I am five weeks out and have to admit that I'm struggling a little to know when I am full or notice any cues to help me determine that. Right now my Stage 3 eating plan calls for me to eat 1 1/2 to 2 oz of Protein at meals three times a day. What I have learned is what a difference 1/2 oz makes since if I eat the 2 oz. it is too much and I vomit; if I eat 1 1/2 oz of protein at meals 3 times a day., I'm usually OK. I take at least 20 minutes to eat - most times more and I eat tiny bites and chew each one 20+ times. I do not want to vomit but have found I seem to have no choice when I have that 'bite too many'.

For example, this a.m. I had a scrambled egg and cheese. I had to heat it up two times - that's how long I took to eat it. Well, after some time, I had two bites left on my plate and made the big mistake of eating them. I felt nauseous and my chest felt heavy. Now, in the past when I had a Lapband and food got stuck, I had

strategies to get it unstuck and I would feel instant relief. Those included literally jumping up and down, taking huge gulps of Water to push the food down, etc. I've tried the jumping up and down; did not work. I've tried a few sips of water; didn't work either. I was in pain and finally took a bunch of larger sips of water and out came the eggs. This was a worse experience then I used to have with my Lapband and I don't want to have to resort to these types of tactics again.

I only just realized that this a.m. I made the eggs with a WW cheddar cheese stick, cut up, which is .24g - almost an ounce. Normally I would measure and cut up only .14g (1/2 oz). So now I'm sure it's because this brought me to that 2 oz or more threshold which I know does not work for me.

Has anyone found a strategy that works for them to eliminate the painful symptoms without vomiting? Any other advice on cues to help you know that

you've eaten enough are appreciated.

Thanks.

You need to measure your food out to avoid having to result to unhealthy tactics. My surgeon's office wants us to take a bite every 10 minutes and the least amount of time to eat is 45 minutes. When I calculated this out, it came to 5.5 bites. So I try to keep within that range. However, I struggle with the 10 minute rule. I hate when my food gets cold, even when I keep it in a tortilla warmer, so I just eat about 6 bites and I don't have any problems like this.

You can do this and will be grateful with the results.

I think it is a trial and error situation. You will have to learn what is too much by experience. That was a lot of our problem to begin with...we didn't know when to stop. We didn't have that resistance before and now we do. This is a tool to help us learn what is enough. We don't like the feeling in our chest when we eat too much so we don't want to do it again. That is how we learn.

Good luck! Looks like you are doing great!!

I can eat about 3 oz, 3 weeks out. Weird that i can do so much more! It's about 6 small bites. I sometimes eat too much still, I have no sense of full and I struggle to slow down. I have found no option other than puke, but I've only gotten to that point twice now, and hopefully never again! For me it's an effort to be mindful. I used to eat very fast, and in great quantity. Now I have to eat slowly and in tiny quantity. I find I won;t eat something if it isn't delicious now.

Luckily I get a full feeling before it comes to upchucking....sometimes I hick-up when Im full, or my nose runs. If I feel a little too full, I sometimes sit up really straight, and lift my chest/ribs for a bit, to stretch out my stomach. This usually helps the too full feeling pretty quickly. I get full with less food in the morning, dense protein I get full faster, and sometimes other things make it happen too... pasta for one. I can eat 2 cups of soup or salad/chopped raw veggies.... It must really empty out fast!

For me my gen rule is 3 fork fulls and I am done. Sometimes if I wait awhile I can slide 2 more in but is it worth it to me. Ummm no way. I found my spot very fast. I have a very responsive gag reflex and had it before my op.

So my rule of thumb is 3 spoonfulls or fork fulls. And thats it, completely done.

I don't know how long ago you had your band, but the way it works and the way the sleeve works are completely different. (I had a band for almost 6 years.) Most of the tricks to eat around the band will only make the sleeve issues worse. That's because the food isn't "stuck" like it is with the band. With the bands, things are fine as soon as the food & saliva clears the stoma. Now, you no longer have a constricted esophageal stoma, you have the same stoma you had before any surgery. The issue now is capacity. Once it's in your stomach, it has to either go down or go up. There's nothing you can do to "force" food down through the stomach and into the bowel any faster, and even if there were, you wouldn't want to do it because you'd probably end up dumping pretty severely, or worse.

This freshly sleeved, I would not encourage vomiting. That can put a lot of stress on your fairly fresh staple line. If it happens, it happens. But honestly one of the best things you can do is just wait it out. I'm guessing you're still on mushy foods. Your stomach is going to contract about 3x a minute to grind its contents up, and push them downward. The softer/more liquid the food, the faster it will be moved through. It shouldn't take THAT long to get relief. If your sleeve decides it's just not going to deal with it, you'll know it.

I get a very slight full sensation. I have to really pay attention to it, and I have to be careful about how many bites I take and how much time elapses between them. Right now I can go 2 - 3 ounces of soft foods, maybe a little less depending on how sense it is. I can eat something like an individual babybel without any trouble, over the span of about 10 minutes. I can eat about 2 oz of pureed/thinned Beans over maybe 30 - 40 mins. I can drink Water pretty much non-stop as long as I don't drink too big of a gulp.

I've not yet thrown up nor hit a point where I'm really hurting, nor have I picked up on any soft stops (but I didn't have one with my band either... I did at first, but it went away).

Hope this helps.

Now, in the past when I had a Lapband and food got stuck, I had

strategies to get it unstuck and I would feel instant relief. Those included literally jumping up and down, taking huge gulps of water to push the food down, etc. I've tried the jumping up and down; did not work. I've tried a few sips of water; didn't work either. I was in pain and finally took a bunch of larger sips of water and out came the eggs. This was a worse experience then I used to have with my Lapband and I don't want to have to resort to these types of tactics again.

Thanks so much to everyone for your input. The concept of 3-6 forkfulls makes me wonder if you are talking about total volume. I use baby

utensils and was told that my bites are to be no larger than my pinky fingernail - so I am taking very small bites. Needless to say 3 to 6 of those would equal maybe 1/2t or 1t at best. I use a timer on my iPhone set to 20 minutes and I usually try to take a fingernail size biteful every 30 secs so I

cut my food up to 30-40 bites per 1 1/2 oz serving - I guess about the size of a pea or even less.

I agree this is going to take lots of trial and error and I know we are all different. I will have to be patient with the process.

It's great to have such wonderful support, input and suggestions so readily available here. I belong to a private Facebook group for my surgeon's office which helps but I find my first question always is - what procedure did you have? Especially since it seems RNY still seems to dominate. I love going on this Message Board and knowing that I am talking to fellow Sleevers with a bonus being those who, like myself, were revised from the Band to the Sleeve. I know you all can truly relate to my experience and I to yours.

Thanks again.

Good lord baby utensils. I am almost 2 months out and I use regular utensils. I do chew pretty good but I really dont eat dense foods. I can understand baby utensils if your 2-3 weeks out.