly what you are doing... keep paying attention, eat very slow and chew very well.

Good luck!!

[bikerchick519 202]

I'm just over 5 weeks out and I still measure almost everything. For me, I know I can't eat more than a total of 1/2 cup, if it's meat it's more like a 1/4 cup. If I don't measure I tend to get full just all of a sudden and then it's a little uncomfortable.

[M2G 1,836]

I cannot stress enough how much those of you who are newly sleeved and starting back to real food, need to measure your food! It is SO important. It is easy to overfill because we are not used to having such small portions. Measure measure measure! Even being almost 14 months post-op I find that I still measure my food about 65% of the time!

You don't want to be uncomfortably full, so you need to stop before you get that full signal.

[longer-life 139]

I don't want to feel sick and I want to know how much Protein I am consuming, so I weigh everything. Right now I am able to consume .5 of an ounce comfortably. If the dense Protein is in a Soup, I can eat 1 ounce. I dared increasing it because I noticed I was able to sip bigger amounts of liquids which must mean the swelling is going down.

I am 4 weeks out and as you can see it is less food than bikerchick519. We are all different, so I started slowly. It's not hard if you supplement your protein intake with shakes ( or whatever other way you want). That way there is no pressure and you can increase the real food when your sleeve is ready. Hope this helps.

[june13sleever 223]

Even at six months out I still do not have the same full feeling I used to have. There is a fine line between comfortable and uncomfortable and it can come in one bite. Just because you can eat a certain amount today doesn't mean you will be able to eat that same amount tomorrow. I overdid it last night and the food basically feels like it is in your throat, you get the gurgles and are just waiting for it to pass through. I could have easily just forced it back up, which I have had to do once or twice. The feeling took about 10 minutes to pass. I have never gotten to the point of pain, just to the point of if I eat another bite it won't be good. My feeling to stop finally has come naturally, but I am still eating a little over what I should. I just know it is time to stop. I need to stop three more bites before that feeling, and I would never have any discomfort. So after I eat I always tend to have about 5 to 10 minutes of slight discomfort. I just go for a walk and then it goes away faster. I need to work on it.