Am i overeating?

[kampeh 3]

Good morning!
I'm 10 months and 19 days Post Op (Gastric Bypass) after the 8 Month i started eating more than 8oz per meal to feel satisfied, I'm literally eating almost a normal plate of food and now I'm worried that my pouch stretched.
Is this normal? Right now I'm not gaining weight (thankfully) but I'm scared i might mess my surgery up later on.


Thanks in advance for your replies!

[catwoman7 11,285]

8 oz can vary a lot, depending on what it is. I could easily eat 8 oz of yogurt, but I could never eat 8 oz of meat. A full plate of food also depends on what it is and how big the plate is, but in most cases, yes, it's likely too much, Do you know how many calories you're averaging? You probably haven't stretched your stomach, but once you get used to eating larger amounts of food, it's hard to go back..

[kampeh 3]

5 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

8 oz can vary a lot, depending on what it is. I could easily eat 8 oz of yogurt, but I could never eat 8 oz of meat. A full plate of food also depends on what it is and how big the plate is, but in most cases, yes, it's likely too much, Do you know how many calories you're averaging? You probably haven't stretched your stomach, but once you get used to eating larger amounts of food, it's hard to go back..

To tell you the truth i stopped weighting my food a long time ago since i never bring food to work (There's a Healthy Food Buffet at work) i usually just eat until im full.

For example, this was yesterday's lunch:

[NickelChip 1,358]

Catwoman is right. It depends what's on your plate. By and large, at least according to two prominent surgeons (Dr. John Pilcher and Dr. Matthew Weiner), pouch stretching isn't really a thing. Your pouch is meant to regain elasticity as it heals, allowing you to eat the amount of food you'll need for maintenance. It's what you choose to fill it with that makes the difference.

Bearing in mind I'm still in the early stages so this is just based on research instead of personal experience, this is what I have read and heard. You want to keep your Protein serving to 3-4oz and your starch/carb serving to 1/4 to 1/2 cup (or 1 slice bread), and the rest non-starchy veg. That would be 1/2 your plate is veg and 1/2 your plate split between protein and carb. And a smaller lunch/salad plate, not a dinner plate bigger than your head!

The meal you posted looks pretty healthy to me.

I found this video really informative:

[NickelChip 1,358]

This video also addresses how much you can eat over time:

[ShoppGirl 5,073]

Wow. It’s amazing that your work has healthy options. I can see where it’s kinda hard to measure things at work though. Just a thought if you are measuring by volume. Amazon sells containers that I find handy when I’m eating healthy to pack my Snacks that you may be able to use now to measure your lunch. Mine are made by easy lunch boxes and these have four square sections (they sell one that’s bigger also but I usually tend to grab the one with 4) basically they make homemade lunchables. I just measured witb Water and each section holds 1/2 cup if you fill it to the line (not overflowing). So half way would be 1/4 cup

Maybe you can use or transfer your lunch to a container like this and that way you will have a better idea of how much you are eating?? It’s kinda Like having four measuring cups without having to use an actual measuring cup or a bunch of containers. Plus, you will likely love them later if you need to pack healthy snacks anyways. The ones I got are $11.99 for four and they come in handy to pack smaller portions of fruit, cheese, veggies, lunch meat, Jerky, nuts, etc for snacks on the run.

[summerseeker 2,415]

You have done really well with your weight loss and I understand your worry of messing up. I do too, which is why I calorie and Protein count every little morsel that passes my lips. I still struggle to eat enough protein

Your meal looks fine portion wise but it looks to me like you have lots of oily dressing on the salad, but I am a million miles away and wear very thick varifocals.

If you are in maintenance , this seems fine to me.

[kampeh 3]

21 minutes ago, summerseeker said:

You have done really well with your weight loss and I understand your worry of messing up. I do too, which is why I calorie and Protein count every little morsel that passes my lips. I still struggle to eat enough Protein

Your meal looks fine portion wise but it looks to me like you have lots of oily dressing on the salad, but I am a million miles away and wear very thick varifocals.

If you are in maintenance , this seems fine to me.

The dressing for the salad is just lemon, the only times i consume oil is avocado oil for my air fryer chicken wings (1 tsp)

[catwoman7 11,285]

re: the photo of the plate you posted - I could eat that.

[BlondePatriotInCDA 594]

10 hours ago, kampeh said:

Good morning!
I'm 10 months and 19 days Post Op (Gastric Bypass) after the 8 Month i started eating more than 8oz per meal to feel satisfied, I'm literally eating almost a normal plate of food and now I'm worried that my pouch stretched.
Is this normal? Right now I'm not gaining weight (thankfully) but I'm scared i might mess my surgery up later on.


Thanks in advance for your replies!

Your meal looks perfect for your dietary needs. Well balanced, proportions look great! I completely understand your worry about stretching your new stomach though, afterall its how most of us became overweight (they do stretch out if you push the limits each time). Its why bariatric surgeons tell us to weigh and count calories to get us used to the visual of Portion Control so we don't risk stretching it out and being back to where we started.

Stomachs are fairly elastic, we've probably all seen the videos of Bariatric surgeries where they remove huge stomach specimens - they didn't start out that large and our new stomachs still consist of the same Mucosal cells and muscles as it always has just reduced but with the same abilities to accommodate larger meals. Even before surgery its normally the size of a fist, but stretches out as much as 4-5 liters for food. So yes, it can still stretch out after Bariatric surgery!

Keep up the great work and lucky you for having healthy options offered at work!

[Arabesque 7,615]

Some great advice from the others. Heartily recommend Drs Matthew Weiner & John Pilcher too.They are great sources of information.

Try not eating until you feel full. Aim for had enough. I ask myself do I need that next bite or do I just want it. Remember to keep eating slowly too. It takes a good 20 minutes for your full message to get through (mine can take way longer than that). So by the time you feel full you can easily have eaten more than you need/should.

Wouldn't hurt to check your portions & track your calories for a couple of weeks just to ensure you are not over estimating - it’s easy to do. Also, maybe check in with your dietician to review the best portion sizes & calorie goals for you for where you are now.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

The only thing I would suggest is to eat until you're comfortable/satiated, not until you're full. You don't want to still be hungry, but you only need to eat until you stop feeling hungry, not full or stuffed. Personally, I wouldn't eat any kind of rice, quinoa, musilli, etc... but others do and it's fine for them in small amounts.

[Clueless_girl 18]

On 3/29/2024 at 8:50 AM, kampeh said:

Good morning!
I'm 10 months and 19 days Post Op (Gastric Bypass) after the 8 Month i started eating more than 8oz per meal to feel satisfied, I'm literally eating almost a normal plate of food and now I'm worried that my pouch stretched.
Is this normal? Right now I'm not gaining weight (thankfully) but I'm scared i might mess my surgery up later on.


Thanks in advance for your replies!

I'm almost 4 months post op from the MDS and I've been asking myself that question, "am I overeating", on and off for the past 2 months. I've been able to figure out 2 body cues so far: feeling full to me is a pain in a specific part of my chest and feeling hungry is a intense pain in my abdomen. But other than trying to avoid those, I feel like I spend a lot of time grazing or snacking.

Because of my morbid curiousity, I weigh myself pretty much every day. I didn't experience the "3 wk stall", but my weight has bounced around a bit. Dealing with pain and nausea has made me lose both pounds and inches, which scares me more than it makes me happy. The stress of school made that worse recently, in 4 days I lost 6 lbs. At my last follow up, my dr and dietician said to slow down my weight loss by adding in some carbs. I have been doing that for the last 2 weeks and I've been able to gain/maintain a range of 2-3 pounds, so I agree with @SleeveToBypass2023's advice about the rice and such.