How much could you eat and when?

[CraftyChristie 62]

I am 7 weeks out tomorrow. When I eat a dense food like meat, I am at 2 ounces to 2 1/2 ounces. But if I eat something softer I can eat more. For example mac and cheese - this is a treat, grandma's recipe from a BBQ, don't hardly ever have it - but I just ate 1/2 cup of it (4 ounces.) I feel full but not overly full, just right. That just really surprised me, I haven't eaten 4 ounces of ANYTHING. I don't think I'll be eating that anymore... I know I should have a Protein and then like a bite of that... like I said it's not a common thing. But it scared me a little to eat 1/2 cup.

Please share how much you were/are able to eat and at how long post op. Thank you!

[Tiffykins 672]

I was about the same chickee. It was more like 3-4oz of mushy stuff, and 2-2.5oz of dense Protein for the first 2-3 months. I was able to bump up to 3oz of dense protein on some foods especially if I added gravy, or some type of condiment.

[CraftyChristie 62]

Tiffykins that is good to know because you have definitely been successful. I keep worrying that I'm eating too much. I am usually at 700-800 cals a day.

[Tiffykins 672]

I just kept my carbs low, and Protein high. My calories came from protein, and I didn't have room for carbs, or a taste for much food at all. Plus, I did the 4 meals per day, no Snacks, no calorie drinks. It's what worked for me. If I did snack, it was strictly protein. No exception. It didn't happen often, maybe 3-4 times over 6 months.

[lillita 18]

Am I the only one that the dr and nutritionist told to eat 5-6 small 4 oz meals a day? I read a ton about people eating 3 times a day and no snacking -- yet my dr., said that I must make sure I eat every 3 hours... :thumbup1:

[texaschick 0]

OK, I must be doing something here.... I am 1 month out and I can eat a whole small container of wendys chili, or a whole grilled chicken breast (with some king of condiment to help it down)

, A hamburger (no bun) etc.....

Is anybody else able to eat this much !!?? I try and keep my calories between 700-800 (some days are a we'd bit more)

A typical day this week has been: 2 oz thin deli turkey with a lite cheese stick ,

Small can of tuna for lunch, another cheese stick with deli turkey - 1 oz for snack. Wendys chili or a chicken breast from pollo tropical for dinner (I am on the road this week). Oh, and a skim Cappuccino in the morning

[texashopeful 0]

I am on my 4th week. I am never hungry. I have to force myself to eat or drink anything, cause I just feel so full when I do...no matter how much I have or how long I take to consume it. Between trying to get in the Protein with regular/ blended food, and the Vitamins, I feel like I am going to be sick (overful) anytime I eat! I have been able to get in 1/2 cup of cottage chesse and some peaches in about 2 hours, and by then, it should be time to eat again! I am so frustrated!!!

[delawaregal 2]

I feel the same as you Texashopeful. I am 3.5 weeks out and I force myself to eat and drink and always feel full. It takes me so long to get anyhting in I would have to start at 5am until midnight to get in all the fluids and Protein I need.

[Tiffykins 672]

Am I the only one that the dr and nutritionist told to eat 5-6 small 4 oz meals a day? I read a ton about people eating 3 times a day and no snacking -- yet my dr., said that I must make sure I eat every 3 hours...

Everyone's program is different. I was instructed to eat 4 meals per day consisting of a minimum of 15gr of Protein. NO snacking. It was easy for me to stick to this rule because I was never hunger, and eat Protein foods so it stuck longer in my sleeve.

OK, I must be doing something here.... I am 1 month out and I can eat a whole small container of wendys chili, or a whole grilled chicken breast (with some king of condiment to help it down)

, A hamburger (no bun) etc.....

Is anybody else able to eat this much !!?? I try and keep my calories between 700-800 (some days are a we'd bit more)

A typical day this week has been: 2 oz thin deli turkey with a lite cheese stick ,

Small can of tuna for lunch, another cheese stick with deli turkey - 1 oz for snack. Wendys chili or a chicken breast from pollo tropical for dinner (I am on the road this week). Oh, and a skim Cappuccino in the morning

At 13 months out, I still can not eat an entire chicken breast even with gravy unless I took at least an hour to eat. I can eat about 1/2 of a chicken breast half in 40 minutes, and can eat 5 chicken wing on the bone drummettes, and that's about it . I'm lucky if I can eat 3oz of chicken breast. I can eat 8oz of chili, but Wendy's chili meat is pretty chunky and I'm lucky to be able to eat 3/4 of a small container.

I can only eat 3-5oz of steak or rib meat. meats stick with me the longest, and I still have to eat them slowly.

I am on my 4th week. I am never hungry. I have to force myself to eat or drink anything, cause I just feel so full when I do...no matter how much I have or how long I take to consume it. Between trying to get in the protein with regular/ blended food, and the Vitamins, I feel like I am going to be sick (overful) anytime I eat! I have been able to get in 1/2 cup of cottage chesse and some peaches in about 2 hours, and by then, it should be time to eat again! I am so frustrated!!!

I feel the same as you Texashopeful. I am 3.5 weeks out and I force myself to eat and drink and always feel full. It takes me so long to get anyhting in I would have to start at 5am until midnight to get in all the fluids and protein I need.

I went through the same thing. It does get better, and your "appetite" will return even if it's not hunger. For me, everything tasted horrible, and bland. I really had to spice things up to be able to eat and kind of "enjoy" the foods I was able to eat.

Once my taste buds returned to a semi-normal state, food started tasting better, eating became easier, I was able to eat more regular foods. I seasoned my food heavily with no salt or salt alternatives, lemon pepper was my favorite. Also, the dry ranch dressing mix really helped flavor stuff like chicken and tuna salad to make it more tolerable. I burnt myself out on those 2 things with just mayo/miracle whip, but the ranch sprinkles definitely helped. A little went a long, long way.

The one trick that I did was drink warm liquids before every "meal", and then do not wait anymore than 45 minutes after eating to start drinking. I was told to wait 30 minutes, but sometimes it seemed too "soon" to drink. Again, I would drink some warm tea, and this helped.

Celestial season makes a peppermint, herbal Decaf tea, that is good warm or cold, and it really relaxed and soothed my stomach early out. I still use it, and continue to drink warm fluids when I know I'm going to be eating super dense foods.

[theresa 0]

i am going to meet dr wade barker in dallas in a few weeks for the consultion.....does anyone know him? How are the frist few days.........lots of pain .......and what helped anyone reading recover ??? I have had some bad experiences with anesthesia in the past with extreme anxiety..........anyone have this????

[educationrulz 18]

Am I the only one that the dr and nutritionist told to eat 5-6 small 4 oz meals a day? I read a ton about people eating 3 times a day and no snacking -- yet my dr., said that I must make sure I eat every 3 hours... :thumbup:

My postop diet recommends 5-6 small meals per day (4-6 tablespoons). As the diet progresses through soft to regular, it decreases to 5 then 4 meals per day with an increase to 8 to 10 tablespoons per meal in the final phase. Since it's phrased this way, I think of everything in terms of tablespoons instead of ounces. I'm still averaging 2 tablespoons per meal although the plan says I should be at 4 to 6 tablespoons. But, things are going down easier now and my volume is increasing slightly each day.

I might have only gotten in 5 meals once or twice. Even though I have cravings every now and then, I really don't want to eat real meals so it's hard to force down 5 meals right now. I'm doing my best to focus on my Proteins and those are just too much sometimes to eat 5 times a day. The cravings are scary because I've already figured out a couple of things that are sliders and see how I could get into trouble with those if I don't watch myself.

[mommaof4yoopers 3]

I'm nearly 4 months out and my amounts are still fairly limited, however I've recently noticed a change. I can eat more and am not as uncomfy after I do eat. This was a huge problem for me since surgery. I look at it as an experiment each day... "what can I eat today?" I still experience hunger, still have to make the right choice on what to put into my mouth, and just came off my first stall.

Specific amounts: steak 2 oz, pudding/yogurt 4 oz, 1/2 sandwich crusts trimmed with miracle whip and cheese, 3 oz fish