Question for PostOps!

[lolly2qt 1]

Hi there!

Just a quick question for you. I haven't had my surgery yet, but I joined MFP with a lot of people so I could see their food diaries and get some ideas. Also to pass along support and receive some after my surgery.

What I've noticed on MFP is that some people will eat Snacks and some won't. So I'm curious to know, after the surgery do you stick to just 3 main meals a day. With a snack every now and then. Or do you eat several small meals a day. Or is it just what you're body wants for that day?

[ms.k 20]

I was sleeved on June 26 and I eat when I feel hungry, a cheese stick here, a greek yogurt there, and I try to drink as much as possible. I also like nuts, so I snack on them a couple times a day, or not, depending on the day lol. You will eventually get used to the feeling when you could use a bit to eat. I feel that,,, if I feel hungry, eat some type of Protein, so thats what I do. Good luck!

[lolly2qt 1]

Thanks so much.

[DeniseM 238]

I try to eat 5 small meals a day so between that and getting in my Water, I usually cannot fit in a snack. But occasionally if I am craving something I will snack.

[Jen35 283]

I eat throughout the day, meals and/or Snacks. I just started tracking (I'm 3 months out) and I go more by calories. I agree with ms.k that I eat when I'm hungry. It's best for me to eat several times per day than wait until meal time and be starving because that is when I eat too fast/too much and I'm miseralbe. If I eat every 3 hours, that seems to work for me. I have that "emply stomach" feeling by then but I'm not starving. One thing I've noticed is that I'm not focussed on meal time now. What I mean: before the surgery, if it was meal time, I would eat (hungry or not) because I just wanted to eat. It was never a question of hungry or not, I always wanted to eat (so I guess I always felt hungry, lol). I didn't really know what hungry felt like anymore, if that makes sense because I never really listened to my body. The sleeve has changed that. Now I eat when I need to eat, meal time or not. I'm not constantly looking at the clock counting down the minutes till the next meal so I have a reason to eat. If my family is hungry at dinner time, I make them dinner, but I may not be hungry then. I may eat later. That has been the biggest revelation to me - eating when I'm truly hungry and actually being able to identify that feeling!

[Iniysa 157]

I snack throughout the day as well. Can't eat much, but it keeps me from feeling hungry. Just a bite of cheese here and there, almonds etc.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,357]

I eat 3 meals a day and 1 snack at night....I can't get through the night if I don't eat the snack before bed.....Breakfast is the hardest meal for me to eat....I don't like the feeling I get in my stomach when I eat in the morning...So I eat very little for breakfast...Lunch is better and dinner is great most of the time....

It also depends on the day whether I can eat well or not....My sleeve dictates what it needs...But if I ate 6 times a day like they wanted me too I would never get anything done...I would be eating and drinking Water all day.....and that would just be too much now......

[megansmommy123 57]

I'm much like the others. I eat when I am hungry, and I don't worry about meals/snacks. If I am hungry, I eat some Protein. I cant eat much at a time, so I just go off my hunger cues. It's amazing to finally know what hunger feels like, and eat when I am hungry, not because I think I need to eat. I'm almost exactly like Jen 35. If I am hungry, then I eat, if I am not, then I don't. If its dinner time, I feed my family, and I eat later when I am hungry. It's completely liberating to not be a slave to food anymore.

[marfar7 1,528]

Since I can only eat like 4-5 bites of anything, I'm hungry again 90 minutes later. I counted the calories I'd be getting if I stuck to my dr reccomendation of 3 meals a day and I'd get in about 350. So I eat numerous times. Probably 7-8 times a day.