When you are back to eating normal food...

[want2lose 1]

When you are back to normal food after surgery, can some of you please tell me what you eat for the day....if you ever eat out, how do you manage, what you order, etc. I know you will eat less after the surgery, but am wondering what a typical day is like. Thanks for any replies. :thumbup:

[Tiffykins 672]

I'm almost 11 months out, and this is what I ate yesterday. It was a crazy carb day, and I grazed quite a bit. A lot of my carbs come from the fruit juice and fruit Loops, potatoes with dinner and yogurt/fruit I ate for Breakfast. I do not eat like this every day. I actually keep my carbs around 80grams per day now. But, yesterday, I wanted fruit, and Cereal for some odd reason.

Breakfast - 1-6oz Chobani strawberry Yogurt, 3 large fresh strawberries

Snack - 3oz of teriyaki beef Jerky, 3 saltine crackers, 1- 2% extra sharp cheddar wedge

lunch - 1/2 peanut butter/honey sandwich on whole wheat bread (no crust), 10-12 tortilla chips with sour cream/salsa dip

Snack - 6 iced circus animal crackers

Dinner - 2oz of steak, 1/4 cup of steamed green Beans, 1/4 cup of pan seared new potatoes

Snack - 1 cup of fruit loops Cereal with 1/2 cup 1% milk

Calories - 1387

Carbs - 226

Protein - 84

Fat - 36

I got in about 50 ounces of Water, 8oz of the the grape juice, and 8oz of coffee.

I eat out 2-4 times per week.

Thai places - chicken Satay skewers with dipping sauce and I can at 2 skewers.

Chili's - my son and I share a half rack of ribs, I can eat 2 of the ribs, and a few bites of the various side dishes, we also share the Cajun chicken Pasta entree (yummy chicken alfredo with penne Pasta and grilled cajun flavored chicken breast)I also order the 1/2 order of nachos from the appetizer menu, I can eat about 3 of them with salsa and sour cream, I order and split the Quesadilla Explosion salad with the kiddo.

Mexican food - my son and I order beef and chicken fajitas for 1, I can eat 1 fajita with 2-3 strips of meat, loads of sauteed onions, sour cream, salsa and a little bit of rice. I do eat some chips and salsa before my meal. I may have a few bites of the refried Beans, but I like to save room for the actual fajita.

Taco Bell - Steak quesadilla with extra sauce. I can eat 2 of the 4 wedges, but I pull off the top of the tortilla. I wait about 3 hours and eat the other 2 wedges later. Or, I order a bean burrito with extra red sauce and sour cream, and peel off the extra tortilla that doesn't have any filling.

TGI Friday's - I order the appetizer course of Pot stickers/chinese dumplings, and I can eat 3 of them, the inside mainly, and the outside shell of 1.5 of them with dipping sauce.

Logan's steak house - my son and I split an 8oz ribeye and a few bites of the side dishes typically rice or loaded mashed potatoes with a green veggie. I typically eat a few chips with their spinach/artichoke dip before our meal.

Mongolian BarBque - I eat the thick egg noodles, with cabbage, snap peas, pineapple, bean sprouts, and chicken or beef. Covered in Mongolian and Teriyaki sauce, and minced garlic. Typically, the meat gets over cooked on the grill, so I stick to the noodles and veggies/fruit.

Chinese buffet - Spring roll (1 with the outer shell peeled off), peanut chicken, beef broccoli, General Tso chicken, fried rice, low mein noodles, and pot stickers again.

IHOP- sirloin steak tips with broccoli

Wendy's - baked potato with cheese/broccoli, small chili with crackers

Panera Bread - The asian fruit side salad (it has apples), broccoli/cheddar Soup, 1/2 tuna salad sandwich with chips.

Obviously, I eat a very small portion of all of these, but it gives you an idea of what I order and eat. Yes, I bring lots of leftovers home, but I make the meals last for at least 2 other meals/lunches, or even Snacks.

I rarely order off the kid's or senior menu. I know people find it hard to believe but I literally eat anything and everything I want just in small quantities.

[want2lose 1]

Thanks for the info. For some reason I had it in my mind you could only eat 3-4 ozs at a time. I'm still researching but hard to figure out what you eat, how much and when.

[Tiffykins 672]

For the first 3-5months, all I could eat was 3-4oz of food per meal. Around the 6 month mark something changed, and I found that I could eat more at about 6 ounces. Now at 11 months, I can easily eat 1 cup of food if I eat slowly, and chew very well.

At this point, my stomach has relaxed and is probably at the size it will remain at for the rest of my life. There are "tricks" that allow me to eat more. Like when I go out for Chinese, I drink the hot broth of the wonton Soup, or egg drop soup, it relaxes my sleeve. I can fit a bit more in. Also, if I take 45 minutes to eat instead of 20-30 minutes, I can pack more in my sleeve.

I had to figure out how to get more food in because I'm having trouble maintaining my current loss. I also have to eat about 6 times a day instead of the prescribed 4 meals my surgeon suggested early out. I can still only eat 4oz of dense Protein then I have to wait a little bit to get in the veggies. It really varies by what type of food I'm eating.

[goodlife 3]

Tiff...I love your post...that is great information.

With my family's busy schedule, we eat out ALOT.

Do you know the actual physical capacity of your sleeve right after surgery? At the class I went to last week she told us we'd have a 4oz. capacity stomach. She also said everybody gets the same size no matter what. Do you think realistically say at a year out like you are it will have stretched just a little and maybe end up being more like 6 or 8 oz?

[Tiffykins 672]

Tiff...I love your post...that is great information.

With my family's busy schedule, we eat out ALOT.

Do you know the actual physical capacity of your sleeve right after surgery? At the class I went to last week she told us we'd have a 4oz. capacity stomach. She also said everybody gets the same size no matter what. Do you think realistically say at a year out like you are it will have stretched just a little and maybe end up being more like 6 or 8 oz?

I couldn't hold 4ounces of anything post-op. I was lucky to get 2 ounces of Clear liquids in every 20-30minutes. Full liquids it took me a minimum of 30 minutes to get in 2 ounces.

I don't think there is really any true stretching involved. I think our stomachs are seriously swollen for several months and used to a lot of liquid/mushy diet. The part that is left is muscular, and I think it really just relaxes, it adjusts to food being put in it, so I don't think it's a true stretching like what we hear about with the pouches on RNY/BAND patients.

I'm almost 11 months out, and I can easily eat 1 cup (8 ounces) of yogurt/mashed potatoes/cream of wheat/runny oatmeal. 4 ounces of dense Protein is about all I can handle. If it's super tender, medium cooked steak, I can get in maybe 5 ounces, but nothing else is gonna fit in there.

I can say without a doubt that the sleeve shrinks some too. When I had my gallbladder out, and had to go back to full liquids, and chicken noodle Soup, it took a couple of weeks for me to be able to eat dense Protein again as my stomach would not tolerate much of anything. I had amazing restriction again, and had to build back up to eating foods that were more dense, and solid.

[wannalise 15]

I think those of us who have really been mindless eaters for years are not accustomed to really listening to our bodies and in my struggles post op I think that is becoming the lesson. I think that I have to REALLY slowly introduce things and I thought I'd be full on eating by the start of week four, but I am pretty sure that I will be doing lots of mushies with my regular foods. They go down well for me and at this point I am desperate to feel hydrated and nourished. I am just under a month out and at this point way more of my life is focused on food and drink and then I wish it were. But, when you get here learn from my boo boos and just take it slow and listen to your body. It'll let you know what does and doesn't settle and you gotta go with it. Good luck!

[Sheri 0]

I couldn't hold 4ounces of anything post-op. I was lucky to get 2 ounces of Clear Liquids in every 20-30minutes. Full liquids it took me a minimum of 30 minutes to get in 2 ounces.

I don't think there is really any true stretching involved. I think our stomachs are seriously swollen for several months and used to a lot of liquid/mushy diet. The part that is left is muscular, and I think it really just relaxes, it adjusts to food being put in it, so I don't think it's a true stretching like what we hear about with the pouches on RNY/BAND patients.

I'm almost 11 months out, and I can easily eat 1 cup (8 ounces) of yogurt/mashed potatoes/cream of wheat/runny oatmeal. 4 ounces of dense Protein is about all I can handle. If it's super tender, medium cooked steak, I can get in maybe 5 ounces, but nothing else is gonna fit in there.

I can say without a doubt that the sleeve shrinks some too. When I had my gallbladder out, and had to go back to full liquids, and chicken noodle Soup, it took a couple of weeks for me to be able to eat dense Protein again as my stomach would not tolerate much of anything. I had amazing restriction again, and had to build back up to eating foods that were more dense, and solid.

When did you try soft cooked eggs? I am craving some. Everything I have eaten so far is not something I ever really wanted. I am on day 27. Still doing creamed Soups, yogurt, smoothies, etc.

[Tiffykins 672]

I tried eggs on the mushies stage. I could not tolerate scrambled eggs at all. They hit my sleeve like a brick regardless of how fluffy smooth I cooked them, and I chewed them to infinity.

Is the mushy stage coming up for you soon? Once I got to mushies, things were better, and more variety.

[lowkee00 1]

About 5 weeks out. Today, I made a can of pork and Beans, mixed in a little ketchup and splenda for sweetness. It took me 1 hour probably, but I finished an 8oz can. I am shocked at the amount, however, when you chew them to bits, I guess it goes down like liquid. Super Yummy they were.

[Sheri 0]

I am at the oatmeal stage, day 28. However, wouldnt 3 minute eggs be easier to digest than oatmeal, The calendar can be a bit confusing to me, at smoothie stage you can have blended fruit, but then at day 34 it says you can have can fruit. Isnt that just as mushy? Just like with the creamed Soups, you can eat split pea, but then 2 weeks later it says you can have Beans. I may try the 3 min. eggs sooner and see how it goes. Thanks for the input, I welcome it and any more ideas. Sheri

[Brooke 0]

Hubby and I go out for lunch nearly every day. He orders a normal lunch and I get a cup of Soup. He says I am a cheap date!! Sometimes I eat a few bites of his, but usually I am happy with the soup. Sometimes, I can't even finish all that but I am only 3.5 weeks out.

[want2lose 1]

Hubby and I go out for lunch nearly every day. He orders a normal lunch and I get a cup of Soup. He says I am a cheap date!! Sometimes I eat a few bites of his, but usually I am happy with the soup. Sometimes, I can't even finish all that but I am only 3.5 weeks out.

That is too funny. There are times when my husband I and go out to subway and spilt a footlong....he tells me I'm such a cheap date!!! LOL He said I'll really be cheap when we go out after surgery!! Tells me I'll be able to live off the 6 inch sub for days....LOL

[goodlife 3]

I am at the oatmeal stage, day 28. However, wouldnt 3 minute eggs be easier to digest than oatmeal, The calendar can be a bit confusing to me, at smoothie stage you can have blended fruit, but then at day 34 it says you can have can fruit. Isnt that just as mushy? Just like with the creamed Soups, you can eat split pea, but then 2 weeks later it says you can have Beans. I may try the 3 min. eggs sooner and see how it goes. Thanks for the input, I welcome it and any more ideas. Sheri

Who's your surgeon? It sounds like we have the same one. The diet is a bit odd. I posted it here last week....forget which forum though.

[Edie 0]

Eggs definitly hit like bricks....as does chicken and steak...I can eat a few bites of these...and actually like to eat them as I can not eat much else for long periods. When I go out I take home a doggie bag and eat on left overs for a few days. When my daughter orders something I like, I take a few bites of hers! Resturants are not worth the money and I do try to avoid them as much as possible. Forget all - you - can - eats all together. Many places have Soup and that is an easy choice, but I can't have a salad with it and still have room for the soup.