Frustrated Newbie--HOW DO I KNOW when I'm full?!

[LCS]

Hi Everyone,

I had my surg with Dr. Aceves on 1/5. Currently 15 days out. Had a hiatal hernia repaired, but healed up just fine. Down 12 pounds so far. I just had a few questions because I'm pretty frustrated and feel that I had to re-learn everything about how to eat.

I keep hearing a few things:
-Eat slowly
-dont overeat your sleeve
-listen to your body

Here's the thing--I'm still clueless. I eat (drink, mostly at this point) slowly, but dont feel a restriction. What does it feel like? At this point, I can only tell when it's up near my throat (liquid)--in which case I know I've drank too fast. I measure and time with my liquids, but I have been hungry a few times in the last week and drank fast only to find that 15 m later I have the foamies.

I want to do this right, but I am having such a hard time understanding my body's signs. I feel like I'm not doing well enough on liquids, and that I need to figure this out before I get to mushies or solids. I don't want to stretch my sleeve, but this is so strange and new still.

Another example: I just ate about 3 oz of yogurt for the first time and I feel like I have yogurt up to throat. I don't think I overate, but...did I eat too fast (15 min)? Is this bad? Should I have eaten less? If so, when would I keep going? I am even using tiny baby spoons and yeah...not sure if it's helping.

Sorry, all. I just don't know what the signs are. In the past, I was full when I felt full. Does the "New Full"=the feeling you get when you aren't hungry?

Thanks for all the advice ahead of time!

[Nanoosa]

Good questions. I don't know what I'm feeling anymore either!

[marilynlw]

It is really hard to tell when all you are eating is thing like yogurt or drinking shakes because they do not put any pressure on the stomach and just pass thru quickly. With thing like yogurt just eat about an ounce and wait a few minutes to let it slide down and then another ounce, wait and repeat. By 3 weeks I could finish a whole 5 or 6 oz container in a half hour. Once you are onto food with more substance to it you will be able to feel the restriction and when full. Just start out with a couple of ounces and then wait to see how the tummy feels and if you don't feel anything and think you are still hungry have another ounce. At 1 month about 1/4 to 1/2 cup will fill you up. It will take a little more as time progresses. At 2 months I can easily eat a whole cup of broth based soup but only 3 oz of meat like chicken or fish. It all depends on consistency. If you eat to much your tummy will let you know and you will learn to eat a little less next time. I hope this helps but believe me you will know when you are full when you get to regular food.

[Lucci]

Feeling full will be more prevalent when you are eating all solid food. As silly as it seems, I hiccup when I need to stop. I went beyond my sign once and was sorry. Eating slowly will give your body the time it needs to let you know your new tummy is full. Good luck!

[mommyle]

I'm hoping some more seasoned sleevers answer this because I have been wondering too.

[mommyle]

I'm hoping some more seasoned sleevers answer this because I have been wondering too.

Just a note: There weren't any answers when I first clicked on this conversation. Not trying to diss anyone

[BigDogMom]

Don't say you're sorry. This is a whole new way to eat and live, that takes some serious getting used to. Yes, it's weird and confusing and certainly takes time and practice. I never really noticed how fast I used to eat until I had to re-learn how to eat. SLOW is the trick, and small bites. Yogurt is a great thing to eat. I don't get that "full" feeling like I used to when I eat. Now, when I stop feeling hungry, I stop eating. I don't measure out ounces and super specific portions. I just use some common sense and take small bites. I only buy foods that are good for me, so there's no temptation to eat junk.
You'll have times when you do eat too much or you find something that your little tummy can't tolerate, and you'll have to cough it up. It's ok. It still happens to me sometimes. There's no magic method to learning all the rules post-sleeve. It just takes some time and lots of trial and error. You're still really fresh into this circus, so be patient with yourself and give your body the time to heal. This was a major surgery, and requires major life changes. But you can do it!
Reach out anytime you have questions or need help. That's why we're all here.

[tmclenn]

It is hard to tell when you are full earlier on, as Marilyn mentioned it gets easier when you eat more solid foods. I feel bubbles coming up, or get that stuffed like Christmas dinner feeling, or sometimes a bit of pain- my stomach saying WHOA! The denser the food the less you can eat, right now you are eating soft foods and they go through quicker. I ate out of a measuring cup the first couple of months, a qaurter cup then a half, some foods like yogurt I can manage a full cup now. But chicken, pork, beef, for some reason ricotta cheese, all fill me really quick. Don't worry you'll know when you get there, just take it easy getting there

[Sunflower]

It does take time to re-learn your new stomach. Think of your stomach as a baby's stomach--tiny and very sensitive. You wouldn't give a newborn infant a lot of food in a short amount of time. And if the baby gave you indications that he couldn't handle a new food, you would back up and not offer that food again for a while. Your tummy is still healing and may not be ready for what you're giving it yet. Good luck. It gets better.

[BethJane]

For me, and I am 4 weeks post op now, I get a small pain(not painful) when the food hits my stomach, and thats how I know to stop. I have never tested my sleeve or gotten nausea yet. I chew a lot, and wait for the food to hit my stomach, and then feel or see if it is full or can handle another bite, and then I might decide to have another bite or not.

[only me]

I have the same issue im 6 days out now. I dont feel hungry but nor do I feel full when i expect. I can drink a protein drink without any issues and I drink all day but never feel full. Do I run with the idea that I dont feel hungry so I dont need to eat?. Have 3 small protein meals a day and leave it at that. ?. I am allowed to to puree foods this wednesday perhaps it will be different then?. any ideas Ive lost 7 pounds (3kg) already but came home much heavier than surgery day. I had a tub of yoghurt last night with no issues. We have a product here in aus called cheesymite. Im craving teaspoons of it for flavour. Its low in carbs but high in vit b. It might help break the protein shake boredom... I do admit im not hungry but just never full

[hope4me]

It is hard to tell when you are full earlier on, as Marilyn mentioned it gets easier when you eat more solid foods. I feel bubbles coming up, or get that stuffed like Christmas dinner feeling, or sometimes a bit of pain- my stomach saying WHOA! The denser the food the less you can eat, right now you are eating soft foods and they go through quicker. I ate out of a measuring cup the first couple of months, a qaurter cup then a half, some foods like yogurt I can manage a full cup now. But chicken, pork, beef, for some reason ricotta cheese, all fill me really quick. Don't worry you'll know when you get there, just take it easy getting there

I agree with this statement. as this is how I feel. Most time when I eat I will be doing fine but afterward I fell sort of like this statement. So I have to walk around ect... And at this time I know it was a little to much when the bubbles or filling of acid seem to bother me. So It really is about learning when to stop and I don't think you will learn this from what we say. But then again we are talking from our experinces and hoping that it may help you as you work with this thing. Here's to us all learning when enought is enought.

[LCS]

Thanks so much to everyone who responded! It is SO hard. I think at this point the only thing I can do is to go slower. It's really annoying but seems like the only way to do things (at least with yogurt). I will keep going slow and listen to my body. I'm hoping this gets easier with the mushies.

Thanks again!

[dgoerlitz]

I can tell when I am done. I get the "food in the back of my throat" feeling if I eat too much. I've been working really hard on portioning. I can eat about 1/2 cup of solid foods, and a little more of liquidy things, like soup. Yogurt acts like a solid food to me, so a 4 oz. yogurt fills me up. My struggle has been fitting everything in in a day (e.g. water, protein...exercise). If you eat too much...I think you will know. You might not feel like you just ate Thanksgiving dinner, but there will be some signal...you just need to figure out what it is.

I tend to get hiccups every time I eat, so that's not a perfect gauge for me. BUT...I get the hiccups worse (they hurt) if I eat just one more bite than I should. I've been on solid food for 2 weeks now, and it is getting easier to manage meals and figure out what I can/should be eating versus what I used to eat. For example...bagels are out of the question...but I do like a nice scrambled egg on the weekends. My grandaughter's birthday was last week, and my daughter had spaghetti for dinner. I stopped at a Mediterranean restaurant and got some humus instead. I also tried sushi the other day. I could only eat 4 pieces (from an 8 piece roll) and I was STUFFED (and I saved about $25 since I can't eat what I used to). I can eat about 1/2 of the chicken from a Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich, so I know I have someplace to go if we are out and about and I'm in a pinch. A small chili is still too much for me though. I am finding it is about quality...not quantity. I am learning to re-think everything I eat to be sure it is worth "wasting" the space in my stomach for something that I don't need. I am working on trying to eat more veggies though now too, so I am sure that will be another decision process for me. Last night I grilled some shrimp and made a tiny salad to go with it. It worked out ok and I got some greens in me too! )

[bergamini]

I get the food in the back of my throat feeling as a cue that I'm "full". As a reminder, each sleeve and body is different. My capacity is much higher than I anticipated, although limiting me to 6-7 ounces of food and not having any real hunger most of the time has been quite successful so far for me. The softest food that can fill me is cottage cheese, anything softer and, like Marilyn, it just slides through but I can eat much faster. We are all just different and so you will have to learn from your body.