Is anyone else like me? (almost normal)

[jasmineinmymind 204]

I need to know if there are other people like me. From day one I have not had any decrease at all in my appetite, I have been able to eat anything I've tried or wanted to eat and not gotten sick. Nothing has ever gotten stuck. I can eat chicken, real rice, bread, etc with no problem. I chew my food well but I know I dont eat slowly enough and yet I still never feel sick.

Obviously if I eat these things it's not every day and not very much. I do feel the restriction in terms of each meal that I eat but I am hungry all the time and I feel like I need to eat every 2 hours or so. I hear so many people talk about things getting stuck or never being hungry. I know I had a very good surgeon and other people in the practice seem to have a variety of outcomes so I know he doesnt just leave everyone with extra large pouches.

Did anyone else have a similar outcome after bypass? And if so how has your journey and success been?

[mmartinez213 3]

Me!!!!! I’m hungry not at first I was too sick, but majorly hungry and grumpy I was a bear. I wanted to eat but couldn’t.

[mmartinez213 3]

The first three months after surgery were hell ..... I keep asking myself why did I punish myself like this. It was horrible and hard.

[mmartinez213 3]

I also eat every 2-3 hours it’s a must sometimes I make it to 2.5 hours I’ll turn into a bear.

[Eric Noack 20]

How many ounces do you eat at a time? I’m 8 months out and I eat 4 ounces at a time. But yes I’m usually hungry in 3-4 hours.

[FluffyChix 17,409]

Your diet composition and how frequently you eat determines how hungry you are for the most part. If I eat CRAP and carby stuff? I want to eat every 2 hours. It's hell for 2-4days to break that cycle.

If I have a weekend of grazing and "treat" type foods with higher carb items and any alcohol? I want to eat like a beast for 2-4 days after.

But if I eat my plan, work my plan, and do what I know to be true for my body and lifestyle and health status? I have "appropriate" hunger.

At this point in your recovery, you should be able to make 3 hours between meals IMHO or longer. Missing a meal is not an emergency for me anymore--now that the initial phases of healing are finished. I regularly go 4-6 hours between meals or longer and I do IF for 16-20 hours on selected days without a great deal of hunger.

But the more and more often I eat of very deeply pleasurable foods? The MORE of them I want to eat.

[jasmineinmymind 204]

3 hours ago, Eric Noack said:

How many ounces do you eat at a time? I’m 8 months out and I eat 4 ounces at a time. But yes I’m usually hungry in 3-4 hours.

also 4 ounces

[jasmineinmymind 204]

3 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

Your diet composition and how frequently you eat determines how hungry you are for the most part. If I eat CRAP and carby stuff? I want to eat every 2 hours. It's hell for 2-4days to break that cycle.

If I have a weekend of grazing and "treat" type foods with higher carb items and any alcohol? I want to eat like a beast for 2-4 days after.

I eat pretty healthy. I mean for example, if I have some steamed veggies with grilled chicken (I meal prep these in mason jars) people say Protein will stick with you longer, but in my case it doesnt. If I eat veggies or cauliflower rice or really anything...I'm hungry again in a few hours.

Now, slider foods I know will not fill me up and wont sustain me. I am no longer buying any chips, crackers etc because I know I can eat too much of those.

[jasmineinmymind 204]

My main question is about food getting stuck and the size of my pouch. I feel like if I had a loose pouch food would empty faster and not get stuck. So the big question is...is that really whats going on here. Hoping to hear from others who DO NOT get food stuck..ever

[FluffyChix 17,409]

I replied to you, because food never gets stuck and because I have a large tool.

Glad you're eating healthy.

My journey is in my signature. I'm trying to explain (not very well) that to control hunger you have to do one of three things:

1. Eat VERY low carb, dense lean Protein

2. Eat more at a meal

3. Eat more often

By your time frame, I was eating 1 cup of food by volume per meal. I can readily get about 4oz of protein into that cup by weight if that's all I eat. Cuz I'm limited to 1cup of food by volume at any meal. And cuz 1oz of diced protein by weight = 1/4c of volume (or pretty close). So I choose to eat 3oz dense protein per meal + 1 to 2oz of al dente veggies=about 1/4cup by volume + 1 serving of fat = 1 tsp of oil/butter or 1/2oz nuts or 1 tbsp nut butter or 1 oz avocado.

My satiety and meal satisfaction is directly tied to how dense the protein is and how under cooked the veg is. Fat also affects satiety. It makes me full longer, but the trade off is, too much fat makes me nauseated. And it also adds cals. So if I'm sticking to 650-850/day for weight loss, then it uses those calories pretty quickly without a lot of satiety or protein needs met.

You have to play with what works for you.

One thing I do is the "Cottage cheese Volume Test". Google it and WLS and try it out. I found I can eat 9oz by volume of cottage cheese as of 12 months. I need to do an update for 18 months. That weighs a completely different amount than 4oz. Right? Cuz cottage cheese is dense.

[elcee 3,340]

food isn’t supposed to get stuck. It could happen in the early stages if you don’t chew properly or if you have a stricture.

[jasmineinmymind 204]

4 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

By your time frame, I was eating 1 cup of food by volume per meal.

Oh. my. gawd. Really?? ok well shoot. Im still eating no more than 1/2 a cup per meal and I only stop eating because I think I'm supposed to. I never feel full so perhaps I could increase the amount of food I'm eating at one time. Can you give me a rough example of a dense meal that you feel will satisfy you for awhile? I did notice that if I steam veggies al dente I stay full longer.

[jasmineinmymind 204]

3 hours ago, elcee said:

food isn’t supposed to get stuck. It could happen in the early stages if you don’t chew properly or if you have a stricture.

I just read SO many stories of people who can never eat chicken or fish again. People who cant eat rice or bread. People who say that stuff just comes right back up or gets stuck and thats NEVER happened to me. Even when I began my real food stage I ate chicken with no problem.

[elcee 3,340]

So did I .

[FluffyChix 17,409]

10 hours ago, jasmineinmymind said:

Oh. my. gawd. Really?? ok well shoot. Im still eating no more than 1/2 a cup per meal and I only stop eating because I think I'm supposed to. I never feel full so perhaps I could increase the amount of food I'm eating at one time. Can you give me a rough example of a dense meal that you feel will satisfy you for awhile? I did notice that if I steam veggies al dente I stay full longer.

Move up in increments and do it wisely. Fill it with Protein. So move to 3/4c food = 3oz dense protein + al dente veggies with whatever space you have left in the 3/4cup. If that still doesn't satisfy, see how much of the 3/4c is taken up by doing 4oz of dense lean protein.

Do that for the next couple weeks to see how you feel? Also, add 1/2oz avocado and 1/2oz grape tomatoes. Eat them at the end of the meal. They are total sliders and very wet.

A 3/4 cup meal would look about like this:

3oz grilled chicken, cut into dice the size of pencil erasers

1oz steam broccoli, al dente + molly mcbutter sprinkles (or 1/2 tsp butter)

1/2oz avocado + 1/2oz grape tomatoes cut into 3 sections per Tomato

Edited September 26, 2019 by FluffyChix