Normal?

[acm22_ 58]

I am almost a month post op. When does everything go back to normal? Normal meaning when will I be free to eat regular food? When will my stomach finally completely heal? This might be confusing, but I guess I'm saying, when will I feel like myself again? When will I be able to go out to eat with friends and hang out without me feeling terrible? Stomach aches, nausea? Does it all become easier as time increases? Does my portion size increase? 3-4 bites make me full, as years passes, will 3-4 bites be forever?

-Ariannuhh❤️

[Travelher 915]

I'm about 6-7 weeks post op and feel normal now. I'm lucky though as I've never gotten nauseous. I went out for Japanese for lunch and have a Mexican themed dinner party to go to tonight. I just look for things on plan. So for lunch I had salmon poke which was basically salmon with avocado in a citrus dressing. It was an appetizer so perfectly portioned for me. I'm at 1/2-3/4 cups of food now. But that is proababy more than most. I had a band to bypass revision. So bigger pouch. From what I understand most people end up with about a 1 cup capacity

[acm22_ 58]

I'm about 6-7 weeks post op and feel normal now. I'm lucky though as I've never gotten nauseous. I went out for Japanese for lunch and have a Mexican themed dinner party to go to tonight. I just look for things on plan. So for lunch I had salmon poke which was basically salmon with avocado in a citrus dressing. It was an appetizer so perfectly portioned for me. I'm at 1/2-3/4 cups of food now. But that is proababy more than most. I had a band to bypass revision. So bigger pouch. From what I understand most people end up with about a 1 cup capacity

Thank you, that's my fear. Going out to eat with friends and having few bites and getting full.

-Ariannuhh❤️

[suzzzzz 1,005]

Why are you afraid of going out and only eating a few bites? Nothing to fear really. I eat out a lot and order what I want, eat what I can and take the rest home. You don't owe anyone a reason for what and how much you eat. Most don't even pay attention.

You will be able to eat regular when your doctor gives you clearance to. Stomach usually heals by 6 weeks, but transitioning to a variety of solid foods can take a while. And, some days I can eat more than others. I am 4.5 mths out and have felt pretty normal from 5-6 weeks.

[acm22_ 58]

Why are you afraid of going out and only eating a few bites? Nothing to fear really. I eat out a lot and order what I want, eat what I can and take the rest home. You don't owe anyone a reason for what and how much you eat. Most don't even pay attention.

You will be able to eat regular when your doctor gives you clearance to. Stomach usually heals by 6 weeks, but transitioning to a variety of solid foods can take a while. And, some days I can eat more than others. I am 4.5 mths out and have felt pretty normal from 5-6 weeks.

Its just the way my mind is set up now. The staring, the questions, it's just super annoying to have people stare at me and wonder why I'm eating so much less of food and acting like I'm "better then them".

-Ariannuhh❤️

[suzzzzz 1,005]

Why are you afraid of going out and only eating a few bites? Nothing to fear really. I eat out a lot and order what I want, eat what I can and take the rest home. You don't owe anyone a reason for what and how much you eat. Most don't even pay attention.

You will be able to eat regular when your doctor gives you clearance to. Stomach usually heals by 6 weeks, but transitioning to a variety of solid foods can take a while. And, some days I can eat more than others. I am 4.5 mths out and have felt pretty normal from 5-6 weeks.

Its just the way my mind is set up now. The staring, the questions, it's just super annoying to have people stare at me and wonder why I'm eating so much less of food and acting like I'm "better then them".

-Ariannuhh❤️

Yes, I understand. Our mindset is something we can change. And I have learned over my many years of life that we make up stories in our heads too about what others are thinking. When you are comfortable with you and your choices, others will be too. No one is better than anyone else. We are all the same. Hope that makes sense.

[mrsNilla 304]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I at least don't want to go back to how I ate before, if that's what you mean with normal. That's what got me obese and having to have surgery.

I fully hope and expect to have less room in my stomach so I have a back up reminder if I make an error in judgement and try to eat too much.

Doggy bags are normal and if you go out in a group, maybe there is a guy who would be very happy to have your left overs? It will be an issue only if you make it one.

Good luck on your journey!

Nilla

[blizair09 3,250]

Why are you afraid of going out and only eating a few bites? Nothing to fear really. I eat out a lot and order what I want, eat what I can and take the rest home. You don't owe anyone a reason for what and how much you eat. Most don't even pay attention.

You will be able to eat regular when your doctor gives you clearance to. Stomach usually heals by 6 weeks, but transitioning to a variety of solid foods can take a while. And, some days I can eat more than others. I am 4.5 mths out and have felt pretty normal from 5-6 weeks.

Its just the way my mind is set up now. The staring, the questions, it's just super annoying to have people stare at me and wonder why I'm eating so much less of food and acting like I'm "better then them".

-Ariannuhh❤️

You need to work to get yourself in a position where the food is not the centerpiece of the event. Just go and enjoy the company of your friends -- eat if you can/need to, don't eat when you can't/don't need to.

Did you tell your friends about the surgery? If they know about your journey, I can't imagine they'd think anything of it.

[M@E 84]

I am 2 weeks post op and went out for a family meal tonight to a curry house. I just ordered a small bowl of Soup. I just had a few spoonfuls but that was fine. We have to learn to enjoy the evening with our family and friends and not focus on the food. Xx

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[acm22_ 58]

Why are you afraid of going out and only eating a few bites? Nothing to fear really. I eat out a lot and order what I want, eat what I can and take the rest home. You don't owe anyone a reason for what and how much you eat. Most don't even pay attention.

You will be able to eat regular when your doctor gives you clearance to. Stomach usually heals by 6 weeks, but transitioning to a variety of solid foods can take a while. And, some days I can eat more than others. I am 4.5 mths out and have felt pretty normal from 5-6 weeks.

Its just the way my mind is set up now. The staring, the questions, it's just super annoying to have people stare at me and wonder why I'm eating so much less of food and acting like I'm "better then them".

-Ariannuhh❤️

You need to work to get yourself in a position where the food is not the centerpiece of the event. Just go and enjoy the company of your friends -- eat if you can/need to, don't eat when you can't/don't need to.

Did you tell your friends about the surgery? If they know about your journey, I can't imagine they'd think anything of it.

They know, one of my friends are fine with it, but the other one is like "you can't have that, don't eat that, I'm calling your mom" and it's annoying. We have fun, but when it's time to eat the one friend just watches me. I understand there concerned but I know what I'm doing.

-Ariannuhh❤️

I am 2 weeks post op and went out for a family meal tonight to a curry house. I just ordered a small bowl of Soup. I just had a few spoonfuls but that was fine. We have to learn to enjoy the evening with our family and friends and not focus on the food. Xx

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank You!!!

-Ariannuhh❤️

[dandelion247 42]

On 11/12/2016 at 11:30 AM, acm22_ said:

I am almost a month post op. When does everything go back to normal? Normal meaning when will I be free to eat regular food? When will my stomach finally completely heal? This might be confusing, but I guess I'm saying, when will I feel like myself again? When will I be able to go out to eat with friends and hang out without me feeling terrible? Stomach aches, nausea? Does it all become easier as time increases? Does my portion size increase? 3-4 bites make me full, as years passes, will 3-4 bites be forever?

-Ariannuhh❤️

Hi, I know this topic is from last year, but these thoughts are on my mind too as I approach five weeks out from surgery. I struggle every day with queasiness, on and off, which I suspect is related to dehydration, and I struggle with figuring out what foods my stomach will like and which it won't, and knowing exactly when to stop eating. Going one bite over is really a punishment. Doing everything just right to minimize my discomfort is exhausting and time-consuming for now, and I too am hoping that this gets less overwhelming and odd over time. And, I too hope I can eat volume that better approaches a normal small meal, as opposed to some micro-meal that DOES draw attention when in a social environment. I too have friends who are full of concern and who watch what I'm eating closely. No, it's not in our heads, sometimes people are right out there with their gawking and awkward questions.

[travelergirl 142]

I'm approaching 4 months post sleeve and I'm able to eat most things. For me around week 8 things got more normalized. I still have to deal with occasional discomfort particularly if I eat more volume. I expect to have to deal with that for most of this first year. But that is what I signed up for...to retrain myself on how much to eat and what to eat. A couple years out it is much more about our habits than the surgery.
As for going out to eat...I have been out to eat with friends family and co-workers. I've had a couple of comments about being finished already with half of my meal or more untouched but that is about it.
If this is a person you consider a friend then you need to have a chat with them. Tell them that the comments about what to eat and how much etc make you uncomfortable and ask them to please stop. Otherwise you will not go out to eat with them.
Personally, if someone did that to me l don't think I would keep them in my life, especially if after the talk they still couldn't keep their thoughts to themselves.

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[Sullie06 1,013]

I'm 9.5 months post op and about 15 pounds from my surgeons goal. I would say things begin to really go back to normal for me around 12 weeks. At that point I could eat all foods, I hand a handle on what and how much I should eat and I was starting to feel comfortable in my new body and mind.

I know this is an old post but the issues with eating out really hit home because in the early days I thought I would never feel normal again. I was wrong. I go out all the time now. Some of my friends know I had surgery, some just think I did it with diet and exercise. I feel more normal than ever going out now. Like many of my girlfriends I actually have food to take home. I can eat about 4-6 ounces per meal depending on what I eat. I move my food around my plate a lot too so people just assume I'm eating more than I am I think. My friends hubby actually said the other day "You eat the normal portion, that's what I should be eating" when we were on a double date at a hibachi restaurant and I was the only one with leftovers.