Full?

[eyhornmom 36]

I have moved on to pureed foods, but I feel like I might be eating too much. For lunch I had 1/4 c. of chicken salad. At dinner I felt like I might be able to have a little more, so I had 1/2 c. of refried Beans. They were so good! Anyway I didn't feel good after dinner. I kept everything down, but it was just a general not feeling good. My NUT just said 1/4 c. to 1/2 c. So, i don't know when I'm full. I'm frustrated because how can I be successful if I don't know when to stop eating?

[joatsaint 2,814]

Oh, you'll know, trust me. I learned the hard way. Puree foods are going to be easier on your sleeve than solid food and won't stay in your stomach as long as solid food. So you may be able to hold more puree than solid.

The first time you take one bite too many, you'll never forget. Since surgery, I've never had a sense of getting full. It is now, eat a bit, eat a bit, eat a bit.... oops one bite too many. I quickly learned how much I could safely eat.

But don't worry too much about it. If you can safely eat 1/4 or 1/2 cup, just stick with that. And if you want to test the limits of your sleeve, do it very slowly, taking teaspoon size bites. As I said, I don't have a increasing sense of fullness post-sleeve, you may not either.

[Kay2015 4]

Im experiencing the same thing. Im still on liquids so I dont know If that makes the difference but I can't tell when Im full. I always feel like I can keep going but I usually stop becuse Im scared and in my mind I know Im doing too much. I never felt any neausea or pain from overeating, but I did feel a little unconfortable after a yogurt smoothie once. I think its because I drank it too fast becuase the feeling went away after a few min.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

I have moved on to pureed foods, but I feel like I might be eating too much. For lunch I had 1/4 c. of chicken salad. At dinner I felt like I might be able to have a little more, so I had 1/2 c. of refried Beans. They were so good! Anyway I didn't feel good after dinner. I kept everything down, but it was just a general not feeling good. My NUT just said 1/4 c. to 1/2 c. So, i don't know when I'm full. I'm frustrated because how can I be successful if I don't know when to stop eating?

Sounds like you did. Lunch at ¼ cup was perfect, but that ½ cup made you uncomfortable. Tomorrow try scaling back to that ¼ cup again. If you don't get that uncomfortable feeling you'll know that's your happy spot.

[McButterpants 2,846]

Early on, I made sure I ate very slowly - I downloaded an app called Eat Slower on my phone. You set it to chime at intervals and you take a bite when it chimes. I set mine at 1 minute. I chewed really good - 15-20 times per bite (even foods like refried beans). Eating slowly is going to help. YOu also have to listen to your body - it may give you clues that you're starting to fill up. I would do a hiccup / burp thing or my nose would start running - I needed to stop immediately on those clues because a bite or two after that I was stuffed and in pain.

I do have a suggestion for all sleevers - your goal is not to eat until full...your goal is to eat until you don't feel hunger any longer or eat until "satisfied". That's why eating slowly is so important - it helps you identify when you're getting rid of hunger. If you eat quickly, it's easy to over eat.

My doc also made sure to point out that the portion size on her post-op diets were the "maximum" amount to eat. Do not exceed that quantity of food and remember, you don't have to eat everything - again, eat until satisfied.

Hope this helps

[CanyonBaby 1,852]

Exactly as McButterpants has said: when you are full, you are TOO full. Sated is where you want to be. How do you know? Take each bite slowly, chewing millions of times, then the next. Take some time between bites, put your fork down. FEEL where the food hits, then take the next bite. This takes lots of practice, so be patient with yourself. You should feel the food getting near the top. At the top is TOO full, and now food is sitting in your esophagus. Not good. So learn to recognize WHERE the food is, and stop before being full. Sated. That's the ticket! And it's the famous "sweet spot" we all like so much!