Amount of food/pouch stretching out

As I read the responses to the thread "Overeating" I was taken aback that we will be able to eat more then 8 oz of food after a while. 

Does the 1 oz pouch we're given just stretch out over time?  Is that the norm?  How big could that little pouch get?

Yes, it is designed to stretch some. Th exact size varies, but my husband can eat a cup at one year post-op.

Well, my pouch was supposed to be about three ounces at the beginning.  But yeah, the pouch is supposed to stretch some over time.  We would starve to death if we could never eat more than an ounce of food at a time.  Doesn't your surgeon's meal plan have you eating about a cup of food by the time you're a year out?

Ooops!  I should clarify, I haven't had the surgery yet, I'm just starting the program.  I say "we" because I'm thinkin positively!! :)

I guess my real question was how big does our pouch get.  I'm afraid that it could get back to it's original size, then what?

The pouch matures in about a year (maybe longer). Your pouch will not stretch out to what it is before surgery. I think even abusing it would make it difficult to enlarge that much. What you can do is stretch the stoma wide open and cause food to exit your pouch too quickly allowing you to eat more and get hungry more.



Most literature you'll find does state a cup of food. For instance if I eat dense meat I eat about a 4 oz meal. Yogurt and cottage cheese 4 oz but I do feel "empty" quicker than the meal meal. If I eat gumbo with a couple of tablespoons of rice I can eat a cup. Why? The gumbo liquid pushes protein portion down (chicken, sausage, seafood). Ok and I admit I need to focus on the chicken and seafood more. Gumbo is a major part of living in the south.

There is no possible way it could get back to its original size.  Your original stomach was the size of a football.  After RNY, it's about the size of an egg.  It does stretch some, but not that much.

In post-op nutrition classes, it was stated to limit a meal to no more than a cup of food at a time forever.  At 11 months post-op, I am sure I could easily eat more than a cup, so it's already MINDFUL EATING LIFETIME OR ELSE.

I worry about this too. I'm only 2 months out and ate an entire cup of Wendy's Chili. I never got my full cue. 

If I am eating dense meat/protein though I can only eat a couple of ounces. I can eat a higher volume of fruits and veggies.. So I could eat a whole med size apple as a snack.  

It amazes me, and terrifies me how fast I gained the ability to eat more than I could at first. I worry that I am getting to much but I am consistently staying between 600-800 calories so I guess I'm ok. 

Wow, and you did not get sick?
I can eat 1/3 of a small and even one more bite and I will be MISERABLE! I am 51/2 months out.

I am exactly like you. I eat around 500-700 calories, but I feel my portion sizes sometimes go over 4 ounces. I eat an entire boca veggie burger - (burger only) and I share a large apple with my husband, so eat halt a large apple in 1 sitting. I do feel full, but I really have to watch that I don't eat more in one sitting.