Eating too much I feel like

[K Ramirez 7]

Hello, my name is Kristen. New here. I'm 11 days post op. I'm on my Protein weeks or phase 2 of 5 to weening back to normal foods.

My nutritionist told me I should be able to feel full after 4-6 oz. I should drink a Protein Shake within 2 hours as my stomach couldn't handle it all at once. However, I'm finding out that I can eat/drink a lot more than that at once with no pain. I burp a little more but that's about it.

I'm HIGHLY worried that this means I won't be able to control my food intake once I can have solid foods again and regain all my weight. I'm 11 days after and only down 4 pounds, which is another concern is that I'm not losing weight as fast as so many have told me I would, including the nutritionist.

I do know that in some cases, inches fall down faster than pounds. I'm hoping that's my case but my pants so far fit just the same and the 4 #'s seems to be reflecting both pounds and inches.

Has anyone also experienced this? Is this because I can stomach more than I was told I could? Am sorry eating too much? I have 2-3 Protein Shakes a day. I eat some chili or cottage cheese randomly these past 3 days. I also have protein20. A water/protein mix. I have around 40-60 oz of Water a day (still working on my water intake) here and there I'll have sugar free popsicles. Have cut the popsicles mainly out as they have other bad things in the ingredients and I don't want a sweets craving.

My nutritionist assures me I'm doing things right but I don't understand why I can eat a lot more than I'm supposed to and I'm losing weight very slow. It's super discouraging. I was looking forward to this surgery as a new life, new me and a better me. Not at all what I hoped for

[Danpaul 42]

Kristen it's not uncommon for people who are post op a few days to have so much angst. Follow your doctor and nutritionist protocols. Everyone loses weight at a different pace. The main thing is to stick to the program and despite what is preached about super fast weigh loss, it does happen but it's not the norm. The majority of people lose a a decent amount of weight, experience a stall, after time the body adjusts and then you experience Constipation, and the body adjusts and you lose more weight. . Your best result is patience and sticking to the plan. I have family members who can eat a lot more than they thought they should. It comes down to what you eventually eat. Eating a ton of salad is much better than eating a ton processed food. Still eating a ton but with much different results. Stay the course and dont be discouraged, your body is going through a process and needs to sort things out.

[K Ramirez 7]

I appreciate your response. I guess I've always been too hard on myself with wanting to be better. Thank you. I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

[Arabesque 7,425]

Everyone loses at their own rate. There are many factors that can influence your rate of loss (constipation, diarrhoea, Fluid retention, your body’s reaction to the surgery, starting weight, medications, etc.). Though it can be difficult, try not to compare yourself with others. It will only lead to frustration & feeling you’re failing. You’re not failing. You’ve lost 4lbs in 11 days - yay!

Remember too that many nerves were cut during your surgery so messages about feeling full or eaten enough either aren’t getting through or the messages are distorted. It takes around 8 weeks to be fully healed & when your messages start to come back they may be different to what you remember. It’s why it’s important to stick to the portion recommendations you were advised & to eat slowly (takes a good 20+ minutes for a full message to get through when you’re healed).

Portion sizes do differ but 4-6oz at 11days seems a lot. My plan was 1/4 - 1/3 cup of food from purée slowly increasing to a cup at 6 months & 3 meals a day. Fluids were just sip, sip, sip, regardless of what I was drinking. So it took me a couple of hours to drink a shake or a cup of Soup too. But that was my plan & plans differ. Check your plan for portions & also the foods you are allowed at each stage. I could have cottage cheese at weeks 3 & 4 purées & chili at the soft food stage at weeks 5 & 6.

Congrats on your surgery.

[JerkyGirl 13]

Kristen... Most of my life I heard people say how they felt full. I never really did. I am 23 years post-op and I still struggle with the not feeling full issue. Unfortunately, this struggle led to my over eating and putting my weight back on plus some. I am now on a journey to lose again to repair hernias and improve the quality of my life. It's hard though! I was a teacher for 33 years (now retired) and eating fast was a necessity in order to finish before the kids returned and class began again. It's a tough habit to break, but a necessity for me to keep from over eating due to not feeling full. It has taken me MANY years to learn to eat slower so I can be more conscious of filling up. Different things work for different people, but if you eat fast, you can try eating slower and giving yourself time to feel full. Just know you're not alone! 😊

[NickelChip 1,318]

I'm almost 8 weeks post-op, so further out than you but still pretty recent. I have had no trouble with liquids. I mean, I can't gulp them down, but I have been able to finish an 8oz Protein Shake in under 5 minutes without any issues from about a week out. Yogurt and cottage cheese go down easy, too. I try to take about 15 minutes for those just to pace myself. But those burps you are getting now are a sign you are filling up. Pay attention to that and slow down. Stop yourself from consuming more just because there's no pain. I was doing great until I reintroduced solid foods like fish and eggs. All of a sudden, a few bites and I was done. And those little burps turned into something more like stomach spasms if I ate too much or something that didn't agree with me. Things changed a lot the more I healed, actually becoming a bit more difficult. There's more pain now, and more finicky reactions from my body. There's a pretty good chance that how you feel today will not be the same as how you feel next month, and what works now might not work then. Take it slow and give yourself time to learn your new anatomy.

[K Ramirez 7]

Thank you for this! I'm working on eating slower and recognizing signs.i ended up taking a before and now picture (even though was just 11 days) and I could see a small difference, that difference helped though! I'm trying to do things to stay positive. I really do appreciate your post, gives me more hope!

[BlondePatriotInCDA 525]

Also keep in mind your nerves that register full were cut to reduce your stomach. It will take several months for them to reattach and possibly start working again! Its why the dieticians want you to measure/weigh everything - they know your eating capacity!

As others have said; pay attention to your body's indicators, there are several and not everyone experiences the same or all of them:

1. Sniffing/runny nose

2. Hic ups (I personally get this one)

3. Racing heart or more pronounced feeling of beats (I also have this)

4. Pain

5. Shortness of breath

6. Coughing

7. headache

8. ? Yours maybe different and unique - just pay attention to what your body is telling you!

[ms.sss 15,721]

22 hours ago, Danpaul said:

Eating a ton of salad is much better than eating a ton processed food. Still eating a ton but with much different results.

i like this ALOT. nice.

[ms.sss 15,721]

44 minutes ago, K Ramirez said:

Thank you for this! I'm working on eating slower and recognizing signs.i ended up taking a before and now picture (even though was just 11 days) and I could see a small difference, that difference helped though! I'm trying to do things to stay positive. I really do appreciate your post, gives me more hope!

wowza! the visual difference of your lost 4lbs is pretty significant! i don't think a 4lbs loss would have registered such a visual difference on me. nice!!

[K Ramirez 7]

2 hours ago, ms.sss said:

wowza! the visual difference of your lost 4lbs is pretty significant! i don't think a 4lbs loss would have registered such a visual difference on me. nice!!

I did this to help boosted my positivity. The nutritionist told me I'd lose inches before pounds. He was right, thank you!

[SaraSara4 16]

I am 11 days out from bypass and I too feel like I can have more than I am supposed to or that I heard from others. I felt like that the day after surgery. I had no problems with my Fluid intake but my care team did not seem to think it was an issue. I cant take big drinks but I can drink my 11oz Protein Shake without feeling “full”. I can eat my 1/4 cup of strained Soup and dont feel full. I ate 2 popsicles in a row last night and not a pain or discomfort at all. My Dr didnt seem to think it was an issue and told me to just listen to my body and get my fluids in right now over anything else so thats what I am focused on.

[Arabesque 7,425]

@SaraSara4 Lots of nerves were cut during the surgery so messages about feeling full, having had enough, eaten/drunk too much, etc. either don’t get through or don’t get through in the same way. So the listen to your body advice doesn’t really work fully yet. Plus liquids go through your digestive system much more quickly so you won’t ‘feel full’. It’s why it’s important to stick to the recommendations regarding portion size, sipping your fluids slowly & eating slowly too. Tread slowly & carefully.

I used to dilute my cup of shake or Soup to around 1.5 cups or more & literally took about 2 hours to sip my through it. They count as fluids so all good.

It takes around 6-8 weeks to recover & for the nerves to be back working properly & even then the messages could be different than what they were.

Edited May 6, 2024 by Arabesque