Am I Stretching It?

[darima77 56]

I am 4 months post op. I can eat pretty much any kind of good within moderation. I'm still figuring out what works with my sleeve. I'm wondering is it possible that I have stretched my stomach. I don't think that I over eat. I drink one premiere Protein Drink in the morning, I drink a bottle of Water (with crystal light), sometimes before lunch I will snack with some trail mix or some occasional chips (approximately a cup full), for lunch I will eat either 4ounces of cottage cheese, Soup or chicken salad, then I'll have a snack again, another Protein Drink and dinner is pretty much the same as lunch. There are times when I will eat a spoonful of rice, a spoonful of scrambled eggs, a half of a sausage patty and one forth of a piece of toast. I consider that meal large now. If I'm feeling like the food that I've eaten is just underneath my sternum, is that considered packed and stretching my stomach, is it that I'm full or have I had just enough? Can anyone answer these questions for me? Am I eating too much? I'm currently only losing like 1 or 2 pounds each week which seems really slow now. Can you stretch your stomach just 4 months after surgery? I need help!! Thanks in advance for anything that you can help with!!!

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[Bufflehead 6,358]

To me, if I can feel the food right under my sternum, that means I overate. Remember, you are not looking for "full" any more, you are looking for satisfied. You don't want to feel stuffed, just no longer hungry (physically hungry, not head-hunger hungry).

I doubt you have stretched your sleeve. To be completely honest, I think that if anything is hindering your weight loss, it is the type of food you are eating, not the amount. Trail mix, chips, rice, toast -- these are high calorie foods that don't offer much in terms of either nutrition or satiety. High carb foods like chips, rice, and toast will just make you hungrier and you will find yourself wanting to eat again a couple of hours after eating them. Things like chicken salad have more nutrition, but if packed with a lot of mayo or Salad Dressing, can be extremely caloric, even in relatively small amounts.

It doesn't look to me like you are eating a lot of lean Protein or green veggies. Those are lower calorie, lower carb, and will keep you full longer. Instead of chicken salad, just have chicken breast. Instead of a sausage patty, have some pork loin. snack on deli meat or asparagus spears, not chips or trail mix. Good luck!

[SilentBotts 138]

I agree with every thing Bufflehead said.

Definitely also track your Protein, if you are hitting your goal with just food then you can probably drop one or both of the shakes. Getting all your Protein from food is a good goal in general, and lean protein like fish/poultry/eggs/low fat cheese makes it very easy. The cottage cheese is a great choice. Turkey or chicken sausage is a great alternative to pork sausage. I would also try to limit the number of times you have a snack each day. Snacking can get us back into the habit of grazing which is a really easy way to get around the restriction of the sleeve.

Bufflehead, on 26 Jul 2016 - 16:25, said:

To me, if I can feel the food right under my sternum, that means I overate. Remember, you are not looking for "full" any more, you are looking for satisfied. You don't want to feel stuffed, just no longer hungry (physically hungry, not head-hunger hungry).

I doubt you have stretched your sleeve. To be completely honest, I think that if anything is hindering your weight loss, it is the type of food you are eating, not the amount. Trail mix, chips, rice, toast -- these are high calorie foods that don't offer much in terms of either nutrition or satiety. High carb foods like chips, rice, and toast will just make you hungrier and you will find yourself wanting to eat again a couple of hours after eating them. Things like chicken salad have more nutrition, but if packed with a lot of mayo or Salad Dressing, can be extremely caloric, even in relatively small amounts.

It doesn't look to me like you are eating a lot of lean protein or green veggies. Those are lower calorie, lower carb, and will keep you full longer. Instead of chicken salad, just have chicken breast. Instead of a sausage patty, have some pork loin. Snack on deli meat or asparagus spears, not chips or trail mix. Good luck!

[darima77 56]

Thank you guys. I typically don't eat that everyday. I should've said that earlier. I just had the brown rice and toast on today and yesterday. I'm not a big meat Water. I definitely do t eat pork or seafood. I'm strictly chicken or turkey. I do eat trail mix kind of often. I will have to incorporate more green vegetables. I do forget about those. I have to do better. Do you or anyone happen to know if the doctor would give an xray or upper GI upon request of I wanted to know if I've stretched my stomach?

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[Bufflehead 6,358]

@@darima77 the doctor might be willing to order one, but the bigger question is would your insurance pay for it. If it's just because you are worried, not experiencing physical symptoms, probably not. If you have a few thousand dollars lying around to burn because you are worried/curious, more power to you -- I don't!

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

LOL!

Calories in one cup of trail mix?

693.

There's your sign.

[emme.vee 142]

Thank you guys. I typically don't eat that everyday. I should've said that earlier. I just had the brown rice and toast on today and yesterday. I'm not a big meat Water. I definitely do t eat pork or seafood. I'm strictly chicken or turkey. I do eat trail mix kind of often. I will have to incorporate more green vegetables. I do forget about those. I have to do better. Do you or anyone happen to know if the doctor would give an xray or upper GI upon request of I wanted to know if I've stretched my stomach?

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Honey I think your bigger problem is the caloric/carb intake. There is an app/website called myfitnesspal. Start using it so that you can see how much calories, Protein & carbs you are eating. You will be very surprised as to what you are putting in your body. Also, why not switch from trail mix to almonds? They are very high in Protein and while some nuts are healthy, some are mostly fat. Good luck. Also I don't think a 1-2lb loss per week is all that bad.

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[Lema 236]

I wouldn't dare touch processed meats or rice.. I am losing weight at that rate too but I started with 173 and am 150 two months later. I am satisfied with that rate since I am hoping to avoid loose skin and all that. I don't want to lose too much too fast.

I can and I will.

[darima77 56]

I don't eat processed meat and not rice too often. Just the past 2 days. I only eat brown rice though. I'm not sure if that matters. I'm not making excuses. I really hope that my weight loss picks up. Thank you all again.

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[KristenLe 5,979]

I don't eat processed meat and not rice too often. Just the past 2 days. I only eat brown rice though. I'm not sure if that matters. I'm not making excuses. I really hope that my weight loss picks up. Thank you all again.

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Rice (of any color) ???? is not "allowed" on my plan ever (along with Pasta and bread). I don't think I'll stick to the forever rule but will definitely wait several months out.

[darima77 56]

Thank you. I'll remember that.

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