Hi fellow sleevers. I've been feeling pretty sad and down lately when it comes to my sleeve. I'm still losing weight, although slowly, but I'm not complaining about that. I've tried a 6" from subway a few times now. I can eat the whole thing. And yes, just because I can doesn't mean I have to. But I am just alarmed by the capacity of my stomach based on this. At 4 months I started noticing I could eat more. This does include the bread on the sandwich. I just expected to not be able to fit that much food in my sleeve especially not this early on. Is anyone else in the same boat? If my capacity stayed at this amount forever I wouldn't mind, but I imagine it is just going to continue to increase. so sad...all that money. I don't regret my sleeve, just feeling sad and depressed right now. Is this way too much for those of you at about 5 months out? Or does this seem normal? Certainly doesn't seem normal to me.....

My nutritionalist gave me the best tip EVER.

she said the key, the absolute key is to NEVER EVER EVER EVER and I mean NEVER EVER - eat as much as you "can". That is exactly how the feeling of restriction goes away. Repeatedly eating as much as you "can" will eventually make it so you CAN eat more and more. I am not even sure it is stretching - I think it is the getting used to that full feeling.

Pre surgery i could stuff amazing quantities into my stomach and I probably could now. I have to use my mind, my will, my determination to not do it. I have no idea what my max capacity is and i strive to never find out.

I am 18 months out and I don't have a tiny sleeve - my surgeon used I believe a 38 bougie (though my memory fades on this one).

I haven't tried it, but I'm pretty sure I could eat the fillings of a 6" sub (minus the bread) no problem.

I'm 7 months out today. Meat/cheese/veggies all sit really well in my new stomach. I'm afraid to try bread (which is probably a good thing for me).

It seems certain days I have more restriction than others...for no apparent reason.

I wouldn't say it's a bad thing that you can eat a 6 in sub I'm 4 month two weeks out and can't eat that much but I'm kind jealous of some of the food ppl can tolerate I was a big salad lover and still have a hard time w it and bread swell up in my stomach .. If the weight is still coming off its good and if it helps u some take one of the breads off next time u have one

Quit testing your limits. Seriously. It sounds, to me, like you're finding "excuses" to eat what you really shouldn't be eating. Subway sandwiches might *advertise* being healthy, but they're really NOT. Better to eat grilled chicken and some veggies than the processed stuff they call chicken. And the bread is pretty much just empty calories.

Think of it this way...if someone said "Hey, I can drink an entire milkshake...I'm so bummed that my sleeve isn't working any more!" What would you think? For the sleeve to be effective, you have to avoid "fluff" foods.

That said, even IF you're eating 6" subs, if that keeps you satisfied for 3-4 hrs (until next meal time), then it's probably FINE. The key is your overall calories/nutrition throughout the day.

I'm not trying to sound harsh and critical, but I AM trying to get you to take responsibility for your actions instead of "blaming" it on the sleeve. As I'm typing this, there's a pan of homemade brownies in my kitchen. And they're not the "from the box" homemade but true homemade. I could easily eat a brownie right now. I know some sleevers lose their taste for sweets and/or sweets make them nauseous. Not me!! So I could complain that the sleeve just isn't working that well for me, but in truth, it is what it is and *I* have to be the one to avoid the brownies.

I hope to one day be satisfied with a 6" sub....I used to be able to eat a footlong sub, chips, a cookie, a large soda, and I'm sure I probably could even stuff in another footlong sub if I wanted to. My stomach must have been the size of a soccerball. haha

IMHO, this new you is given to us as a "tool" only. In the beginning, yes, I hear that it practically does the work for you, now w that being said, it is during those months that we shud b learning just how to retrain ourselves on how to eat better. I've read that the sleeve is alot different than gastric bypass bc gb does all the work, the sleeve, as I see it, gets you prepared to work. As som1 said, we didn't get fat over night, n tho it seems that getting skinny is overnight, its not, its a lifestyle change. So go bck to ur postop basics until you've learned how to find your own fullness cues. If you need more help than what the sleeve can provide, then think about doing the 2nd stage, gb, in the next 6_18 months so I've read. Hope it helps, but remember, this is a tool, but you have to use it properly n wisely. U can't use a hammer as a saw an expect the same results. Go look at old pictures n find ur motivation to continue ur New path. Good luck!

I could eat a 5.3 oz yogurt at 3 weeks and maybe more , but I don't I measure my food in a 4 oz container I bought at gfs and just don't eat more than that.

To the person who asked why its discouraging I can eat so much more now..... Because its much nicer to have more restriction' date=' simply. I want my stomach to give me a stop signal way before it does.

As to the type of sub.... One was ham with only lettuce and mustard on a flatbread. The other was oven roasted chicken on wheat.[/quote']

Jen,

I'm only 2 weeks out so I can't speak from experience. However, I went to the post-op class with the nutritionist yesterday and one thing she said is that at 6 months your pouch will accommodate about 1-1 1/2 cup of food volume and likely stop there. That's about 8-12 ounces of food. Certainly a 6 inch flatbread with lettuce and deli ham is less than 1 1/2 cups of food. I wouldn't be too concerned. Like someone else said if it was meatball marinara with all the fixins on white bread I would worry.

Im 8 months post and when just ordered a blt for lunch and i could only eat half of the sandwich and a few chips :-)

That was on whole wheat bread :-)

I am only 1 week out and really wish I could eat! Seriously, I think a 6 inch sub is not horrible. It is an improvement over what I know I could eat before (a lot!). I all comes down eating in moderation and making good choices. When you are talking fast food, a healthy option at Subway is better than a McDonalds Big Mac. Subway has healthy and not so healthy options, so the key is to know what they are before you go and have a plan. Eating at home is much healthier, of course, but there are times when we are going to eat out. I'm not swearing off restaurants for the rest of my life. But I will have a plan - knowing at least a few healthy choices at each so if I find myself there, I have the knowledge to stay on track.

Regarding pushing yourself and eating what you can. My brother is 2 1/2 years out and he said that he's become used to the full feeling and it doesn't bother him as much. So he eats more than he should. He lost 150 lbs. and has gained 30 back. He went back to liquids for 3 days and he said it made a huge difference in feeling the restriction. Your brain can get used to those full signals and you can ignore them. So eating less than you "can" is usually better in the long run. (Even after 2 1/2 years he still can't eat the amounts that he used to - but you can eat more often to make up for that)

I worry I'm going to be one of those people that can still eat like a cow, even with their sleeve. I'm only a week out and I can already drink liquids pretty quickly and can gulp with no pain. I'm really looking forward to solid foods so I can feel the restraint of my sleeve!

I am 18 months now. I can eat all the filling from a 6 inch sub. Veggies meat all the good stuff. I can eat a 6 inch meatball, with half the bread. I usually cut the part that is less messy, then fold it in half. Going back to liquids for a few days does help. I had the flu for a week an only did liquids, once I was able to each I could tell the difference.

Also to put it in perspective, when I was 6 months I could eat 1 chicken wing. At a year I could do 2. Now I can do 3 and a bite of celery. Still pretty good!!

I'm one week out and I'm surprised at how much liquid I'm able to drink

I worry about this, too. I know I can eat more than others say they can. If I thought it would stay like this forever, I'd be thrilled. I'm currently 5 months out, I'm doing fine and losing, but I do wish I was one of those who report being full after a few bites. I totally know what the OP is referring to - it's a little frightening to think we went through all this only to end up with minimal restriction.

Its just too soon to know how much we will be able to eat, but I try not to worry too much. We can still lose the weight, it was never a magic bullet anyway. For me, even without great restriction, it is still way easier than before surgery.