A little concerned

[wobbles]

As the title suggests, i'm a little concerned....that i seem to be able to eat more at each sitting than the average person on here.

For example, yesterday, i had a ham and cheese toasted sandwich, and while i ate quite slowly, and chew chew chewed, i managed to eat the whole thing.

When i make an omelette, it's usually packed with vegies and meat and herbs and spices, and eating slowly, i can eat a substantial amount of it.

I never eat for longer than 30 minutes as recommended, and i STILL don't eat 3 set meals per day, half the time i'm lucky to have 1, but i'm worried i've stretched my stomach?

Apart from WHAT i eat, i seem to be no better than before the surgery, because i've never eaten breakfast, rarely eaten a proper lunch, and only somtimes eat an evening meal.
Does anyone have any suggestions, advice, or tips on how i can change this. I know it's quite simple, you just make time to eat, but i seem to find it so difficult to make it a priority, and i can't keep using my toddler as an excuse.

 

[phatgirl]

Hi hun, got your pm & will write back in a tick. As for the eating thing everyone is different on how much volume they can eat so it is not fair to you to compare. It is very unlikely that you have stretched your pouch because that takes months or so I have been told and it really can't happen at this stage, so stop with that worry.

As for not eating 3x per day, I would think that if you ate more often that you would tend to eat less at each meal. I would suggest having some prepared meals ready to go in your fridge/freezer so that no meal takes longer than a few minutes to put together. That way you can focus on the meal and not have to spend time on thinking what can I eat. Take a look through the daily menus post on the recipe forum for some inspiration. Try doing the same menu for several days to get into the practice of doing it. Perhaps set an alarm on your mobile to go off every 3-4 hours to remind you to go grab something to eat.

That is all the ideas I could come up with off the cuff. I will add more if I think of anything. Remember you are doing very well with your weight loss so you must be doing something right!! Just adding a bit of routine can only help you along the way.

HTH,
Nic

 

[cazbandy]

All good things work when they are planned.

Maybe you could sit down and work out menus for each day of the week, allowing yourself 15 minutes to prepare food and 30 minutes to eat food. And then make some stuff up in advance too, all portioned out right and ready to stick in the microwave.

Its all about managing your time and getting motivated. You have come far and you are doing well, use this as inspiration, either that or look into the eyes of your child and remind yourself why you embarked on this in the first place.

And try not to compare to others, it only makes you feel bad, which in turn demotivates.

You are doing brilliantly and like all of us at times, you have just stalled a bit but brush yourself down, take a breath and keep walking....

This is a journey and even the smallest steps move us forward...

 

[wobbles]

Aww you two!! Thank you, you both make so much sense, and i think i will spend some time on making up a realistic menu to go by.
Logically i know not the compare myself with others, just an old habit to have to kick really.

Thank you again

*hugs*

 

[Silversurfer]

Wobbles - I get the same thing, what you need to do is eat less slider foods (foods that slip past the restriction) and more solids like protein - when i get the periods of self doubt i'll attempt to fill up on protein, also i've found that if i chew less and swallow the food slightly harder it fills my pouch up quicker, and i now make sure i fill my pouch so i get the uncomfortable feeling in my chest, this tells me i have restiction and i wont be wanting to eat for at least 3 hours.
One other thing to watch is your fluid intake post eating, try water loading 15 minutes before you eat, and try not to drink anything for at least 2 hours after you have eaten, the water saturation before you eat will swell your Roux limb, making your restriction slightly tighter.

If you try these methods and nothing works IM me as i have another technique i got from a US site that really will get your restriction back on track !

 

[Alia]

Wobbles - I get the same thing, what you need to do is eat less slider foods (foods that slip past the restriction) and more solids like protein - when i get the periods of self doubt i'll attempt to fill up on protein, also i've found that if i chew less and swallow the food slightly harder it fills my pouch up quicker, and i now make sure i fill my pouch so i get the uncomfortable feeling in my chest, this tells me i have restiction and i wont be wanting to eat for at least 3 hours.
One other thing to watch is your fluid intake post eating, try water loading 15 minutes before you eat, and try not to drink anything for at least 2 hours after you have eaten, the water saturation before you eat will swell your Roux limb, making your restriction slightly tighter.

If you try these methods and nothing works IM me as i have another technique i got from a US site that really will get your restriction back on track !

This sounds like really good advice and I'll be using it to try to stop me snacking instead of eating 3 regular meals. I'd be interested to know of the other technique from the US website, tried to find out where to pm you but could n't find it

regards

Alia

 

[Silversurfer]

This sounds like really good advice and I'll be using it to try to stop me snacking instead of eating 3 regular meals. I'd be interested to know of the other technique from the US website, tried to find out where to pm you but could n't find it

regards

Alia

Alia - the technique i'm refering to is used to re affirm pouch control for those that slip from weight lose, develop bad habbits or end up stretching there pouch, the stomach like any organ in the body can and will stretch if abused ! but it can 'allegedly' be shrunk back with the right control mechanisms in place. It also works by re confirming restriction.
I found this whlist searching the internet for information, and it made a lot of sense, its a big article i'll be happy to email you if you IM me your email address.

I dont want to scare anyone as stretching a pouch takes a lot of abuse, and the people using this technique were years post op and failing miserably by eating calorie rich slider foods and over pushing there pouches. To be honest i'd read 'the rules of the pouch' as posted by PH a while back and use this as a guide and tool for keeping on track.

 

[phatgirl]

Here is the link, it is a big one but worth a read:

http://www.minimins.com/surgical-weight-loss/69900-pouch-rules-dummies-informational-post.html

 

[wobbles]

Hey thanks Rich, some really good advise there and i'm going to try them.