Do portion sizes get bigger

[Newbie12345 1]

I'm almost 3 months post surgery and m concerned that when I reach my ideal weight that the loss will continue. I'm almost there and portions are still ridiculously small at just 2-3 spoons. Has anyone fallen below their ideal weight?

[Newbie12345 1]

I also still vomit a fair bit with many different foods. fruit and veg are about all I can manage without vomiting.

[LittleLizzieLilliput 919]

Have you discussed this with your Surgeon's office? I feel like this is the kind of thing you should discuss with them. At 3 months out I was on full food and eating 4 oz of Protein every 3-4 hours or so. No vomiting. And if you can only keep down fruits and veggies how are your Protein goals doing?

I really think you should speak with your surgeons office about this. You could have a stricture or something else. Good luck!! I'm sorry you are going through this.

[jeichman 20]

My surgery was at the end of January and I'm eating around 4 oz of food in a meal. There are some foods that disagree with me and make me sick (just learned that yesterday with smoked turkey). Usually though, if I'm chewing enough and waiting enough between bites, things go well.

I think LittleLizzieLilliput is on track, this is something that should be a call to your surgeon.

[Delta_35 129]

53 minutes ago, Newbie12345 said:

I'm almost 3 months post surgery and m concerned that when I reach my ideal weight that the loss will continue. I'm almost there and portions are still ridiculously small at just 2-3 spoons. Has anyone fallen below their ideal weight?

I experienced something similar but I was only about a month out...and it was due to a stricture in the front tubing of my pouch. I ended up having to have another surgery to remove it, and have it "opened up" I am not sure if that's what you have, but you definitely need to contact your surgeon and let him have a look ASAP.

[_Mini_Me_ 133]

I'm almost 3 months post surgery and m concerned that when I reach my ideal weight that the loss will continue. I'm almost there and portions are still ridiculously small at just 2-3 spoons. Has anyone fallen below their ideal weight?

Im 3 months out as well, and still get full from 3-4 bites. I'm already half way to my goal weight. I spoke to the nutritionist about it, and she told me it may take a while to eat more for some ppl. She said make sure Im eating slowly, if you eat fast, that could be causing it. Also to make sure Im taking the acid-reducer that they prescribed. She also told me not to drink within 20-30 minutes of eating. I also had a hernia repair, so she said it is possible that the swelling could take longer to go down. She said to have designated hours for meals, and not to graze throughout the day. If you have a nutritionist, you should see what they recommend you do. Im still eating 3-4 bites per meal, and i drink 2 Protein shakes/day as Snacks in between meals, which is what my nutritionist recommended.

[Newbie12345 1]

Ok. Thankyou. I have my 3 month follow up next week. I'll ask then.

in answer to Protein goals- next to zero as I can't stomach meat and can only eat half an egg. I have just started nuts to try and get it in that way. It's just too hard at work so I stick with veggies as I know I won't be sick.

Thanks again!

[RickM 1,747]

It does sound like something isn't right if you are having these problems at 3 months - some will vomit if they overeat and there's no place for the extra food to go, which is what's happening to you except that your volume is way too low for that to be happening. Hence the suspicion that something is wrong, such as a stricture or twist in the sleeve.

As a rough calibration of what should be happening over time, this video gives a pretty good idea of what to expect as things evolve over the years, and to prepare for them to avoid regain. In short, you will wind up being able to eat roughly half of what you could pre-op.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_aahPETzH0

[bellabloom 2,467]

I went way below my ideal weight. Looked like a skeleton for a minute. Worked on getting more calorie dense foods and increasing meal frequency and my portions increased over time. Yours will too.

[FocusOnMeNow 599]

Yes your stomach will definitely grow but do not rush it. You will lose most of your weight within the first six months and that is normal. I am 18 months out and now have to watch myself or 3 or so lbs will start to creep back on. For Breakfast I now have a vanilla Premier Protein in my coffee every morning AND either 2 whole hard boiled eggs OR 4 slices of bacon. Yesterday I even made myself a one egg omlette with veggies and goat cheese and also managed to fit down 2 slices of bacon. If your BMI hits 21 and you do not want to be that thin then just start adding Snacks every couple of hours. Believe me you will not waist away with a sleeve. You will not have ANY trouble gaining soon. Make the most of the first six months and enjoy your progress.

[Shell ???? 224]

I'm a year out and my portion sizes are half a plate I watched a video on here yesterday someone posted and I see it's now on this thread it was so interesting it talks of 3 months portion sizes 12 months 3 years and 5 and 10 years so yes your portion sizes absolutely get bigger but they will never be Ike they were before surgery.

[nocturnalgemi 66]

It does sound like something isn't right if you are having these problems at 3 months - some will vomit if they overeat and there's no place for the extra food to go, which is what's happening to you except that your volume is way too low for that to be happening. Hence the suspicion that something is wrong, such as a stricture or twist in the sleeve.
As a rough calibration of what should be happening over time, this video gives a pretty good idea of what to expect as things evolve over the years, and to prepare for them to avoid regain. In short, you will wind up being able to eat roughly half of what you could pre-op.

Thank you for sharing this video! This is excellent advice and reinforces what my surgeon and dietician tell their patients: the surgery is just a tool. Maintaining one's weight loss is up to each person addressing what caused them to gain weight in the first place.

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[summerset 5,265]

5 hours ago, nocturnalgemi said:

Thank you for sharing this video! This is excellent advice and reinforces what my surgeon and dietician tell their patients: the surgery is just a tool.

Don't refer to it as "just" a tool. It's too powerful (lowering the set point of the body and changing the expression of numerous genes) to be dismissed as "just" a tool.

[nocturnalgemi 66]

Don't refer to it as "just" a tool. It's too powerful (lowering the set point of the body and changing the expression of numerous genes) to be dismissed as "just" a tool. [emoji4]

I can see your point of view. However, I'm in agreement with my surgeon: it is, in fact, just a tool. A tool is only as powerful as the effort put into using it. If the surgery was that powerful, people wouldn't gain the weight back. The surgery would stand on its own and the weight loss would be effortless to maintain. Any reputable surgeon or dietician will advise their patient it's still an ongoing lifestyle change. After your body is accustomed to being at a higher weight for an extended period of time, it's easier to creep back up to one's original set point rather than stay at the new lower set point. Just some food for thought (no pun intended).

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[summerset 5,265]

3 minutes ago, nocturnalgemi said:

I can see your point of view. However, I'm in agreement with my surgeon: it is, in fact, just a tool. A tool is only as powerful as the effort put into using it. If the surgery was that powerful, people wouldn't gain the weight back. The surgery would stand on its own and the weight loss would be effortless to maintain.

Compare it with the success rate of non-surgical weight loss and you will agree that it is a very powerful tool. As for the fact that not 100% of patients are successful: that's the problem with literally all therapies and it would be kind of unfair to dismiss the power of WLS because not every patient reaches goal weight and maintains it without struggle. No pill, no procedure, no intervention will ever have a 100% success rate for 100% of the patients. Doesn't matter if you're looking at WLS, medication against high blood pressure, cancer, high cholesterol or whatever.

WLS is a surgical therapy and it's very successful compared with every non-surgical alternative but of course it's not 100% successful. Patients are reacting very differently and it seems like nobody knows yet why some patients reach goal weight comparatively fast and without much problems and maintain without much struggle and with only moderate awareness about what they eat or not eat (that most people have to bring up, btw) while others never reach goal weight and have to struggle a lot or why some patients become lactose intolerant after WLS or why their taste preferences change and that of other patients don't.

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Any reputable surgeon or dietician will advise their patient it's still an ongoing lifestyle change.

That's never a bad advice given the fact that lots of people had a sedentary lifestyle before WLS and ate less than ideal foods a lot of the time. Anyway why is it that people have struggled for years (even decades) making these changes, it never worked in the long run and all of a sudden it works? A miracle? "Hard work" suddenly rewarded? The patient "suddenly getting a grip" on something that he/she never managed to do for the last 20 or so years? Or is it WLS working very powerfully after all because by altering the set point and the hormonal situation all of a sudden it's possible to implement changes because hunger and fighting the bodies urge to remain at the higher weight is no longer making this a hopeless uphill battle?

It's like throwing the teaspoon away you used, trying desperately getting the Water out of your cellar and putting a strong pump to work instead to get the water out. One is a hopeless struggle, the other requires less work and gets better results anyway. Why not embrace this instead of scaring yourself and getting the pressure and stress up again with concentrating on "the hard work", "strict diet", "rigid exercise regimen" and the like? You can concentrate on that particular windmill again when you notice that non-obsessive awareness doesn't do the trick. (And I will stop fighting against a certain windmill again right now, btw and I don't think most users on here will miss it, lol ).

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After your body is accustomed to being at a higher weight for an extended period of time, it's easier to creep back up to one's original set point rather than stay at the new lower set point.

Obviously there is evidence that WLS lowers the set point again - within the blink of an eye. That might be one of the reasons WLS is that successful compared to non-surgical methods: your body is not fighting your weight loss efforts. But it seems like you have only one shot. That's why revisions don't seem to be that successful when it comes to weight loss.