In the HD version... limited HP gauge?

I played the HD PS3 version of the game, and after hunting down all of the fruit and eating them all, even though there was some left for me to eat, the gauge stopped growing. Is that happening to anyone else? I know in the PS2 version it can span all the way across your screen.
I want to keep playing the game over and over and keep collecting lizard tails to reach the secret garden. But since the HP gauge is limited I don't want to waste my time collecting tails if it's not even going to do anything.