I just had surgery on Wednesday, September 2. I am home now and have no trouble with the amount of food. I ate an entire pack of instant grits (about 1 cup). I later drank an entire 11oz protein shake in 1 sitting. I later at a s/f jello cup and an applesauce cup. I thought my pouch was only able to hold 2 tablespoons. How am I able to comfortably eat this much? Did my doctor forget to make the pouch? Should I be concerned?

I would recommend that you try and stay with the program and the volume restrictions for meal size even if your stomach is not revolting yet. Your body will handle liquids different than solids. You are currently in the full liquid state. I suspect that once you get to the full solid state, exceeding the volume requirement might produce some pain

Back to what is your goal. Isn't it to lose weight. The way this is done is with portion control. So if you want to lose weight, you should be consuming 2 ounces which is 1/4 cup per meal. Your Protein shakes fall under a different set of requirements. Drinking an 11 ounce Protein shake is good.

Your body handles liquids different than solids.

I had surgery Monday I would be afraid to eat that much but I can drink around 6oz

the reason you are able to eat and rink so much is that your stomach nerves are not healed. This does not mean you're actually able to consume that much. I had a similar issue, in that I never felt full. I wondered if my surgeon didn't make the pouch, too! But now I'm three weeks post op (three weeks today exactly, woohoo!) and I certainly feel full very easily. I just drank my Protein shake, 14 oz, but it took me about two hours. And I feel pretty full still. So stick to the program, or you may stretch your pouch way too soon and end up hurting your progress. Also, three days after surgery I was JUST moved to full liquids. I wasn't able to even have pureed food until a week and a half after surgery. You have to be careful and follow your doctor's orders perfectly in this stage. Good luck!

@@Lynn Blue I also had surgery on Wednesday, 9/2! Congratulations!

I'm so glad that I read this topic, thank you for asking this question! My Diet booklet, which was given to me by my NUT at the surgeon's office, has me eating 1/2 c of Soup AND 1/4 cup of applesauce or SF pudding as a meal for lunch or dinner. This is 6 oz! I did it the first night I was able to be on Full Liquids and didn't feel full and thought nothing of it initially.

Then when the time came for the next meal, I kept asking myself, if my stomach pouch was only able to hold 2-4 oz, why I was able to take in 6oz at a meal?? I thought..OMG, did my Surgeon do something wrong??

After that first meal of 6 oz, I have been limiting my meals to 1/2 c of soup OR 1/4 c of applesauce or pudding, but not both. I do not want to stretch anything out and hate life later.

I appreciate the feedback that everyone has given and this makes me feel a lot more confident about my choice to cut back. Now if I could just get my Protein shakes in, I'd feel better!

Edited September 8, 201510 yr by Nikikins

I am so surprised to be hearing people asking these questions here. As part of your bariatric team do you have a NUT that will return your calls? I ask because I email my NUT almost every day asking one crazy question or another, and she always answers the same day or the next at the latest. I would certainly be asking my NUT about this rather than worrying over whether I was doing it correctly.

I sure hope your NUT is accessible. If they are, I would urge you to contact them and ask them to get the official scoop.