I have a problem with portion control

Last updated on Wed, 14th Sep 2022

In the last 7 weeks since my gastric bypass surgery, I’ve been trying to come to terms with the new smaller portion sizes of my meals.

I’ve found that there’s a real disconnect between the amount of food I want to put on the plate and the amount of food I can actually eat. My eyes are literally bigger than my stomach!

If I carefully weigh or measure portions then it’s generally fine. But if I try to rely upon my own judgement then I will invariably put too much food on the plate. And if I’m not careful I’ll end up trying to eat it all, and then feel uncomfortably full or even need to vomit.

I try to remember to chew carefully and eat slowly, so that my body can tell me it’s full. But I’m not used to recognising that satisfied feeling, and will sometimes keep eating beyond it. Part of it is that I’m not used to stopping in the middle of eating when I feel full. I’m used to finishing everything that’s put on the plate. So I sometimes push on even though I know I’ve had enough.

I hope it will become easier with experience, because the over-full feeling is pretty uncomfortable, and I also don’t want to be stretching out my new stomach pouch!

I’d like to reduce the disconnect between what my brain tells me to eat versus what my stomach can hold, so that I will be able to judge the right amount to put on the plate.