"At times" I can eat as much as I did prior to surgery (gastric sleeve). It's been a year. For example I was recently out with friends. I had one slice of pizza, 3 chicken wings, some salad and a glass of water. (Yes, I can handle drinking water with food and have zero side effects. Zero! The surgeon said if I am having no issues from it, he doesn't have a problem with it.) I have had other times where the amount of food I could consume was equal to what it was prior to surgery. I used to always get the kids meal at Chipotle's. It's all nutritious food and they let adults buy one too. I can now eat one of those even though I have had gastric sleeve surgery. (I get NO PAIN, NO RUNNING TO THE BATHROOM, NO VOMITING. I feel perfectly normal.) I had several slices of watermelon recently and it is the same amount I would have eaten prior to surgery. So I made an appointment to speak to the bariatric surgeon again. He said he had a patient come in just a few days before who told him the same thing. They did an endoscopy so he could go in and look at her stomach and the stomach was a normal post gastric sleeve stomach. No problems or issues. He said he would be glad to do an endoscopy on me if I wish. With the endoscopy which we all had prior to surgery, you have to go under anesthesia. I am not sure if I want to go through that again but am having serious considerations. I want to know how I can sometimes eat as much as I did prior to surgery. Who here understands this? Thanks.
I can sometimes eat as much as I did prior to surgery..without pain or anything else.
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dianeseattle
Member
I understand that and have experienced it. Good on you for seeing your doctor. I'd keep in touch with him if you remain concerned, but unless you're gaining weight, I wouldn't put a lot of time into worrying about it.
AliceWoolf
Member
Hello!
I have one genuine question: was one slice of pizza, three chicken wings, side salad and some water all you could eat before surgery? One thing I’ve noticed in myself is how much my perception of portion sizes has changed since surgery. I have become used to the amount of food I can eat in one sitting, and sometimes I feel like I am eating way too much. However, people who were there before I had surgery notice and comment on how much less I eat. I asked because what you described as having been able to eat is pretty much a normal portion size. Most people can eat about three slices of pizza without feeling too full. What you described is a little less, since pizza bread is pretty filling, unlike salad, which once chewed decreases dramatically in volume (because of the high water content). Prior to surgery, I could easily bulldoze myself through half a large pizza, and then chug a large glass of coke (and three more in the next couple of episodes of whatever series I was watching). If dessert was available, dessert would be vacuumed out of the table too. Honestly, if I had been eating what you just described, I do not think I would have qualified for bariatric surgery. Of course you can gain weight consuming that, because most of the things you described are very high in calories. To keep your weight you need to consume the same amount of energy you burn. Now, the stomach is pretty elastic. The first few months after surgery it isn’t the case, because scar tissue is stiff and most of your stomach after surgery is covered in recent scar tissue, but it regains its natural elasticity after some time. It isn’t likely to hold what it once could, but it will be able to hold much more than immediately postop. I think some of the work you have to do here is choosing different types of food.
Pizza is okay now and then, but it never was and never will be a good choice of food. It is comfort food and should be treated as such. If you depend exclusively on restriction to maintain weight loss, you are at very high risk of regaining your weight. You can easily drink two or three cans of Arizona tea and the caloric content will be high enough to warrant weight gain, which is why you should seldom, if ever, choose to drink sugary drinks. In this particular case, I would be much more concerned about your habits than about the amount of food you can eat. That is why they tell you surgery is a tool. It really is just that.
Learning and growing
Member
I'm at 6 months post op now but just wondering what to expect. I'm still rarely get hungry and definitely can't eat like I used to. I'm definitely not trying to get to that point either. I would have eaten the whole pizza and all the rings
My brother-in-law does but then again he has stretched his stomach out some and he eats nothing but junk food. He has gained back over half the weight he had list and his diabetes is coming back. He does not exercise either.
AliceWoolf
Member
I am three months post-op and had the same concern. I cannot speak from experience, but it seems some people, particularly those that did not create healthy eating habits, can (and usually do) start to eat more, sometimes to the point of overeating. The “stretch” of the gastric pouch or sleeve is still controversial as such, and some surgeons report that it does not happen, but I have read and heard many patient testimonials where they do report eating to the same degree they once had. Some bariatric centers say it is an actual risk of regularly overeating. As I understand, the stomach can stretch, but only for some time (it is very elastic).
To my knowledge, permanent stretch is uncommon, but possible, specially after two years. It can happen sooner, if you have specially poor habits. In order to “stretch out” your stomach, you need to regularly overeat to the point of discomfort or even pain (which would indicate an eating disorder that needs to be managed). However, eating more than you could when the surgery was recent is to be expected and completely natural. How much more you can eat will depend in a variety of factors, but it’s inevitable. After a while, the decrease in ghrelin will be compensated too, so you will feel hungrier than before.
I must say I am not an expert whatsoever, and many people here have both experience and theoretical knowledge, so I am actually very curious about hearing from them.
KristiLyn
Member
Well-said.
KristiLyn
Member
I don't think I could take it mentally to go backwards. I'm so sorry for your BIL. My insurance has a Back on Track program to help people get out of that rut. Seems to be across the internet that to get back on track is to take yourself back to full liquids and then come out of that like you did after surgery.
KristiLyn
Member
I'm almost three months PO and pretty much only have head hunger and have to deal with that effectively. I'm glad my little pouch won't take any nonsense!
He is bipolar and suffers from depression. Junk food is his crutch. If he had a psych evaluation before the surgery he wouldn’t have been approved. He had his done in Mexico.
missyinacage
Member
Hi. I am 3 years post on and can definitely eat more than I thought I would be able to. I will say the things you can eat a lot of are usually not good for you and are best avoided. Chips for example, crunch down to nothing and are very quick to digest.
I can eat only a few ounces of lean meat or fish. I can eat a decent size salad, but lets be honest, no one is saying OMG I ate too much spinach .. Help!! I took a nutrition class and the instructor said eating highly processed foods are like eating food that's already been chewed and partially digested for you. Many of the nutrients are gone and too broken down to even fill you up.
The further out you get, the more you can eat and the easier it is to decide on less healthy food. There has not come a time when I don't have to stay aware of exactly what I am eating. I still track a few days a week or I'm off the rails. A few crackers, a spoonful of peanut butter, an extra iced coffee and BAM! An extra 400 calories that I didn't need.
I regularly enjoy all those foods but I have to pay attention. Am I at my protein goal? Am I at my calorie limit? If I have a sweet tooth .. Would a slice of watermelon work or do I have to have chocolate? And if I do have to have chocolate, I try to go for a high quality dark rather than a donut from my coffee place. Avoid garbage food as much as possible.
I can eat only a few ounces of lean meat or fish. I can eat a decent size salad, but lets be honest, no one is saying OMG I ate too much spinach .. Help!! I took a nutrition class and the instructor said eating highly processed foods are like eating food that's already been chewed and partially digested for you. Many of the nutrients are gone and too broken down to even fill you up.
The further out you get, the more you can eat and the easier it is to decide on less healthy food. There has not come a time when I don't have to stay aware of exactly what I am eating. I still track a few days a week or I'm off the rails. A few crackers, a spoonful of peanut butter, an extra iced coffee and BAM! An extra 400 calories that I didn't need.
I regularly enjoy all those foods but I have to pay attention. Am I at my protein goal? Am I at my calorie limit? If I have a sweet tooth .. Would a slice of watermelon work or do I have to have chocolate? And if I do have to have chocolate, I try to go for a high quality dark rather than a donut from my coffee place. Avoid garbage food as much as possible.