Stopping When You're Full

You will eventually know what certain amounts of food look like so you won't need to lug your food scale with you everywhere you go, but you will figure out that 4oz of steak is about the size of the palm of your hand (unless you are a wildebeast, then you may want to scale it back a bit) and what 2 tbsp of peanut butter looks like. I have a particular problem with chicken so I am not sure 3 wings is weight limit or just how much chicken my stomach can handle. I can definitely eat a lot more shrimp than that. Chicken wings is actually something that is pretty low carb friendly, you will just not want to have them on your first day of returning to full foods.

I am 5 months out. I have not had any of the foamies, slimies, pains, vomiting, or any other happenings as of yet. A close friend of mine just had VSG surgery one month ago and asked me the same question before she had it done. It's just something I can't explain. Like someone previously said, you have to listen to your body. I get a "full" sensation and I know that's when I need to stop. Also, I measure everything out. Some meals, I can eat everything I measure. Then there's other times I have leftovers. Just as my friend has come to find out, you will understand so much more of what other VSGers are telling you after you've had the surgery. It all starts making sense! Good luck to you!! 

I myself have never had the foamies, slimeys, or vomiting; not even close.  And for 7 years I did with the Lap Band, so I know what they are!

Weighing, measuring are important, yes.  But so is mindful eating.  If you're used to eating while standing at the stove, or in front of the TV, or while doing anything else, try to slow down and focus on the food.  If you're focusing on every bite, you'll know when you're full because, well, you'll be full!

Eating till your full........ is for amateurs....

Have I overate...... yes and felt pretty stupid every time......I think in 4 years I have had every indicator but never have puked......

Most all these "full" signs are a result of "pressure" and pressure is the only way to stretch your sleeve.

Eating till full is how most of us got fat......

Eating till full shows absolutely no control.....

How do you keep track of your intake and meet nutrition levels if you eat till full????

Some people can eat as little as 2-3oz and others can eat 16+oz............. How is eating till full supposed to work?????

Eating fixed measured amounts of food that is under (not full) your capacity keeps you in control and is trackable.

I have never heard anyone on this board say...... Well, just had lunch and I'm over my daily calories..... not going to eat again till tomorrow......

frisco

You and I agree frisco, that weighing and measuring is the way to go from here on out. My plan is (and yes I have this silly little plan) that I will continue to measure out my portions. My silly little goal is to not exceed 3/4 of a cup of food per meal for life (long term) and calories only as needed to maintain a normal weight. I did the 'eat until you are full', 'listen to your body' routine with a normal 3-qt capacity stomach and yup. Gained weight.

The reason I asked my original question, though, was because I really want to avoid those unpleasant symptoms of pain and vomiting. At work, I do have to attend the power lunches sometimes. Barfing would be a faux pas. And since the physiology of our stomachs gets changed, nerves are cut, the 'stretchy' portion is taken out, I wasn't sure if the nerve impulses sent us the same messages. But it sounds like I gotta just take it slow and see how my individual body's going to react to stuff.

I now know approximately how much of a serving I can eat but I still measure/weigh my food and I am 13 months out.  At first I could only eat 1 to 2 oz, at 13 months out I can only eat about 3 to 4 oz.  I usually try and stay around 3 oz of protein and sometimes a bite of a vegetable but not always.  That is all I need.  I like to eat chicken thighs and this is something that is hard to measure.  Sometimes I can eat the whole thing and other times I can't.  I don't really get a feeling of being full, I just know what my limits are.  I guess I kind of figured it out because I find that if I go over 3.5 oz of something, I start sneezing and get a runny now.  I hate that feeling so I just don't do it!  I do eat three meals of dense protein and usually 1-2 protein snacks a day.  Stay as low as you can for as long as you can.  It is easy to add more but it is harder to take it away!

I am thankful for this website.I would have thought I was crazy when this happened to me.My nose runs and I start to sneeze.I do feel my so called stomach feel full though.I think I am starving then after a few bites I am done.Everyone is different.

I went out for dinner with my husband last night-- first time eating out since surgery. I got a 6oz piece of steak and cut off 1/3 of it, since I'm usually OK with about 2oz of meat. Teeny bites, chewed to mush, ate slowly, and by the time there were a few bits of my 2oz left, I started to get that feeling like you have after a big Thanksgiving dinner... "ohmygawd I'm going to explode if I try to take another bite." Not the full-blown thing, but the less-intense sense of, "oh, my tummy is full, time to stop." 

And stop I did. No "oh, but it tastes so good, I can try a few more bites," no way no how. I've read enough to know that it would have ended badly, but I definitely had enough, I knew I was full, and it was a lovely (and uneventful) dinner.

almost one month and onto soft + fish. I get several slow, well chewed bites, and then I get ready for a bite and I feel like if I had to eat one more bite I'd explode. SLOW, SLOW, SLOW and CHEW, CHEW, CHEW. You'll learn very quickly!  Good luck!

I'm four months out today.  I've lost 47 pounds.  Sometimes I feel restriction and sometimes I don't. It depends on the food, but I don't feel full like I used to.  I'm hungry a lot even though I get my protein in every day.  From what I understand, this is not typical.  BUT I have noticed if I stop when I burp I don't have any issues with foamies or anything. Sometimes my nose will run.  I've read it's your body's response to being too full. It tries to great mucus to make it move faster.  I don't know. I think everyone is different.