Big Pouch Days and Little Pouch Days

[KT1981 294]

I'll be 8 months out on Monday and I still have what I call "big pouch days" and "little pouch days". On a big pouch days, I have to watch my calories because my pouch seems to be able to physically accommodate more food than normal. Today I am having a "little pouch day" where I have pre-logged all my food for the day and I'm at 630 calories. I can't imagine what the heck else I'm going to eat because I've felt "full" all day long. Getting in all the foods to meet my 630 will be a challenge.

An occasional low day won't kill me (and I'm still meeting my Protein goals) but I wonder why this happens and if anyone else experiences it. It also makes me wonder if I'm stretching my pouch on the little pouch days where I feel full all day.

Kara

[teachkdz0507 7]

Hi Kara-

I do understand what you mean. I have shrugged it off to eating things that were "gassy" which gave me the full feeling. No science behind my response just wondering about why it seems that way as well. I think my new tummy (9 years old now) is one big chemistry experiment. Foods change how they react with me. I have also noticed that slider foods tend to go down easier and I can tolerate more.

Sound reasonable. Maybe someone will have a science based reply.

[summerset 5,265]

Most likely this won't go away. There will always be days when you'll feel more hungry, have more appetite, will eat more because there seems to fit more into the pouch/stomach.

You'll probably notice that this feeling of "can eat more" is related to your activity level as well.

[Tracyringo 503]

I do the same thing. Mostly I have noticed big pouch days where I ate things a should not have eaten(slider foods) I have been having quite a bit of small pouch days lately, Where I only get in about 1000 calories and the scale is moving down. Once I hit a big pouch day I will gain 2 or 3 lbs over 2 or 3 days and hold. My body has a set point of 172 lbs

[JanJan19 205]

I'm only 3 weeks out & I already feel this. Some days I'm legitimately hungry and can eat more. Others most of the day has passed & I've not consumed enough to hit calories/protein.

[summerset 5,265]

It's pretty normal. Everyone (surgery or not) has days with more appetite, more hunger, more cravings... and some people are reacting to this and eat more one day and less the other.

However, people on this board here are so damn traumatized and terrified when it comes to food and eating that they hold the opinion only eating the same amount everyday, weighed and counted, is the safe way to eat. Appetite, hunger and feelings of fullness or the lack there of don't have a word in this thing.

So many patients seem to choose overly restrictive diets (kind of like an overkill) without seemingly ever giving a thought about if that is sustainable in the long run. Remember, all this stuff didn't work in the long run in the past and got you (and me, too, of course) to a point where WLS was needed.

Of course there will always be non-eating-disordered reasons to restrict foods, e . g. dairy if you can't tolerate it, animal flesh because you're a vegetarian, pork because of religious reasons etc. - that's not what I'm talking about.

In sum I think it is very sad that only a scarce amount of WLS patients seems to try to connect to what they really want to eat, or to their hunger and appetite cues. Am I really hungry right now? More than usually? Why could that be? What tastes do you really like and eating accordingly to them instead of choking down the next piece of fat free prepared lean Protein chicken with two broccoli spears on the side even though you might hate the taste of green vegetables.

[Tracyringo 503]

I eat whatever I want, when I want. My problem at 311 lbs was more Portion Control then anything. I feel like I wasn't a really bad eater, it was the amounts I was eating for the most part. I weigh everyday and if I hit 175 lbs I hit the breaks for a day or two and this works for me. I am in maintenance though. When I was in weight loss stage I stuck to my diet and only went off when I would go out of town or holidays with family.

[zombieskayer 84]

I have days like this, I brought it up to my nutritionist and she said it happens sometimes. She did mention maybe there's something common on the small pouch days that I could be eating or drinking that might trigger it (like certain sugar substitutes and stuff) So now I'm suppose start digging into the ingredients of stuff on the days I have a little pouch day and see if there's any similarities.

[Carrot64 214]

YAS!!!! This is me as well!! There are days and meals as well . One different from the next day to day . Some days I feel like I didn’t have surgery and others one bite of anything and it’s stuck or I feel the foamies approaching so I stop at 2 bites and it can be the same food effecting me differently on different days .. I believe it helps me in some weird way ???? I haven’t stalled at 4 1/2 months so SOMETHING is working so I consider the big pouch/ little pouch days as new normal!

Edited June 17, 2019 by Carrot64

[Robert S. Libberton 22]

When does this phenomenon start after surgery?

[SteveT74 359]

I am totally with you guys. There are some days where I feel no restriction and can eat a 12oz steak and other days when I am stuffed after 4oz of hamburger. There's no real rhyme or reason. Nevertheless, eating heavier foods like chicken or steak will fill you up faster than other foods like salad, nuts etc. (which I slider foods). If you watch your calories and make sure you are sticking to a healthy diet, it's not a big deal though. As much as we may think that the weight loss is a result of the restriction from our sleeved stomachs, I am convinced that most of the weight loss is caused by metabolic and hormonal changes caused by the surgery (and lifestyle changes that we make along the way if we are making the most of this opportunity).

[GreenTealael 25,329]

I have noticed that I have a hungry week but it is hormonal.

I try to stay within my macros but during this week it is tough, so i don't sweat it too much. I do try to eat a lot more salads because the vegetables are low cal.

[Tracyringo 503]

18 hours ago, Robert S. Libberton said:

When does this phenomenon start after surgery?

Not quite sure when it started, but I have noticed it more the past 6 months. This may be because I quit logging my food and obsessing on it everyday. I actually lost about 6-8 lbs doing this and I know that sounds crazy but that is what happened.

[summerset 5,265]

3 hours ago, Tracyringo said:

This may be because I quit logging my food and obsessing on it everyday. I actually lost about 6-8 lbs doing this and I know that sounds crazy but that is what happened.

Doesn't sound crazy at all. Don't feel the need to somehow justify that you're not logging your food by claiming that it sounds "crazy".