So I can eat much more than the "around a half-cup of solid food" that I was told I could at this point in my post-op journey. Not that I try to each and every time, but I noticed that I was not cognizant of any signs of fullness after eating the obligatory half cup of food per meal. I wanted to have an idea of the real capacity of my "egg-sized" pouch, as well as get an idea of my body's signs of fullness and how to recognize them. I was able to eat a full cup of meat sauce (mostly meat which was ground beef). I didn't feel any fuller at one cup that I feel at a half cup. For my next meal, I could eat an entire 500-calorie slice of lasagna. Again, no sensation of discomfort, fullness, hiccups, sneezing, flushing, or any of the other commonly-mentioned "bariatric fullness" signs. I did *not* test the capacity of my pouch. I stopped at a cup. But I expected to find my limit at somewhere between 1/2 and one cup.

Has anyone else experienced this? I don't doubt that my surgery is working well for me, and I am satisfied with half a cup of food, but I'm a bit concerned that I can eat much larger meals than I was led to believe I would be able to eat. I wonder if the surgeon sleeved me instead of bypassing me. I also have some acid reflux again now. He assured me that I received the bypass, however.

Please note that this question regards RNY gastric bypass only. I am looking for feedback from gastric bypass patients, not gastric sleeve patients.

Thanks!

I can definitely eat more soups, salads, and casserole type of dishes by volume. If I eat chicken, fish, or steak 4 ounces and I’m done.

Definitely there are people with sleeves that cannot eat as much as I can.

Everyone is unique!

10 minutes ago, KimTriesRNY said:

I can definitely eat more Soups, salads, and casserole type of dishes by volume. If I eat chicken, fish, or steak 4 ounces and I’m done.

Definitely there are people with sleeves that cannot eat as much as I can.

Everyone is unique!

@KimTriesRNY Is that 4oz by weight of volume? Do you have room for any veggies with that 4oz? Just curious!

12 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

@KimTriesRNY Is that 4oz by weight of volume? Do you have room for any veggies with that 4oz? Just curious!

It’s 4 ounces of dense protein on a food scale measured in ounces. Chicken is 3-4 ounces. Salmon is 4-5 ounces. Pork is 3-4 ounces. Beef is 4 ounces.

That is it. I have to weigh it out because I get hungry, I want to eat. If I don’t weigh it, I will fix too much and it just goes to waste. No room for veggies after that right now. If I want veggies I eat a salad.

1 minute ago, KimTriesRNY said:

It’s 4 ounces of dense Protein on a food scale measured in ounces. chicken is 3-4 ounces. Salmon is 4-5 ounces. Pork is 3-4 ounces. Beef is 4 ounces.

That is it. I have to weigh it out because I get hungry, I want to eat. If I don’t weigh it, I will fix too much and it just goes to waste. No room for veggies after that right now. If I want veggies I eat a salad.

Ok, so 4oz by weight is your pouch size. So when you eat veg you eat it as a separate meal? Any idea how much salad by volume you can eat? I can eat more than you.

6 minutes ago, KimTriesRNY said:

It’s 4 ounces of dense Protein on a food scale measured in ounces. chicken is 3-4 ounces. Salmon is 4-5 ounces. Pork is 3-4 ounces. Beef is 4 ounces.

That is it. I have to weigh it out because I get hungry, I want to eat. If I don’t weigh it, I will fix too much and it just goes to waste. No room for veggies after that right now. If I want veggies I eat a salad.

Sooooo thankful that when I tried chicken breast (on a Panera salad) yesterday, it went down well. I've also got chicken thighs at home. I have at least 2 more meals left from my leftover salad, but I'm tempted to eat a chicken thigh for lunch to see if it fills me up. I also want to know if 4 oz (by weight) of chicken thigh is anywhere near 1/2 cup by volume. @FluffyChix, I will chop up 4 oz of chicken, put it into a measuring cup, and report back with the results later! LOL

2 minutes ago, gr8ful1 said:

Sooooo thankful that when I tried chicken breast (on a Panera salad) yesterday, it went down well. I've also got chicken thighs at home. I have at least 2 more meals left from my leftover salad, but I'm tempted to eat a chicken thigh for lunch to see if it fills me up. I also want to know if 4 oz (by weight) of chicken thigh is anywhere near 1/2 cup by volume. @FluffyChix, I will chop up 4 oz of chicken, put it into a measuring cup, and report back with the results later! LOL

Depends how much you smoosh it into the cup. Diced small and loosely packed, 1oz by weight = 1/4 cup volume. Swearsies. LOL. But if you try really hard, you can smoosh 3oz by weight of shredded or minced into 2/3-3/4 cup by volume. LOL. Um, don't ask how I know...

Congrats on the chicken success!!!

Edited September 13, 20188 yr by FluffyChix

Just now, FluffyChix said:

Depends how much you smoosh it into the cup. Diced small and loosely packed, 1oz by weight = 1/4 cup volume. Swearsies. LOL. But if you try really hard, you can smoosh 3oz by weight of shredded or minced into 2/3-3/4 cup by volume. LOL. Um, don't ask how I know...

Oh wow. So 1/4 pound of chicken is really a lot of volume!

1 minute ago, gr8ful1 said:

Oh wow. So 1/4 pound of chicken is really a lot of volume!

In my world it's about 1cup of food. Which is supposed to be my theoretical volume target for life. But really I can eat about 1 1/4c of dense protein + veg.

Chicken, pork, beef, turkey = 3oz by weight serving size smooshed down fills between 2/3 and 3/4cup.

Fish, shrimp, shellfish = 4oz by weight serving size smooshed down is about 3/4-7/8cup.

I can eat 1-2oz of veggies cooked al dente (about 1/4-1/3cup) + 1oz avocado/1oz grape tomatoes (slider food eaten at the end=1/4cup; so it's like water to me)

On 09/11/2018 at 16:12, gr8ful1 said:

So I can eat much more than the "around a half-cup of solid food" that I was told I could at this point in my post-op journey. Not that I try to each and every time, but I noticed that I was not cognizant of any signs of fullness after eating the obligatory half cup of food per meal. I wanted to have an idea of the real capacity of my "egg-sized" pouch, as well as get an idea of my body's signs of fullness and how to recognize them. I was able to eat a full cup of meat sauce (mostly meat which was ground beef). I didn't feel any fuller at one cup that I feel at a half cup. For my next meal, I could eat an entire 500-calorie slice of lasagna. Again, no sensation of discomfort, fullness, hiccups, sneezing, flushing, or any of the other commonly-mentioned "bariatric fullness" signs. I did *not* test the capacity of my pouch. I stopped at a cup. But I expected to find my limit at somewhere between 1/2 and one cup.

Has anyone else experienced this? I don't doubt that my surgery is working well for me, and I am satisfied with half a cup of food, but I'm a bit concerned that I can eat much larger meals than I was led to believe I would be able to eat. I wonder if the surgeon sleeved me instead of bypassing me. I also have some acid reflux again now. He assured me that I received the bypass, however.

Please note that this question regards RNY gastric bypass only. I am looking for feedback from gastric bypass patients, not gastric sleeve patients.

Thanks!

I just had my 6 week post op visit and said the exact same thing to my nutritionist. She said that I can tolerate a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food at this point because the pouch is healed and not swollen anymore.

I’m about 9 months post and eat around a cup.... or 4 oz . My nut says around 3/4 to 1 cup so maybe that’s fine?!?!

I’m def full after — do wonder if it’s over doing it but it hasn’t hurt my weight losss so all good I guess??

Let's not forget that just because we can doesn't mean we should. After surgery you may not feel fullness as nerves have been cut and things take time to heal. Weigh and measure your food because you cannot always trust your feelings and could do some real physical damage.

14 hours ago, BostonWLKC said:

I’m about 9 months post and eat around a cup.... or 4 oz . My nut says around 3/4 to 1 cup so maybe that’s fine?!?!

I’m def full after — do wonder if it’s over doing it but it hasn’t hurt my weight losss so all good I guess??

At 9 months this is actually on the smaller side. At 3months my RD was saying 1cup of food for life.

23 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

Ok, so 4oz by weight is your pouch size. So when you eat veg you eat it as a separate meal? Any idea how much salad by volume you can eat? I can eat more than you.

If I eat salad it’s harder to measure as it’s usually when I go out. I posted a pic on the food before and after of a Panera salad I ate. I usually eat the protein parts of it with some lettuce and veg but always have a lot left.

Soups or stews I can definitely eat one cup easily.

2 hours ago, newdaydawning said:

Let's not forget that just because we can doesn't mean we should. After surgery you may not feel fullness as nerves have been cut and things take time to heal. Weigh and measure your food because you cannot always trust your feelings and could do some real physical damage.

I’m over 9 months out and still weigh and measure my food.

7 minutes ago, KimTriesRNY said:

I’m over 9 months out and still weigh and measure my food.

Yep me too--coming up on 7 months on the 20th. I hope I will do this for life. It keeps me honest.