Stomach stretching after surgery
DJRonnieLINY
Posts: 475 Member
Have seen this concern a few times and found a good article on the subject.
Atribution: http://obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch
How to Prevent the Stretch After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Eating one or two large meals will not lead to a permanently stretched stomach or issues with your hunger and fullness triggers. However, doing this multiple times can lead to issues.
The list below hi-lights key points to reduce the risk of stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery.
1.Limit volume not sweets. Instead of totally limiting every aspect of your diet, give yourself a reward once a week with a special treat limited in size. But do not go out and eat a large meal – regardless of the type of food.
2.Reduce the amount of fluids that you drink when you eat. Its not a bad idea to drink before you eat so that you feel full faster. But its better to drink your fluids an hour or two before eating and/or an hour or two after. This lets the fluids digest and they won’t increase the amount of gas that can build
3.If you do have a bigger than normal meal, make your next meal small and make sure you don’t make larger meals a habit.
4.If you are always feeling hungry, then eat small amounts of healthy snacks in between meals. Almonds are a delicious and healthy way to feel satisfied in between meals.
5.Get a good book with healthy recipes that are geared for people who have gone through gastric sleeve surgery. We’ve got a list of our favorite books here.
6.DO NOT get discouraged. If you fell off the wagon and binged one or two meals or even the entire previous week. The stomach and the mind is an amazingly resilient thing. Start over and start eating normal meals again. Call your surgeon and ask for help before it gets too far out of hand.
7.Get on the online forums and ask others for help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Here is a list of our favorite forums.
So stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery is not a myth. It can happen and it does happen. Be aware of it and prevent it. Remember how hard the surgery and recovery was? Remember what a big decision you made? Its never too late to change your habits and get back on the right track.
Atribution: http://obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch
How to Prevent the Stretch After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Eating one or two large meals will not lead to a permanently stretched stomach or issues with your hunger and fullness triggers. However, doing this multiple times can lead to issues.
The list below hi-lights key points to reduce the risk of stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery.
1.Limit volume not sweets. Instead of totally limiting every aspect of your diet, give yourself a reward once a week with a special treat limited in size. But do not go out and eat a large meal – regardless of the type of food.
2.Reduce the amount of fluids that you drink when you eat. Its not a bad idea to drink before you eat so that you feel full faster. But its better to drink your fluids an hour or two before eating and/or an hour or two after. This lets the fluids digest and they won’t increase the amount of gas that can build
3.If you do have a bigger than normal meal, make your next meal small and make sure you don’t make larger meals a habit.
4.If you are always feeling hungry, then eat small amounts of healthy snacks in between meals. Almonds are a delicious and healthy way to feel satisfied in between meals.
5.Get a good book with healthy recipes that are geared for people who have gone through gastric sleeve surgery. We’ve got a list of our favorite books here.
6.DO NOT get discouraged. If you fell off the wagon and binged one or two meals or even the entire previous week. The stomach and the mind is an amazingly resilient thing. Start over and start eating normal meals again. Call your surgeon and ask for help before it gets too far out of hand.
7.Get on the online forums and ask others for help. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Here is a list of our favorite forums.
So stretching your stomach after gastric sleeve surgery is not a myth. It can happen and it does happen. Be aware of it and prevent it. Remember how hard the surgery and recovery was? Remember what a big decision you made? Its never too late to change your habits and get back on the right track.
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Replies
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I think this article makes sense for the most part but I have a few issues with some of the things, and these are just my opinions of course -
Item 1 - I don't think the "reward" system is an effective tool for people who have had WLS. I think this could trigger behavior that got some of us into the situation we were in before surgery. I think it's imperative that we rethink our attitudes toward food and not use food as a reward.
Item 2 - Not a bad idea to drink before you eat so you feel full faster? This contradicts everything I heard from my surgeon and his team about not drinking with meals, and it's also a contradiction of the very next sentence about not drinking before and after meals.
I hate to be a cynic, but I tend to question a lot of what is on the internet. Some of the advice here is practical and makes sense, but some, not so much!0 -
I agree with garber6th with both of her points. And I urge caution in thinking that all stomachs can restretch. I understand that all surgeons do this surgery their own way, so some people may have a little bit of the stretchy part of the stomach left. But I discussed just this issue with my surgeon when I was told I needed to eat more. I explained that I was so very fearful of restretching my stomach that I just couldn't eat more. My surgeon explained that "he" removes all the stretchy part of the stomach, making it impossible to restretch my stomach. He said that I can still out eat the program and regain, so this isn't a magic wand. I will always need to maintain healthy eating habits, portion control and exercise if I'm going to lose it all and keep it off.
Point is I'm almost 3 years out. Yes I can eat more food than I could at 6 months out, maybe even 9 months out, but I still get just as full on 1 measuring cup of soup with lots of meat in it or a 4 ounce portion of meat as I did 2 years ago (at 1 year out). Again, I know each surgeon does it differently, so your information might be good for some here, but I think we need to be carefull. And if someone is concerned about restretching, they need to verify with their surgeon if that's a valid concern for them.0 -
Ditto. I wouldn't drink with meals. It makes me feel icky.0
