I am 2.5 yrs out and had similar concerns. I can eat junk foods with no restriction. But, if I eat meat, I certainly can't eat very much. How much steak, chicken or pork can you eat in a meal? If you try that test, it may reassure you that you haven't stretched your sleeve.

I am aware that there are different views on this subject and it does depend on if your surgeon removed all the stretchy part or left a little. So what I'm saying here may or may not apply to every sleeve patient.

This was my biggest fear and finally my doctor sat me down about a year out and told me he removed all the stretchy part of the stomach and there was nothing to "restretch". He also said we can out eat our sleeves and regain, so sticking to the program was the key to loss and keeping it off. He reminded me that protein rich and dense foods like steak, pork, chicken, tend to make you feel full quickly. BUT, carbs and junk (think cookies, crackers, chips, etc.) break down differently as we chew, they almost liquify, so don't make us feel full and are very easy to over eat with. One of my friends on here refer to them as "slider foods". I would really doubt if you had restretched your sleeve. It's probably more that the "slider foods" go down easier and don't make you feel full.

There is something I've heard of called the "5 day pouch test". This was designed more for gastric bypass patients as they have a small section of the stretchy part left forming a pouch. We can do it too though to help us get back on track and "reset" our sleeve. You start just like you did at the beginning with all liquids, then add back in pureed food, soft food and by the end of the 5 days regular food again. I've seen posts on here where sleeved folks say they seem to have more restriction at the end of it. At the very least, it helps get your head back into the game. I haven't tried it but if you are worried about being able to consume more at one time, give it a try. It certainly can't hurt.

Thank you for posting this question! I've wondered about this too!

paul87920 wrote: »

pawoodhull wrote: »

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I can absolutely relate to this right now. I made a clean break with carbs. I feel fuller longer now. I feel like I eat less, and I'm losing again. I know I'm consuming less calories. I'm quite curious about this stretchy pouch thing though. I had never heard of it. I'm going to have to ask my surgeon how mine was done. I naturally assumed they could stretch because I met gastric bypass patients that were going in for round two.

Gastric Bypass and Gastric Sleeve are different in that Bypass disconnects a majority of the stomach and reroutes the digestive tract to the new, smaller stomach; where the Sleeve removes most if not all the stretchy part and nothing is rerouted. My mentally impaired sister had Bypass and this information is per her surgeon because this is what she did. Bypass leaves a small portion of the hard, muscle part of the stomach as well as a small amount for the stretchy part. That stretchy part can be stretched out close to presurgery size if the patient consistently overeats. Assuming, because my sister's doctor wants to go in and reduce the "pouch", that's what "round two" is for a Bypass patient. Now again, every WLS surgery is nothing more than a tool, we can out eat any of them and regain, and the only way to keep the weight off whether we had Bypass or the Sleeve is to make permanent lifestyle changes and continue to follow the plan for the rest of our lives.

I think it would be pretty hard to stretch your pouch. Some days I can eat like crazy and others not so much. On average I am eating over 1400 cals a day and still losing. Sounds like you just need to get back on track. Like some have said, there are slider foods that you need to watch out for because you can eat way more than you should (chips, crackers, popcorn etc). It is hard to eat too much of things like meat. Get back to basics. Weigh, measure and stick to no more than a cup of food at one time.