I am on soft foods and I'm wondering, how much and how often should I eat? I read somewhere if you over eat or eat too frequently your stomach can stretch again. I know it's early to worry about this BUT I am trying to retrain myself and get rid of all the bad habits.. Thanks!

My program: 1/2 cup - 1 cup whichever amount is tolerable (4 to 6) times a day. You need to make sure you get your protein in...10 - 15 grams of protein per meal.

For the first five or six weeks, I could only eat an eighth of a cup of food at a time. I did this 3 x's per day, in addition to a Protein 'bullet'. I have always measured my food, I still do. Calories were very, very low in the beginning, 300 - 350 calories, but I felt good and at six weeks, labs were good, and have been ever since. Slowly but surely I could eat a tiny bit more, when I got to the scrambled egg stage, i could eat one half an egg. I loved it that I could eat so little, but I had to work on how I was THINKING because I hated wasting a half an egg!!! I'm way past that now. Throwing food away makes me feel in control. LoL

I heard about under eating your sleeve, at a support group prior to surgery, a nurse suggested it. I highly recommend it, eat less than you can hold. It's good for losing weight and it also ensures you don't eat "one bite too many" - which is NOT FUN AT ALL!!!!

You'll get the hang of it, enjoy!! Just an FYI - I am over 3 years out and cannot eat a full cup of food, about 3/4 cup. My doctor doesn't want his patients to EVER eat more than a cup. I hope I can't ever eat that much!!!

For the first five or six weeks, I could only eat an eighth of a cup of food at a time. I did this 3 x's per day, in addition to a Protein 'bullet'. I have always measured my food, I still do. Calories were very, very low in the beginning, 300 - 350 calories, but I felt good and at six weeks, labs were good, and have been ever since. Slowly but surely I could eat a tiny bit more, when I got to the scrambled egg stage, i could eat one half an egg. I loved it that I could eat so little, but I had to work on how I was THINKING because I hated wasting a half an egg!!! I'm way past that now. Throwing food away makes me feel in control. LoL

I heard about under eating your sleeve, at a support group prior to surgery, a nurse suggested it. I highly recommend it, eat less than you can hold. It's good for losing weight and it also ensures you don't eat "one bite too many" - which is NOT FUN AT ALL!!!!

You'll get the hang of it, enjoy!! Just an FYI - I am over 3 years out and cannot eat a full cup of food, about 3/4 cup. My doctor doesn't want his patients to EVER eat more than a cup. I hope I can't ever eat that much!!!

I'm a firm believer in under-eating my sleeve. After all, how can you know you can eat over a cup of food if you never try it? I measure EVERYTHING. I'm only 3 months post op and feel stuffed with 2-3 oz.

And as for soft foods... My aim was 2oz. And my doctor recommends 3 meals & 1 snack per day (if you need the snack)

But how about water? I can eat 2-3oz but right after I eat I am sooooo thirsty.. I try to wait 30 mins.. if I drink water I can only do a couple of sips of water, but if I drink gatorade G2 I can do a good 10oz in a very small amount of time.. so I'm scared that drinking too much might stretch my stomach as well.. or does it really just go through your stomach?

Don't worry about how much you can drink, it does pretty much go straight through, especially after your stomach loses the post-surgery swelling. But do keep to the 30 minutes after rule, that's very important!

My program's rule for soft foods is three meals per day, no snacks (other than liquids), the meals are to be no more than 3 ounces. At least 2 ounces of each meal must be protein-rich, and you eat that first. If you still feel hungry after the 2 ounces of high protein food, you can then have an ounce of cooked green veggies or soft fruit -- or another ounce of high protein food if you prefer that. We follow these rules until 6 months after surgery.

For the first five or six weeks' date=' I could only eat an eighth of a cup of food at a time. I did this 3 x's per day, in addition to a Protein 'bullet'. I have always measured my food, I still do. Calories were very, very low in the beginning, 300 - 350 calories, but I felt good and at six weeks, labs were good, and have been ever since. Slowly but surely I could eat a tiny bit more, when I got to the scrambled egg stage, i could eat one half an egg. I loved it that I could eat so little, but I had to work on how I was THINKING because I hated wasting a half an egg!!! I'm way past that now. Throwing food away makes me feel in control. LoL

I heard about under eating your sleeve, at a support group prior to surgery, a nurse suggested it. I highly recommend it, eat less than you can hold. It's good for losing weight and it also ensures you don't eat "one bite too many" - which is NOT FUN AT ALL!!!!

You'll get the hang of it, enjoy!! Just an FYI - I am over 3 years out and cannot eat a full cup of food, about 3/4 cup. My doctor doesn't want his patients to EVER eat more than a cup. I hope I can't ever eat that much!!![/quote']

This is a great tip. Thanks for sharing. I'm two days post-op and still learning.

As with do many things the proper amount to eat varies greatly from person to person. I have always tried easy just enough to feel satisfied and never eat to feel full. In my opinion the key is to figure out where your satisfied feeling is, so start small and slowly increase till you get the right amounts. I'm guessing this what under rating your sleeve means but was never told that term so I just figured it on my own. Good luck, it gets easiest as time goes by.