How do I know when I'm full?? - 1 week post-op

[melanieinamumu 2]

Hey y'all! I'm currently one-week post op and I'm trying to interpret when I'm getting close to full. In the beginning, I was starting to consume 4 oz at one time every thirty minutes to get my goals in (I've stopped that since, I take it much slower).

I never experienced any real discomfort even then but I'm afraid of hurting my sleeve. What are some signals that are experienced at this stage or what I should look out for? Any help is appreciated!

[Arabesque 7,470]

You won’t feel a lot of your old signals & your new restriction for a while (solid food usually) because a lot of nerves are cut during surgery & they have to heal. Secondly, liquids go through your tummy much more quickly so you don’t get full especially as you’re sipping slowly.

When your signals do start to get through, they are often different to how they used to be to you. For example when your hunger returns, you’ll likely realise real hunger is not wanting/craving a specific food, flavour or texture (that’s head hunger). I feel restless as if something is wrong & there is a reason I am hungry & not because of emotions, boredom, habit, etc.

I was advised to eat 1/4 - 1/3 cup of food from purée slowly increasing to a cup by about my goal at 6 months. Initially because of the lack of signals so I wouldn’t strain my healing tummy, & then to guide appropriate portions. Check with your team for portion sizes if you’re unsure - weight alone doesn’t always work or is easy to measure. But never worry if you don’t eat all of your portion - it all balances out & it means you’re listening more closely to your body & it’s needs. And in the beginning, same with hitting all you goals - as long as your making an effort & are close & getting closer you’ll be okay. It’s always harder in the first weeks.

The goal is not to feel full or to feel your restriction, but to learn when you’ve eaten enough or what your body needs not what you want to eat. Of course you don’t learn this overnight. I found asking myself if I need the next bite or just want it very helpful. Still do this 4 years out.

And finally, another thing you don’t learn overnight. It takes time for your full message to get through when it fully come back. So when you feel full you’ve already eaten too much & more than you need.

Sorry long post.

[summerseeker 2,274]

Early in the recovery process the signals are microscopic. My early signals were a runny nose or sneezing

When you get onto real foods its like 'wham' Full as a stomach can be. Its at that point you realise you have eaten too much.

[KathyLev 286]

It IS funny how the signals change. Now as I'm getting full ,I start to burp . It's like the food is filling up the last of the air space in my stomach. I've been stopping before that happens ,but it's like my stomach is sending out an alarm that says "for God's sake -- STOP eating !!" LOL

[ms.sss 15,735]

everyone seems to have different full signals, but mine was an increasing pressure in my chest.

once i started to feel a teeny bit of that i would stop. i also ate verrrrrrrry slowly so i had time to notice the feeling before it was too late.

too late == pain and barfing, so it was in my best interest to stop before i reached to point of no return.

Good Luck! ❤️

[hills&valleys 130]

As others have stated, in the early weeks there really is no signals so you must measure your portions. When I first started introducing solid food my full signal was a runny nose followed by silent air burps. At almost 6 months post-op, I have gotten better at visually measuring my portions and stopping before I am full; but I still get the air burbs if I eat until I'm full.

[Inspectorjh84 39]

I get that weird runny nose as well. Instead of how I used to feel like full deep in my stomach, now my full feeling is like at the top of my chest and sternum, like I can feel the food filling up my throat. I generally eat like 3 oz and just stop now before I get the full feeling because I don't like walking around too full.