I remember being kinda surprised when my NUT told me that chips were off limits forever. She called them a slider food, but not in the traditional ice cream sense. But rather because they crunch up so small in your sleeve and have so many calories and no nutritional value, something we all know.

But I have way too much time on my hands so I decided to do some experiments just to see how small they would crunch up. Keep in mind my big blender died suddenly last night from unnatural causes so I had to use my wife's small pulse blender. I'm betting the big blender would have chomped these chips up even finer.

First victim....11.5 ounce bag of everybody's favorite "macho man" nacho cheese Doritos. 1680 total calories, 84g fat, 192g carbs.

From this...

To this....

That's about 2.5 cups of chips. Not a lot. I doubt I could hold that much volume right now but I could eat it over the course of a day or 2. Certainly before my sleeve I could eat 2.5 cups of food no problem.

Next was a bag of Cheetos puffs. 9.75 oz, 1500 calories, 100g fat, 130g carbs.

That's about 2.5 cups of Cheetos dust. A little lighter than the Doritos, but the same volume.

I also did a bag of Lays sour cream and onion. I used to love these things.

10oz bag, 1600 calories, 100g fat, 150g carbs.

What bothered me about the Lays was the dust came out wet. All that grease.

Lastly, my personal favorite, sour cream and onion Pringles. Not 1 can but 2. 6.3 oz cans, 1800 total calories, 108g fat, 180 carbs.

That's about 3 cups of food right there. Not a lot for a pre-sleever to eat. 1 cup of that is 60 carbs and 600 calories!

Next time I'll mix up some bean dip.

Like six months ago I would've been upset at the sight of you just "wasting" those chips lol. Now I think it's funny and informative. Thanks for the information.

I love your science project! It definitely highlights how easy it would be to sabotage your weight loss eating chips since it looks like the restriction of a smaller stomach won't do much to deter eating too much. I can't say that I will give up chips for LIFE as your NUT suggested. But, I will be mindful that if I decide to have chips, that portion control will be key and it would be a once in a while thing, not a daily or weekly with lunch thing! Thanks for the information!

Yeah Tracy, my NUT is a nut. She was more about trying to get me to eat right for life, not just what I needed for the sleeve surgery. I appreciated that, but at the same time, it's hard go to "health nut" overnight....but I'm working on it.

So how much of the exp. did you eat?

I want to know what you did with the egg beaters.

And totally thought you were going in this direction:

But I have way too much time on my hands so I decided to do some experiments just to see how small they would crunch up. Keep in mind my big blender died suddenly last night from unnatural causes so I had to use my mouth.

There seems to be a bit of a conspiracy to try and rid fat people of all bad eating habits ever, forever. When in reality, we would all be much better served learning the things we clearly cannot master, like "portioning" and "good choices" and "how to not be neurotic." Really - think about it. The weightloss isn't going to be the hard part, or the scary part. The scary part to me is going to be hitting goal, and then having to maintain it. WTF do I do then? I'll be like the gal who retires, and then dies. Maintenance is my big failure. I've lost weight many times. I've never maintained. I've gone from actively losing to actively gaining. The longest I've ever maintained was about 3 mos, and it was forced (I was living in Europe and had to walk about 200 stairs to my apartment - after walking down them, and then walking everywhere I needed to go which was lots of places because they didn't have "one stop shop" stores).

They give us "rules" that really are not applicable to vertical sleeve especially so much as turning you into the ultimate healthy eater!!! Like - no caffeine. Low carbs. No sliders. No juice. That's not realistic for most of us. But it is going to boost their stats (pure coincidence I'm sure...). What they should really be teaching us are things like the difference between "I'm full" and "I'm no longer hungry." How many pounds could we have avoided if any of us really, really GOT that message? Or balance. Have carbs. Your body needs them. You will poison yourself on just Protein. But make room for it. Don't just throw it in on top of everything else.

</rant>

This is awesome. It certainly puts things in perspective. Has anyone tried Pop Chips?

I want to know what you did with the egg beaters.

And totally thought you were going in this direction:

There seems to be a bit of a conspiracy to try and rid fat people of all bad eating habits ever, forever. When in reality, we would all be much better served learning the things we clearly cannot master, like "portioning" and "good choices" and "how to not be neurotic." Really - think about it. The weightloss isn't going to be the hard part, or the scary part. The scary part to me is going to be hitting goal, and then having to maintain it. WTF do I do then? I'll be like the gal who retires, and then dies. Maintenance is my big failure. I've lost weight many times. I've never maintained. I've gone from actively losing to actively gaining. The longest I've ever maintained was about 3 mos, and it was forced (I was living in Europe and had to walk about 200 stairs to my apartment - after walking down them, and then walking everywhere I needed to go which was lots of places because they didn't have "one stop shop" stores).

They give us "rules" that really are not applicable to vertical sleeve especially so much as turning you into the ultimate healthy eater!!! Like - no caffeine. Low carbs. No sliders. No juice. That's not realistic for most of us. But it is going to boost their stats (pure coincidence I'm sure...). What they should really be teaching us are things like the difference between "I'm full" and "I'm no longer hungry." How many pounds could we have avoided if any of us really, really GOT that message? Or balance. Have carbs. Your body needs them. You will poison yourself on just Protein. But make room for it. Don't just throw it in on top of everything else.

</rant>

I really do agree with you. I went into this surgery looking to change HOW I eat, not necessarily WHAT I eat. I have changed drastically how I eat, and I have changed what I eat along the way with learning how to eat. I knew that I couldn't live the rest of my life on a strict diet...we have all tried that and failed. I personally feel that it is impossible to live your entire life without ever eating anything that might not be considered healthy. I also think that you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you do because the minute you eat anything "bad", you will beat yourself and thus begins the unhealthy cycle of shame and guilt that contributes to binge eating. Now, I eat healthy the majority of the time, BUT, I will have ice cream, I will have chips, I will have chocolate...in moderation and without guilt.

Anywho...back to the chips. I am almost 2 years post op and could eat a small bag of chips no problem. Any more than that, and I feel sick. A small bag still has between 300 and 500 calories, so I try to stay clear as much as possible. If I end up caving and buying a big bag, I will eat some and throw the rest in the garbage (empty it out of the bag first so I can't go back and dig it out later!). I do love this experiment!! It reminds people that you still need to be careful. The sleeve isn't a green light to eat whatever you want and say...well, I can't eat as much [insert][chips][fries][greasy burgers].

So which one did you use to coat the chicken before you fried it?

Sent from my mobile productivity killer.

Neat experiment. It's crazy how little actual volume there is in a whole bag. Puts things into perspective, thanks!

Gustavo- I have tried Pop Chips. I actually eat them quite a bit. I am 9 months out from my surgery. The ENTIRE bag is less than 400 calories (not the single serving size, those are 100 calories). I really like them, particularly the Sweet Potato and Salt & Vinegar varieties.

I do eat carbs. I have eaten chips. I have had a cookie here or there. I have cake when it is someone's birthday. I keep track of EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth (even gum, event things with no calories like the pink packet sweetener) though and I make sure I'm not going over my calories for the day. If I'm getting close and I still have dinner to get in I go for a walk or a bike ride. I'm not saying everyone should do it, I'm just sharing my experience. I followed the rules TO THE LETTER until I went below my goal weight. I'm still below my goal weight. We can eat and be happy we just can't make ourselves happy by eating. Ultimately we never could...we never should.

Gustavo- I have tried Pop chips. I actually eat them quite a bit. I am 9 months out from my surgery. The ENTIRE bag is less than 400 calories (not the single serving size, those are 100 calories). I really like them, particularly the Sweet Potato and Salt & Vinegar varieties.

I do eat carbs. I have eaten chips. I have had a cookie here or there. I have cake when it is someone's birthday. I keep track of EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth (even gum, event things with no calories like the pink packet sweetener) though and I make sure I'm not going over my calories for the day. If I'm getting close and I still have dinner to get in I go for a walk or a bike ride. I'm not saying everyone should do it, I'm just sharing my experience. I followed the rules TO THE LETTER until I went below my goal weight. I'm still below my goal weight. We can eat and be happy we just can't make ourselves happy by eating. Ultimately we never could...we never should.

This seems quite sensible. Thanks!

WOW..the visual really sends it home!! Thanks for posting!!