Phase 4 Blues

Options
paul87920
paul87920 Posts: 165 Member
I'm going to be dead honest here, I hate this phase. My body isn't telling me that I'm full until I'm tossing my cookies in the restroom. I'm sick at every meal. I don't dare try beef or pork. I can't handle vegetables. I'm tired of throwing up. I'm tired of brushing my teeth 4 or 5 times a day. I'm sick of people asking me what's wrong when I excuse myself from the table. And I'm soooo over trying to find a piece of gum when I can't access my toothbrush in public.

Replies

  • JxAAA
    JxAAA Posts: 87 Member
    Options
    I'd recommend you weigh your food, and stick to weighing what you eat instead of relying on your body to tell you. It's a good habit to start now anyway at some point you're not going to have the same restriction you have today and you will gradually be able to eat more and more which could end up being a problem during maintenance because you're used to eating till your full instead of eating only what you need.

    Here is an interesting thread about under eating your sleeve
    http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/vsg/4498068/Restriction-amp-Under-Eating-Your-Sleeve-2plus-Years-Out/
  • katematt313
    katematt313 Posts: 624 Member
    Options
    Don't rely on your body to give you cues that you know, by now, are not going to arrive on time.

    Portion out your food before you eat. Eat what is on your plate. Take a break and reassess the situation in 30 minutes.
  • juliebccs
    juliebccs Posts: 233
    Options
    Hmmm,,I have been lucky and only thrown up a few times since surgery (last one a few days ago). However it is not pleasant so I feel for you.
    My enemy food is chicken, which I love so I tend to eat it a little too fast. I know when I am going to throw up though. I get a little pain and then the saliva in my mouth goes nuts (the foamies someone called it once, very apt). That is my time to get to the bathroom. Because the food is dry,,,it does not come up well.
    So my solution,,,slow down on the chicken. I am not good at pacing my meals but I have learned to with chicken (most of the time). The slower I go the less likely I am to swallow too much for my sleeve. I find about 100gm of any meat is sufficient for me. When I forget to weigh the chicken I get a bit greedy and gobbly. So weigh foods and slow right down. Maybe go back to softer foods again for a little while. Good luck.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Options
    I still have to measure my food. I just got back from a camping trip and I didn't measure my food so I barfed 3 times because I went 2-3 bites over at 3 dinners. We were eating in the dark and I was probably eating too fast for the texture of the grilled meat. For the early days after surgery I carried a little cole slaw container that I got at chick fil a. It was the perfect meal size for me. I kept it in my car. At home I just use a cup measure that I fill 3/4 full for solids and full for liquids. Of course, I am 8 months out. I used the half cup measure for 5 months. are you eating soft wet veggies and ground meats? Hopefully you aren't eating breads, rice, potatoes, or pasta. They are well known for their barf inducing qualities. You are likely still eating way too fast. You really do have to take small bites and chew a long time. 1/2cup to 3/4 cup really should take you 30 min to eat.
  • emmeylou
    emmeylou Posts: 175 Member
    Options
    Measure, measure, measure!!! You are obviously (accidentally) eating too much! I had to wait before transiting into this phase! It was about a month before I started to try more solid foods as my sleevie just could NOT handle it.

    My advice would be to back up! Go back to phase 3 for a bit. Everyone heals at different rates and it sounds like you aren't ready for this quite yet. If this isn't your choice, then I would pre-cut your food into tiny pieces. Chew every single piece on its own and go very slowly. Are you drinking before/during/after your meals? If so make sure you stop. That could be the cause of all your problems right there!

    As someone else asked, what TYPE of foods are you eating, if you aren't eating chicken/pork? Even at nearly 3 years out I have to be careful with foods like bread/pasta/potatoe and not just because they aren't good for but because they do not sit well! Pork was actually one of the very first meats I ate. My mom slow cooked a dark meat pork roast. It was perfect! Extremely tender and sat beautifully (the fattier meats sat better at first for me, chicken took awhile). Beef also sat very well as long as it was slow cooked (or pretty close to rare... but not everyone can eat their meat like that lol!).

    Can you let us know some more details? Thanks!
  • paul87920
    paul87920 Posts: 165 Member
    Options
    I've been mulling it over and trying to figure it out. I've been eating approved foods. I think chewing and speed may be contributing. There's another side to this however. Something that was brought to my attention that wasn't at the forefront of my mind. When I was younger I grew up with severe food allergies. Between immunotherapy and allergy shots I eventually grew out of it. This keeps happening every time I introduce a new food. I'm going to try everyone's suggestions first, and if they don't work, I'm going to an allergy specialist.
  • pawoodhull
    pawoodhull Posts: 1,759 Member
    Options
    Paul, I am assumig here you haven't found your "I'm full cue" yet. I have found that mine is completely different post surgery than it was before surgery. For me now, when I feel like I need to burp, that's when I stop eating. At home or out, it's the same feeling. I still tend to eat too fast, so sometimes I really do need to burp. But even if that's the case and I do burp, I do not eat more. I am just done. If I continue to eat past that cue, I will throw up the extra food. Your cue might be different. I have sleeved friends who say when the get the hiccups, they are done, others start sneezing (I don't get this one). Yours may be something totally different.

    Also, make sure to weigh and measure your food. I do this all the time unless I'm eating out. This keeps me within calorie goals and keeps me within the correct protions, because even at 3 years out, I still cannot eyeball a portion correctly.

    Yes throwing up is uncomfortable and gross, but I will bet it's because you are overeating more than eating too fast. Finding your cue and then paying attention to it will solve that issue for you.
  • Mangopickle
    Mangopickle Posts: 1,509 Member
    Options
    Paul, I am assumig here you haven't found your "I'm full cue" yet. I have found that mine is completely different post surgery than it was before surgery. For me now, when I feel like I need to burp, that's when I stop eating. At home or out, it's the same feeling. I still tend to eat too fast, so sometimes I really do need to burp. But even if that's the case and I do burp, I do not eat more. I am just done. If I continue to eat past that cue, I will throw up the extra food. Your cue might be different. I have sleeved friends who say when the get the hiccups, they are done, others start sneezing (I don't get this one). Yours may be something totally different.

    Also, make sure to weigh and measure your food. I do this all the time unless I'm eating out. This keeps me within calorie goals and keeps me within the correct protions, because even at 3 years out, I still cannot eyeball a portion correctly.

    Yes throwing up is uncomfortable and gross, but I will bet it's because you are overeating more than eating too fast. Finding your cue and then paying attention to it will solve that issue for you.

    Yes, this!!, if you feel the need to burp or get hiccups don't take another bite. You are done.
  • bethkallastrask
    bethkallastrask Posts: 39 Member
    Options
    I agree, weighing is important. And I burp and hiccup when I am done! LOL