Calling All Long Term Sleevers: How Much Food Does Your Stomach Hold Now?

[Dooter 1,457]

Ok, I want to hear from our experienced sleeve people: If you've been sleeved long enough to have returned to a "normal" capacity- let's say...a year or more? How much can you hold at once? I've heard different things from everywhere on this forum. Some say you can hold as much as you ever did (SCARY!!!!) and some say "normal" is like, 4 ounces (sounds better!). Input please. Lots of it. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.

-danielle

[kemo46 82]

I am almost 8 months out and my restriction is still about 4 oz. Once my swelling went down after surgery and I was eating normal ( 4 oz), this has not changed much. I do not push it, I have overeaten a couple of times and I just do not like the feeling. I love that we can still have a taste of anything we want, there is not a food that I cannot tolerate. I do eat healthy and I REALLY watch my portions but I do have a bite of something if I want it, I just do not make it a habit. I am about 14 lbs from goal and I am really going to get strict and push it these next few weeks. The restriction is the key to the success of the surgery and mine is as good now as it was 8 months ago.

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

I can eat about 3-4 ounces of Protein and a few bites of veggies. I don't eat bread or Pasta because that swells in my stomach and I don't like the feeling.

[lissi 15]

Hmmmm.. I am 22 months post op and for me it varies on what I've eaten for the previous meal or snack. Does that make sense? If I ate something light then I"ll be able to eat a bit more. If i eat Subway (which I do often), I can only eat a 6in (chicken breast on wheat and veggies), and I'm done. Prior to surgery I could go to a restaurant and order an appetizer, main course, and dessert, and eat an hr later. If I go to a restaurant now, I can only eat 1/2 of what's on my plate ( no room for anything else) I would say about 3-4 oz

[Soup-a-Woman 43]

I'm 15 months out... if I'm eating Soup (and I most usually am) I can eat close to a cup now, compared to a half-cup for the first 9 to 10 months. On other foods, it's still between 1/2-3/4 cup. Last night I had about 2 square inch piece of salmon and 1/4 cup of couscous w/feta and pine nuts.

[christyky 2]

My husband had the sleeve Nov. 9 2010 and I had the sleeve Nov. 26th 2011. He can eat about double what i eat which isnt much. lol.

[MINI-Me 196]

I am just shy of 2 years. If it's Protein, about 4 ounces of meat and a few bites of a side dish. I can eat about 1.5 slices of pizza.

I found that it seems to go through faster than right after surgery. I used to eat about every three hours. Now, I'm not really hungry, but I find myself wanting to snack 1.5 hours later. Need to keep busy to keep the head hunger at bay.

If it's popcorn, well, that goes down WAY TOO EASY ... I can eat about a movie small - so bring someone with you to help eat it before you eat it all!

Hope that helps.

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,282]

Going on 16 months in a few weeks and my sleeve is still really small. I can do about 6 oz at a sitting. However certain things will help me "cheat" to fit more in. I won't say what they are but its probably the case for others who can eat more. If I'm doing solid Proteins and veggies and only taking 20 mins for a meal I can do about 6 oz and no more.

[ocean_ophelia 31]

This is a great thread. I am getting sleeved tomorrow and I've been freaking out and mourning food, so it helps to know that while restriction remains, those who are a year or further out can still on occasion have a treat and eat like a normal thin person.

[MegInNOLA 531]

I'm at almost 9 months out. I can eat right around 1/2 c. of food by volume, unless it's dense Protein, like shrimp--I can eat 3 boiled shrimp now (moderately large) and a couple bites of salad. Most of the time, though, I eat just shy of 1/2 c. of food at a time--or a few small slices of cheese (probably an ounce and a half max), 10-15 almonds, 1/2 a packet of oatmeal. Smaller meals for me, because my sleeve is pretty restrictive. Even "slider" foods are much more restricted than before--I can eat popcorn and tortilla chips, but only around 2 c. of popcorn and only 6 or 7 chips. I don't eat popcorn often. I do eat chips almost daily, but I use them as a meal with a high-protein dip (smashed up Beans, cheese, whatever) in place of bread, which I can't tolerate.

I also don't like the way Pasta or bread feels in my sleeve. It seems to "grow" and gets uncomfortable pretty quickly.

[Dooter 1,457]

Ok. This is good. This is good. The whole thought of the stretching stomach was concerning me a bit. Oddly enough..... In my normal state with my stomach in tact as God made it- I can only hold 2 pieces of pizza and a little salad or 1 piece of pizza and a bigger salad. If I have a coke, I can't finish the salad. I got up to 340 with a fairly small stomach capacity to begin with. This serves as a grave warning about these "slider calories" I keep hearing about. Apparently I've mastered the art of the slider. My stomach growls from hunger all the time, so I can't wait to get rid of some of that nasty Grehlin!! lol

Thank you all for all the information you've given- keep it coming! I want to hear it all. I want to go into this with eyes wide open!

[DoOver 17]

I'm starting month 9 out and I have no idea. And that's what I love about this surgery! I'm certain I get enough Protein because I major monitiored for the first 6 months so I just compute it automatically. But from about that point on I stopped paying attention to the whole "food" thing. And that's exactly what I was hoping for. When I look back over my old journals it's frightening how myopic my world was. How much did I eat that day, what was the calorie counts, what did the scales say that morning.....fighting tooth and nail to keep my weight under control was issue one in my life. Now it's not in the top 10. I eat as healthy as I can. Protein first, veggies second, anything else third. As stared in this thread, there's not a lot of room for third.

I eat when I get hungry. I eat slowly. I eat healthy. And I let it be.

I love this way of life with food. And from the date of my surgery I am down about 90 pounds now, about 144 from my highest point and about 106 from the day I joined my program for surgery. I'm about 20 away from my personal goal.

My point is that when you get this far out, you may find you are thinking more about eating healthy with very little interest or concern with capacity. It may seem hard to believe but it's my truth. And I love it. I love that food finally means so little to me. I never thought it was possible.

[Dooter 1,457]

My point is that when you get this far out, you may find you are thinking more about eating healthy with very little interest or concern with capacity. It may seem hard to believe but it's my truth. And I love it. I love that food finally means so little to me. I never thought it was possible.

That's exactly what I want. I want food to NOT be an issue anymore and just something that keeps me alive.

[cludgie 81]

Hiya,

Well tomorrow is my 1 year sleeve-aversary, and some days I feel I can eat a lot (by which I mean like a side plate sized portion of food in one meal), yesterday for instance I ate about 2/3 of a toasted sandwhich, which seems a lot these days (i know how skewed someone who isn't yet sleeved), but I still avoid empty carbs like bread as a rule, so it was a real treat!

Tonight I thought I was hungry, but felt a LOT of restriction, so I had about 4 teaspoons of quorn mince for my actual tea, and then some stir fry a couple of hours later because I thought I should - unfortunately that proved to be a mistake, and although I had probably 1.5 serving spoons full, it did not agree, and didn't stick around Although I am still surprised that at a year out I still don't know all the quirks of my new stomach, part of me is glad every time it rebels as it re-affirms that it is helping to moderate me!

I'd say that in terms of average meals for me, I eat a lot of chicken so I can usually do 1 medium chicken breast and maybe 1 desert spoon of something with it, although on more restricted days this will over face me slightly, alternately I find omlette is another good high Protein option, and I can usually manage 3/4 of a plain omlette made with 2 medium eggs.

I can honestly say that a year out my sleeve is still well and truly paying for itself!

Good luck in your journey x

[SouthernSleever 228]

I'm 15 months out and here are a few typical meals I've had over the past month.

1 egg, 2 pieces of bacon and 1/2 a piece of toast

1 piece of super supreme pizza, hand tossed dough, didn't eat the crust

1/2 a sandwhich with 5-6 chips

2 string cheese with 4 crackers

1 cup cottage cheese

1 Jr Bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's w/o the bottom bun

3oz steak and two bites sides

1/2 a side salad and 1 bone of ribs + 2 bites of a side dish.

3 chicken wings and 2 french fries

After each of these meals I am positively stuffed meaning I would get sick if I ate one more bite.