38 Part I: Eating Right with Every Bite
Following the Cardinal Rule: Your Pouch Rules
Your Pouch Rules
So you’re back to eating “real” food again. Think it will be like it was before
surgery? Think again! You’re going to find that you frequently answer to your
pouch, even now that it has healed. Eat too much and your pouch will rebel.
Eat too fast and your pouch will let you know. Don’t chew your food thoroughly
and woe be to you! You had the surgery to create this new phenomenon
called your pouch, and it demands your respect.
While that may sound harsh, your pouch is also the tool that will help you
finally reach your weight loss goals. If you take good care of it and treat it
right, it will be your new best friend!
If you had adjustable gastric banding, your weight loss will be somewhat
slower than for someone who had gastric bypass. Don’t blame your pouch;
it’s just the nature of the surgery. In some ways, if you have a band you have
to work a little harder than someone who had bypass surgery. You won’t
experience dumping syndrome (discussed in Chapter 2) when you eat
something too sugary or fatty, and you can pretty much continue to eat the
foods you ate before surgery, just in smaller amounts, more frequently. Hence,
without the physical limitations of someone with gastric bypass, it becomes
very important that you stay focused on your goals and be diligent about
tracking the calories you put into your body each and every day.
Keeping your pouch from overstretching
Immediately after surgery, your pouch is about the size of an egg and holds
about one to two ounces of food, but it does stretch over time. The key is
not to stretch it so much that you sabotage your weight loss efforts. To make
sure you don’t stretch it out too much or too fast, you need to
✓ Eat only three small meals a day and one to two snacks. You’ll find
your energy level is higher and you won’t be so ravenous at dinner if you
have an afternoon snack. Be sure to read the Chapter 18 on snacking and
making good choices.
✓ Eat slowly so you don’t overfill the pouch. Try to take 20 to 30 minutes
to eat your meals (remember, it takes 20 minutes for your brain to
register that you have had your fill!).
✓ Remember that constant snacking even in small amounts (otherwise
known as grazing) may not stretch out the pouch but certainly can
inhibit weight loss. Those calories add up quickly!
