Literally crying right now

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

So I just had my first solid food. I had chicken. Not the canned stuff, but chicken legs. I had 2 of them. They were amazing. But I'm only 19 days post op and I had NO restriction, NO fullness, NO discomfort, nothing. WHY am I able to eat this much already? And I thought once solid food was introduced, that's where restriction would come into play. So what's going on with me? Did my doctor leave too much stomach? WHERE IS MY RESTRICTION???

After eating my normal mushy lunch, it was about an hour later that I had the 2 chicken legs. And now I feel comfortable, but not full. Why do I still have so much hunger? And why am I able to eat so much? I keep trying not to, but I get so hungry!!! Not for anything specific, but actually hungry. Eating 5x a day was too much, but lowering it keeps me hungry all day. And it's hard to ignore the hunger. It's not stomach acid (I never had reflux or gerd before but I'm on Prilosec through my 1st 6 weeks anyway).

So now I'm in tears because I went through all of that pain and discomfort, and it feels like it was all for nothing. I'm really trying to stick to eating small amounts. And yes, in the past I could eat 6 or 7 chicken legs in one sitting. So I'm happy it's less. But at the same time, I wonder if I could have eaten more tonight if I let myself. I don't want to find out, and I'm not going to. But I'm beside myself right now.

Starting tomorrow I'm going to try and do a full reset and see if I can't figure this out. I walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day twice a day. But I'm going to try to go back to basics, if I can. I've been able to progress through the diet stages faster than anyone thought I could, and my stomach has been completely fine. I'm so upset. I really am. This is the first time I've eaten more than I should, and I honestly didn't think I would be able to. I won't be doing it again, but I'm so mad that I could at all!!!!!

Edited May 23, 2022 by SleeveDiva2022

[I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡ 808]

Two chicken legs sounds like a lot, but actually according to Google, a chicken leg, meat only, no skin is about 1.5 ounces. So you ate approximately 3 ounces of chicken. How many ounces are you supposed to eat per meal?

Dark meat chicken always went down easier for me than white meat. I had to eat it slower, and allow more time between bites, so I felt more restricted. Foods sit differently for each person.

[SleeverSk 635]

your nerves are still healing, that's why it is important to stick to the post op diet until you are fully healed because the nerves may not give you the signals to stop because they haven't healed yet. you are only 19 days out you really shouldn't be eating chicken as yet. Try drinking more I found when I wasn't drinking enough I would be hungry and had this empty pit feeling even after I ate. Drinking more did help with this. also i wouldn't be to concerned with exercising just yet I did Zero exercise and it didn't effect my weight loss. weight loss is more about what you put in your mouth, in fact exercising could be what is making you hungrier.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

21 minutes ago, BypassingMyPhatAss♡ said:

Two chicken legs sounds like a lot, but actually according to Google, a chicken leg, meat only, no skin is about 1.5 ounces. So you ate approximately 3 ounces of chicken. How many ounces are you supposed to eat per meal?

Dark meat chicken always went down easier for me than white meat. I had to eat it slower, and allow more time between bites, so I felt more restricted. Foods sit differently for each person.

I'm only 19 days post op, but my dietician said 2-3 ounces per meal. But my dietician (who, admittedly, is trash) said to follow the guideline for my eating plan unless my stomach can handle it, then I can slowly move to the next stage. So I thought, since I can handle everything else, I would try some solid food, just to see if I can tolerate it. I truly didn't think I could, so I was stunned when I was able to eat 2 legs (skinless) with no problem at all.

[liveaboard15 1,294]

Your sleeve can hold about 3-4oz of food... I am 5-6 weeks post op and i can eat about 4oz of food in one sitting.. but i take my time. I eat slowely and chew chew chew. for example. 1 chicken egg scrambled, a handful of chopped onions, 2-3oz of turkey sausage and 1 slice of cheese is my normal Breakfast lately. I eat about half and relax. Then maybe 10-15 minutes later i take another bite and so on.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

4 minutes ago, liveaboard15 said:

Your sleeve can hold about 3-4oz of food... I am 5-6 weeks post op and i can eat about 4oz of food in one sitting.. but i take my time. I eat slowely and chew chew chew. for example. 1 chicken egg scrambled, a handful of chopped onions, 2-3oz of turkey sausage and 1 slice of cheese is my normal Breakfast lately. I eat about half and relax. Then maybe 10-15 minutes later i take another bite and so on.

I didn't have to take my time. I ate normally because I actually forgot to go slow. And being that I'm only 19 days out, I didn't think I would be able to eat this much this soon with absolutely no issues at all.

[Arabesque 7,613]

As @SleeverSk said your nerves are still healing after being cut during the surgery & you won’t feel signals yet which is why it’s important to stick to the portion sizes you’re given & your eating plan. All because you can doesn’t mean you should. The staged return to eating is there for a reason - to support & protect your healing tummy. Remember all those staples & sutures holding your tummy together. Yes, we all recover & heal at our own pace but you can’t see your tummy to assess how you are healing. Stick to your plan & eat slowly is always safest.

Testing a food a couple of days before your plan says to is ok. Trying something a solid food like a chicken thigh three weeks before your plan likely recommends isn’t the best choice.

[Tony B - NJ 644]

I think part of the problem as I see it is that you should deliberately regulate yourself as well as relying on a restriction. There is no way a second piece of chicken ends up on my plate. The one piece of chicken provides the Protein needs you need to have and any room left in your stomach should be used for vegetables which we don't get enough of. Remember....first protein then vegetables.

You should be using a very small plate that would only allow a piece of protein on 1/3 of the plate and the rest should be vegetables or maybe a small amount of starch.

[kcuster83 1,505]

Just follow your plan. Serving sizes, calories, macros. Whatever you plan involves and you will do fine!

Based on a few of your other posts, I think you are over thinking it. Or, maybe, thinking about it the wrong way.

Everyone is able to eat different amounts and different things at different intervals of the day.

Don't stress my friend, you will be ok!

[LaTiaV 111]

Hi, I am almost 4 months PO and I feel restriction on some foods and nothing on others, if you can get a cheap scale from Amazon and get used to weight your food, in time you will be able to calculate the amounts, I also have some spoons 1/2 cup 1/3 cup and they are helpful. I made some chicken legs that were very good for my sisters visit during the weekend and I had 2 they were so good I could have had 6 if I wanted ( don't know how I would feel after) but I stopped. Then yesterday morning I tried to have an egg and I had to stop half way. I do not understand how it works how and when I will feel I cannot eat more but I want to get used to eat everything as if I had the restriction even if I do not feel it. After all my surgeon told me the surgery was only a tool it that will help me to start but I still have to do the work myself.

Maybe yummy chicken legs are the first tests to our will.

[lorlybeth84 35]

I did not start getting much restriction until about 6 weeks out. I felt the same way as you like "is this surgery even working?????!!!!!". The only thing that helped me was I had zero hunger (I still do not have it, actually) so I was pushing myself to eat and could easily stop because I wasn't hungry to begin with. Once your nerves heal more, you'll feel that restriction. Be careful not to overdo it now though or you'll end up getting sick or having dumping syndrome. I do think what you're experiencing is normal though.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

Thanks, everybody. I was more worried because I was 19 days out and could eat literally anything. But I didn't even think about the nerves being cut and not feeling the restriction. It's weird, tho, because I feel it if I eat 1 egg, or if I eat too much hummus and avocado spread together. But absolutely nothing for chicken drumsticks. I'm going to ease up on the solids since technically i shouldn't be on them yet, and just kind of reset my plan. Thanks again for all the encouragement and help!!!!

[kcuster83 1,505]

13 minutes ago, SleeveDiva2022 said:

Thanks, everybody. I was more worried because I was 19 days out and could eat literally anything. But I didn't even think about the nerves being cut and not feeling the restriction. It's weird, tho, because I feel it if I eat 1 egg, or if I eat too much hummus and avocado spread together. But absolutely nothing for chicken drumsticks. I'm going to ease up on the solids since technically i shouldn't be on them yet, and just kind of reset my plan. Thanks again for all the encouragement and help!!!!

Are you sure what you feel with the egg avocado and hummus is actually restriction? I ask because my stomach feels are different now.

Like maybe your stomach is just like "ok enough of that" I am done with it, but not "full". Hard to explain typing. (sorry)

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

1 hour ago, kcuster83 said:

Are you sure what you feel with the egg avocado and hummus is actually restriction? I ask because my stomach feels are different now.

Like maybe your stomach is just like "ok enough of that" I am done with it, but not "full". Hard to explain typing. (sorry)

That could be. I just know when I eat certain things, I get a very distinct "hard stop" feeling, but then with actual solid foods like chicken, I could just eat and eat and feel nothing at all. It freaked me out.

[Splenda 257]

2 hours ago, SleeveDiva2022 said:

That could be. I just know when I eat certain things, I get a very distinct "hard stop" feeling, but then with actual solid foods like chicken, I could just eat and eat and feel nothing at all. It freaked me out.

You are going to find that your restriction does not kick in equally on all foods. Saltines seem to go right through me and rarely restrict, but I feel it much more with veggies. This part of you learning how to live with your new stomach.

You are going to have more "oh, this is how it will be" moments as you recover and progress. When you have foods that don't seem to have restrictions, you learn how to eat carefully. One thing to do is pair those foods with foods that do bring about restriction, like dipping a piece of chicken into a bit of hummus (to use your example). Or knowing that you are probably full after two chicken drumsticks. Or making sure you have a healthy "filling" side dish on nights when you eat chicken. This doesn't mean the surgery failed, just that you are learning and adjusting.