Since I had a three week delay due to some complications with my hiatial hernia surgery, I am probably going to start soft foods tomorrow. My question is do you ever get to eat more than 4 oz. at a time, do you always have to wait 1/2 hour between eating and drinking, are you always restricted to 4 oz. of liquids at a time? I am really not talking about right now, while I am still healing, I guess I am referring to later. Or if this does change, when does it change? I read so manyof you drink 30 oz. of Starbucks at a time and sip tons of water all day and don't understand how you do it wih these restrictions. Thanks for clarifying for me.

I'm a year out and trying to get into maintenance. I undereat my sleeve so I generally try to keep my portion size to 1/2 cup. I drink right up to the time I start eating but wait 30-45 minutes after eating before I start drinking again. I can drink loads if I swallow steadily but not too fast. If I drink too fast or take too big a gulp it comes up as a watery burp. If you have lost your hunger you will be satisfied with 4 oz, there isn't any reason to eat more and overeating is very uncomfortable when you are on solid food.

I have never been restricted on liquids, even in the hospital, though some do have a harder time with them (a tighter pyloris, perhaps?) I don't restrict liquids before eating since they go right thru me, but do wait the half hour or so to drink eating (if I remember, which I usually do.) I may occasionally take a sip of Water while eating if necessary. Early on, a cup of milk with Protein powder was no problem at a sitting, and I often made a 2 cup batch with the second cup reserved for later if I needed more protein. On the other hand, when my wife went thru this a few years ago, she was pretty much restricted to her nominal stomach size in liquid capacity which meant that her Protein shakes had to be overly concentrated for her to get in the protein she needed, while mine could be relatively dilute with other flavors added to make them more palatable (even tasty.) That's just from the variations in how our bodies respond to the procedure.

I was probably a couple months out when I was shifting from sipsipsipping water to drinking more normally (and being able to take pills several at a time rather than one at a time, sipsipsip), and not long after that when I was drinking pretty much the same as pre-op when exercising (I was never into chugging in college, so that level of drinking was never normal for me!)

I often eat more than 4 oz at a meal (i'm about 8 months out and at goal, but this has applied for many months) but am still restricted to about 3 oz of firm protein. If I cut that back to 2 oz of meat, I can add in around 3-4 oz or more of veg to make a salad, stew, chili, or stir fry. I've never had much of a problem getting in the protein (doc started adding veg to my diet at day 10), so I can cheat some on the "protein first" rule if I know how much I will be getting in for that meal and the day. There are lots of things that are so-called "sliders" because they slide on thru your pyloris, and many consider them to be an evil thing, which they are if one is talking about twinkies as sliders. But if one is talking about veg and some fruits that are very nutrient rich and low in calories, then they're a nutritional bonus that helps you on your way to normalcy. I have long had a snack of 4oz of greek yogurt along with a couple oz of berries and some chopped almonds.

So, it's mostly a matter of how different foods fit you comfortably, and fitting them within whatever calorie (and carb, if you are into that,) restrictions you are using.

I can eat more now than I could right after surgery. I'm almost 5 months out and I can eat 3-4 oz of meat at a meal. However, if I do that much, then I'm restricted on how much veg I can eat. I've found that steamed, boiled, moist veggies go down easier than raw veggies do. I can do about 2 oz of the former and about 2 small bites of the latter. Since I love raw broccoli, this is a big deal. I've also found that any time I do straight carbs, it restricts how much other food I can eat. I had brown rice with dinner last night (lean cuisine dinner) and that rice made me uncomfortably full for most of the evening.

However, on drinking, I can drink a regular glass of decaf tea, Water, or Protein shake in under 30 minutes if it's not near a meal. Even after 30 minutes, I have to drink more slowly than I used to and do the sip, sip, sip. I've been working in the yard this morning, though, and I had finished off two glasses of tea in less than 45 minutes. I ate at about 11 am. The first glass took awhile and I refilled it 10 minutes ago. The refill is more than halfway gone.

You will get there. It just takes a little while. Go easy on your sleevie and it will serve you well!