I am 4 1/2 months out and since the beginning of the 4th month my restriction has suddenly increased. I am starting to need to supplement my diet again with liquid Protein or I am feeling weak or malnourished. i thought I should try to force myself to eat more, but that's stupid and hurts like hell. Has this happened to anyone else? And is it something I should concern myself with, or should I just ride it out?

justmest

hi there

you should NEVER force yourself to eat more than you can - as you said, its not the smartest thing to do, your tummy will not be happy and you will feel sick

i am not sure about your restriction increasing? - some people complain about the opposite effect/restriction decreasing. not sure whats going on with you?

if you are having trouble getting required food in, you should talk to your NUT, tell her what is going on

supplimenting your intake by drinking Protein shakes is good idea. you need to get your protein in, nourishment

talk to your NUT/surgeon once you are done listening to others here that can help you better.

good luck

I am looking forward to an increase in restriction. At 3 months, I can eat more but do always measure to prevent eating too much. What would cause a restriction to change to more after it becomes less?

I wish I knew why, it's almost concerning me. If there's nothing actually wrong, I will make it my life mission to find out why it's happened, then I am goin to patent it and get stinking rich!!

Well, I'm 99% sure your restriction has not increased. My restriction varies depending upon several things.

1. The texture of what I am eating: For instance. A 3 oz piece of ground turkey is easier to eat than a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. As a matter of fact, I don't think I could eat anything else if I had a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. Point is, the ground turkey has already been a bit processed for me making it easier to chew and handle.
   
   
2. The order in which I eat: Which makes sense to me as we stack food up against the pyloric valve. If I start off with salad, and then eat a meatball, I don't feel the same restriction as if I ate the meatball first. meat is going to take a bit more time to break down before passing through the pyloric valve, so it will back everything else up giving the feeling of more restriction.
   
   
3. What I am eating: I can pack away a good amount of slider foods. Popcorn, salads ... even crackers are sliders for me, which I don't quite get. Seems the grains would expand in the stomach and cause restriction, but I can eat crackers. Oye. I digress. Bottom line is eating 3 oz of cottage cheese is not the same as eating 3 oz of Pasta. You WILL feel different amounts of restriction.
   
   
4. Liquids: Whether drinking with the meal or if the dinner has liquids in it, this definately affects restriction. I have played around with this a lot to increase calories for exercise. I can eat almost double of the exact same foods when I drink with them. I can eat 8 oz of just about any Soup, no problem.
   
   
5. Rate of consumption: If I take my time and chew well, I can eat more comfortably. When I go back to my old habits of chewing 5 times and shoveling another fork-full in, I have pain. I try to put my utencil down between each bite and chew really well. Not to mush like we had to do early out, but we have to remember what happened here. The stomach is the mechanical part of digestion. Think of it as the garbage disposer mashing up the food getting it ready to send down the pipes. Removing 85% of it has changed it from a 1 horsepower unit to an eighth horsepower unit. Help it out by chewing the food a little more than we did pre-op.
   

My 2 cents on this. Experiment with what I have thrown out there and you may be able to find what works for you.

Well, I'm 99% sure your restriction has not increased. My restriction varies depending upon several things.

1. The texture of what I am eating: For instance. A 3 oz piece of ground turkey is easier to eat than a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. As a matter of fact, I don't think I could eat anything else if I had a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. Point is, the ground turkey has already been a bit processed for me making it easier to chew and handle.
   
   
2. The order in which I eat: Which makes sense to me as we stack food up against the pyloric valve. If I start off with salad, and then eat a meatball, I don't feel the same restriction as if I ate the meatball first. meat is going to take a bit more time to break down before passing through the pyloric valve, so it will back everything else up giving the feeling of more restriction.
   
   
3. What I am eating: I can pack away a good amount of slider foods. Popcorn, salads ... even crackers are sliders for me, which I don't quite get. Seems the grains would expand in the stomach and cause restriction, but I can eat crackers. Oye. I digress. Bottom line is eating 3 oz of cottage cheese is not the same as eating 3 oz of Pasta. You WILL feel different amounts of restriction.
   
   
4. Liquids: Whether drinking with the meal or if the dinner has liquids in it, this definately affects restriction. I have played around with this a lot to increase calories for exercise. I can eat almost double of the exact same foods when I drink with them. I can eat 8 oz of just about any soup, no problem.
   
   
5. Rate of consumption: If I take my time and chew well, I can eat more comfortably. When I go back to my old habits of chewing 5 times and shoveling another fork-full in, I have pain. I try to put my utencil down between each bite and chew really well. Not to mush like we had to do early out, but we have to remember what happened here. The stomach is the mechanical part of digestion. Think of it as the garbage disposer mashing up the food getting it ready to send down the pipes. Removing 85% of it has changed it from a 1 horsepower unit to an eighth horsepower unit. Help it out by chewing the food a little more than we did pre-op.
   

My 2 cents on this. Experiment with what I have thrown out there and you may be able to find what works for you.

Thanks for your insight on this. I love the fact that you talked about the pyloric valve, and how we stack our food against it. I was actually having a conversation with a friend about this just the other night, and telling him how it worked. I think my problem is chewing, I have always been a very fast eater, and I know that I need to slow down, so perhaps that would help. I put about 3 ounces of food on my plate last night for dinner, and could only eat about 3/4 of it. there was about 1oz of Turkey, 1 small piece of carrot and about a tsp of mashed potatoes with some gravy on all. When I was done, I had that back pain that I always associate with over eating.

I never drink while eating, it's just painful, so I don't do it, plus I don't want to wash all the food down that I just ate. I want to make sure that I get in my max weight loss before the dreaded 6 months slow down (not entirely sure if I believe the 6 month slow down, but I want to be prepared just in case).

I will definitely experiment with your suggestions though and see what I find. I appreciate your insight. Now I am going to go read your blog

Well, I'm 99% sure your restriction has not increased. My restriction varies depending upon several things.

1. The texture of what I am eating: For instance. A 3 oz piece of ground turkey is easier to eat than a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. As a matter of fact, I don't think I could eat anything else if I had a 3 oz slice of turkey breast. Point is, the ground turkey has already been a bit processed for me making it easier to chew and handle.
   
   
2. The order in which I eat: Which makes sense to me as we stack food up against the pyloric valve. If I start off with salad, and then eat a meatball, I don't feel the same restriction as if I ate the meatball first. meat is going to take a bit more time to break down before passing through the pyloric valve, so it will back everything else up giving the feeling of more restriction.
   
   
3. What I am eating: I can pack away a good amount of slider foods. Popcorn, salads ... even crackers are sliders for me, which I don't quite get. Seems the grains would expand in the stomach and cause restriction, but I can eat crackers. Oye. I digress. Bottom line is eating 3 oz of cottage cheese is not the same as eating 3 oz of Pasta. You WILL feel different amounts of restriction.
   
   
4. Liquids: Whether drinking with the meal or if the dinner has liquids in it, this definately affects restriction. I have played around with this a lot to increase calories for exercise. I can eat almost double of the exact same foods when I drink with them. I can eat 8 oz of just about any soup, no problem.
   
   
5. Rate of consumption: If I take my time and chew well, I can eat more comfortably. When I go back to my old habits of chewing 5 times and shoveling another fork-full in, I have pain. I try to put my utencil down between each bite and chew really well. Not to mush like we had to do early out, but we have to remember what happened here. The stomach is the mechanical part of digestion. Think of it as the garbage disposer mashing up the food getting it ready to send down the pipes. Removing 85% of it has changed it from a 1 horsepower unit to an eighth horsepower unit. Help it out by chewing the food a little more than we did pre-op.
   

My 2 cents on this. Experiment with what I have thrown out there and you may be able to find what works for you.

Very helpful, thanks a bunch!!!!

Sorry, I haven't updated my blog in awhile as I have been battling injury. I should keep it updated, though, with what I am going through with my knee, which has now become a pinched nerve issue in my back ...

I'll try to be a better blogger.

Yeah, I was a woofer with my food and it is easy to fall back into the habit. I really have to make conscience efforts to chew well and slow down. Even 15 months post.

If it is painful to drink while eating, IMO, that is a clear indicator you are not chewing enough. Food is trying to pass through your pyloric valve and it is not broken down enough causing pain. Gotta chew more or chew better, shall I say.

I don't believe in the 6 month slow down. I believe it is all in the habits we adopt. The loss slows down for a lot of people at 6 months because, for the most part, they are able to eat anything comfortably and do. They make poor food choices and do not follow the guidelines as closely as needed for loss. I don't follow the rules to the letter, but I do keep pretty close to them. My restriction is still excellent and have no doubt that if I needed to drop another 20 pounds, I could easily do it by following the guidelines closer.