Stretching or shrinking your stomach (the organ, not the midsection)

I know stretching your stomach is possible. I've seen post gastric bypass or sleeve surgery patients manage to remake themselves obese over the course of a few years. Right after the surgery the stomach volume is a little more than a golf ball depending on the procedure. But after the years, some manage to progress up huge portions of food... This of course is an extreme case.

I hear a lot of "food fighters" do this too by progressively binge eating.

Does anyone know how fast you can make your stomach stretch? Has anyone really worked toward a goal like this and has an experience to share? I'm just curious if for example, I wanted to double the volume of food I could eat in one sitting, would this take years or months?

Also, for anyone who has (or used to have) a huge stomach, is it possible to make your stomach shrink after working to stretch it out?

[QUOTE=foodandfitness;593913703]I know stretching your stomach is possible. I've seen post gastric bypass or sleeve surgery patients manage to remake themselves obese over the course of a few years. Right after the surgery the stomach volume is a little more than a golf ball depending on the procedure. But after the years, some manage to progress up huge portions of food... This of course is an extreme case.

I hear a lot of "food fighters" do this too by progressively binge eating.

Does anyone know how fast you can make your stomach stretch? Has anyone really worked toward a goal like this and has an experience to share? I'm just curious if for example, I wanted to double the volume of food I could eat in one sitting, would this take years or months?

Also, for anyone who has (or used to have) a huge stomach, is it possible to make your stomach shrink after working to stretch it out?[/QUOTE]

I have heard competitive eaters eat pounds of lettuce to help stretch their stomachs out prior to a competition. Not sure if you can shrink it tho...

[QUOTE=bbavender;593915433]I have heard competitive eaters eat pounds of lettuce to help stretch their stomachs out prior to a competition. Not sure if you can shrink it tho...[/QUOTE]

This, and tons of water.

[QUOTE=bbavender;593915433]I have heard competitive eaters eat pounds of lettuce to help stretch their stomachs out prior to a competition. Not sure if you can shrink it tho...[/QUOTE]

Over a period of time of eating small portions of food the stomach will eventually shrink.

haha - take it from the dumb a** I am. Over the course of just a few months of cutting portions down I can not take in as much food as I use to in one sitting.... This could be all mental though...

[QUOTE=foodandfitness;593913703]I know stretching your stomach is possible. I've seen post gastric bypass or sleeve surgery patients manage to remake themselves obese over the course of a few years. Right after the surgery the stomach volume is a little more than a golf ball depending on the procedure. But after the years, some manage to progress up huge portions of food... This of course is an extreme case.

I hear a lot of "food fighters" do this too by progressively binge eating.

Does anyone know how fast you can make your stomach stretch? Has anyone really worked toward a goal like this and has an experience to share? I'm just curious if for example, I wanted to double the volume of food I could eat in one sitting, would this take years or months?

Also, for anyone who has (or used to have) a huge stomach, is it possible to make your stomach shrink after working to stretch it out?[/QUOTE]


You’re in luck sir...

Basically the bottom line is genetics, much like in bodybuilding every person has there own genetic peak. Some peoples stomach is stretchier then others. Trust me, I've trained my stomach to reach its mass capacity with water a few times training for competitions...

There are a few methods to stretch your stomach and make your capacity larger (again, there is a point where you hit your genetic limit and I guess for most getting there isn't necessary) water training, basically drink as much liquid as you possibly can as fast as you can till you are at the peak of vomiting or actual vomiting. I've done this on a number of occasions, it's painful and not fun at all, even if you’re a masochist like myself...

The other way to stretch your stomach is to eat as much food as you can (if you wanna stay low calorie go with veggies, but eating tons of lettuce gets really boring and tires out your jaw) then top off with water. I've done this on a few occasions to, this is also very painful and not much fun.

So to answer your question, yes, there are ways to stretch ones stomach, but like with body building we all have our genetic limits.

And don't worry about your stomach not shrinking. All organs are constantly trying to find a homeostasis with the body. If you stop drinking, lets say 2 liters of water at any given moment, your stomach isn't going isn'g going to stay enlarged forever because the stomach no longer needs the ability to retain so much liquid/food.

This also happened to me when I lost weight too. Back in the day I could eat 5-6 plates of food at a buffet. But when I fixed my diet to smaller portions, after about a month and a half, I could barely fit a can of tuna, 1 slice of bread, and maybe a banana in my stomach without feeling bloated.

FYI, I'd be careful about using too much water to try an expand your stomach. You don't want to dilute your serum electrolyte levels to the point your pass out, or be hospitalized.

[QUOTE=foodandfitness;593913703]I know stretching your stomach is possible. I've seen post gastric bypass or sleeve surgery patients manage to remake themselves obese over the course of a few years. Right after the surgery the stomach volume is a little more than a golf ball depending on the procedure. But after the years, some manage to progress up huge portions of food... This of course is an extreme case.

I hear a lot of "food fighters" do this too by progressively binge eating.

Does anyone know how fast you can make your stomach stretch? Has anyone really worked toward a goal like this and has an experience to share? I'm just curious if for example, I wanted to double the volume of food I could eat in one sitting, would this take years or months?

Also, for anyone who has (or used to have) a huge stomach, is it possible to make your stomach shrink after working to stretch it out?[/QUOTE]



have a look at my clients before and after pics hes belly is fine now :)

First of all, BEWARE of water training. There have been cases of people dying from drinking two much water; it messes with the balance of electrolytes or something. If you want to go that route use gatorade or water with gatorade powder. But yeah, me and my friends were going to do the dairy challenge and we had two weeks to get ready for it. I just tried to see how fast I could drink a gallon of gatorade when preparing for it, every day (however, drinking gatorade is a lot different from drinking milk, because gatorade passes right through you). It's a painful process because it takes like 15 or so minutes for enough water to pass through to feel some relief. But after two weeks I was the only one to finish the gallon in an hour for $20, which wasn't worth the pain in the end. So it's possible to stretch it fast, it's just a really painful process. And you can also try eating a big meal and see how much you can drink afterward. Just don't drink straight water. Hope this helps!