Eating too much...

[hellohealthy 32]

Does anyone feel like they eat too much at times? I swear at dinner I ate what felt like the equivalent of half a cow, but at lunch I had about 4 bites of chicken and was full.

I feel like I'm struggling with portion sizes. Anyone have any advice?

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@hellohealthy - I swear my sleeve has a mind of its own. Some days I can eat everything, some days its two bites. I wish I could give you specifics (bring a scale and measure 4 oz) but it doesn't seem to b that way. But heck, may be part of being human and learning to listening to your body and not social cues...

[Mountaingal 322]

Nice to know I am not alone. I have the same feelings.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I do have this happen a lot and don't always understand why. I am 12 months post op and I can even eat the same thing 2 days in a row and have different outcomes.

For example, I made homemade taco salad for dinner one night. Now I don't use a tortilla shell but I will sprinkle a tablespoon of tortilla crisps on top for crunch and I am far enough out and close enough to goal that I can tolerate them. Everything else is veggies, taco meat and cheese.

Usually I can eat between 3/4 cup and a cup of food at this stage before I am truly full. Well I think I got 4 forkfuls in for dinner that night and actually became uncomfortable so I stopped of course.

2 days later I had leftover taco meat so I made another taco salad for lunch. I was able to eat my full cup without feeling overly full.

This happens to me a lot but I notice it more when I am eating the exact same thing. About the only food where I can eat a full cup and even a little more is salad. I do eat a lot of Protein salads at my house.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Count me in. In fact I think I am even more odd because liquids fill me up. Protein shake, Water or Soup. Will fill me right up. One of the reason I have to space/schedule my Water drinking is to make sure I can fit in food/protein and water. Doesn't matter if it's 30 minute before/after eating or 5.

[OKCPirate 5,323]

@@Djmohr - It's funny how one day you are fine with something and the next day you are not. I had some ground bison and it just didn't sit well with me, yet a few days later its fine. I don't get it, but oh well, it is the life on the sleeve...

[samuelsmom 670]

Good topic. I thought I was the only one! I enjoy the days where I can hardly eat. Not so fond of the days where I can tolerate more... I have found that there are certain foods that fill me up quickly- one is greek yogurt and the other is steamed shrimp. On those days when I am feeling "hungry" I try to snack on those.

[Babbs 14,680]

Same here! Just now for dinner I had two ounces of ham, a whole egg and a small peice of whole grain toast! That's like almost a "normal" person portion?! Other days there is NO WAY I could eat that much!

Just goes to show how important the 'what' is going into our mouths as opposed to the 'how much' because it can vary so much!

[Ryan TN 348]

Same here! Just now for dinner I had two ounces of ham, a whole egg and a small peice of whole grain toast! That's like almost a "normal" person portion?! Other days there is NO WAY I could eat that much!

Just goes to show how important the 'what' is going into our mouths as opposed to the 'how much' because it can vary so much!

Have you considered the possibility that you are under estimating how much you would've eaten verses now? Reason I ask is what you're describing seems pretty small to me. Im pre op and lets say I made what you said for Breakfast, wich I do pretty regularly, I would've had probably 4-5 ounces of ham, 2 eggs, 1 slice of cheese, and 2 pieces of bread. And I wouldnt have been "stuffed" either. Maybe surgery has changed what you think is alot is actually not? Just wondering.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@Ryan TN

When you get full eating 4 ounces of food, your mindset of what is a lot changes.

Also if you look at the portions on labels. A portion of meat is 2-4oz. Most people go way over that. When you have the sleeve, you what a proper portion is supposed to be, maybe a little less.

An egg can fill most of us up, so an egg, plus toast and meat, wow that counts as a feast.

If you follow all the steps of your program, really follow them, and relearn how to eat. You will be surprised how your attitude about food and portion sizes change. A 3oz crab cake is a feast for me (crab is dense).

Edited October 2, 2015 by OutsideMatchInside

[Veronica_mm 87]

Same here! Just now for dinner I had two ounces of ham, a whole egg and a small peice of whole grain toast! That's like almost a "normal" person portion?! Other days there is NO WAY I could eat that much!

Just goes to show how important the 'what' is going into our mouths as opposed to the 'how much' because it can vary so much!

Have you considered the possibility that you are under estimating how much you would've eaten verses now? Reason I ask is what you're describing seems pretty small to me. Im pre op and lets say I made what you said for Breakfast, wich I do pretty regularly, I would've had probably 4-5 ounces of ham, 2 eggs, 1 slice of cheese, and 2 pieces of bread. And I wouldnt have been "stuffed" either. Maybe surgery has changed what you think is alot is actually not? Just wondering.

very very true!!!! I'm eating almost 800 calories a day it seems on NOTHING and i feel offle and i feel like I'm eating to much. Today for example I had: 2 Protein shakes, 1/2 cup of pistachios, 4 tablespoons of hummus and 12 pita crackers. That's it. And I see myself as eating a cow. And that is 830 calories for today and I'm only 7 weeks out.

I think you are exactly right!!!

[Djmohr 6,965]

The whole portion thing is strange.

Last night I went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant with my husband and another couple. I always order the shrimp fajitas and I eat about 5 small shrimp, some of the peppers and onions and a sprinkle of cheese.

When you look at what is left on my plate I probably ate 1/8th of that portion.

I also had a bit of their fresh salsa which is my favorite and 3 tortilla chips.

Of course I felt like I ate way too much but my pouch was fine. The group ordered Sopapaillas for dessert and I was so proud of myself because I abstained! I actually felt good about what I ate but part of me scolded me for those darn chips.

If you think back to my portion and compare it to what I used to eat! I would have eaten all of my shrimp fajitas including the soft tortillas and had dessert. My friends were actually perplexed that I was full on that little bit of food.

We had a whole conversation about how you really can survive on a lot less food than you think. They asked me what my menu looks like in a whole day so I pulled out my fitness pal and showed them that I generally eat between 900 and 1200 calories a day and the types of food I focus on. They could see that I have been tracking for an entire year and the nutrition I focus on.

My friends are very good ones who have been so very supportive throughout. I moved states in the spring and I miss my walking buddy so we got caught up last night. She was doing so good before I left but has been stress eating and put on a few pounds. She is overweight but not obese and is trying hard to get back on track.

Anyway, it is so weird the way our heads now think about portion size. I know that 900 - 1200 calories is not normal for someone who hasn't had WLS but when I have a 1200 calorie day I always feel like I ate way too much that day.

Go figure!

[phil2912 22]

I feel like chiming in here to give my $0.02 lol. It seems that with WLS the perception of food as a whole changes. Foods that we might not have thought anything of suddenly become 'bad' or are seen as dangerous to weight loss.

This seems true of the amounts of food as well. Normally 2 slices (or even 3-4) pre-surgery would have been standard. All of a sudden anything over 1/2-1 slice becomes too much.

While this shows us that we really were over eating pre-WLS, it also highlights, to me anyway, how easy it is to get caught up (or rather not be able to escape) the black and white/ good and bad/ all or nothing mentality that a lot of us struggle or struggled with in the past. Surgery doesn't seem to magically eliminate those thoughts because maybe we aren't taught to trust ourselves or our bodies to tell us we have had enough?

Again just my 2 cents/ thoughts. I really struggle with this topic so felt like contributing

Edited October 6, 2015 by phil2912