Why do “bad” foods go down so easily?
December 9, 2020
Meal delivery options after sleeve gastrectomy
January 31, 2021
You know the feeling you have after Christmas lunch? Or when you accidentally eat one or two mouthfuls too many and make yourself so uncomfortable you need to lie down? Not pleasant! So let’s have a chat about how to avoid that scenario and learn when to stop eating after a sleeve.
After a sleeve it can take a while to get used to your new stomach. Some clients take 6-12 months to really get the hang of things. When I speak with clients about portion sizes after a sleeve, rather than talk about cups or measures, we discuss how to stop when you are satisfied, but before you are full.
Feeling satisfied and feeling full are not the same thing and it’s an important distinction to make. To eat until satisfied means to eat until you are no longer hungry. You could probably eat a few more mouthfuls if you needed too, but if you stop now, you’ll feel like you don’t need to eat for a few hours.
Eating until full is very different. This is that Christmas Day lunch feeling. You may need to lie down for a while until your meal digests or just generally feel uncomfortable. ‘Full’ is when you are likely to get a ‘foamie’ or need to regurgitate some of your meal. Regularly eating to this point after surgery will slow weight loss (you’re eating more than you need) and early on post op can lead to complications or long term may stretch your stomach.
So, rather than focus on portion sizes, focus on how you feel before, during and after your meal. It’s important to re-learn how to listen to your new stomach and then eat accordingly. In the clinic, I often use the hunger scale to help with this. I ask clients to rate their hunger on a scale of 0-10 where 0 is so hungry you could eat your own fingers and 10 is so full you want to throw up. Ideally we want to start eating at around 3 and stop eating at a 6 or 7. To practice this, which is part of eating mindfully after a sleeve, ask yourself where you are sitting on the hunger scale before, during and after your meal. Give it a go – I’d love to hear how it works for you!
