Why do some foods fill me up so much more than others?

 In the world of post-op eating, all foods are not created equal.  I'm still amazed that I can eat so much less of some foods than others.   A half a cup of dense protein and I'm done for the meal, where as other things I can eat up to a cup at a meal and still feel only the beginning of fullness.

How does this work?  Its not like dense protein actually takes up more space in the pouch...a half a cup of food is a half a cup of food...right?  I know that slider foods just slide on by, but I'm not noticing this difference with only slider foods.  

 

When the food gets into your pouch, it's all chewed up.  So imagine chewing up 1/2 cup of meat and then chewing up 1/2 cup of salad.  Which one would take up more room, all chewed up?  The meat, right?  So it does take up more room in your pouch.

As Kelly said, dense proteins DO take up more space than other types of foods, and he water content  of foods can cause even foods that are not technically "sliders" to empty from the pouch more quickly.

Example:  Even at 5 years out, if I eat nothing other than the beef, 4 ounces of beef is enough to make me quite full.  I can, however, easily eat 2 cups of fruit salad by itself (even more if it has a lot of watermelon in it!).  Green beans, some other soft vegetables, and many fruits have a high water content and chew down into almost nothing.  If I eat a small amount of those items with beef, I can still eat the 4 ounces of beef along with the side items because the water content of the side items helps the beef slide through more easily than it would by itself.  Make sense?

Lora

I agree with Lora and Kelly - I can eat an entire cucumber - because it is very watery. Steak, only about 3 oz.

 Makes sense..thanks ladies!  And I have noticed that the dense protein is less filling when I eat it with high water content foods...but I never really thought about why.  So interesting to know!