How much food did your doctor tell you to eat? I need portion sizes and meal sizes. I have read everything from 1/2 cup to 3 cups on here and wonder what is the MAX Capacity of the pouch. Not that I want to hit it, I actually want to shrink my stretched pouch... and maybe lose a little weight too.

Here is what I think a good bandster meal is:

3 to 6 oz Protein AND 1/2 to 1 cup veggies.

Too much???

Someone please tell me what to do!!!! I have been using the one cup ziploc containers... but always eat that and more...when I can eat.

Here is my "Thin for good" plan. I measured everything out tonight to see what it looked like, and I don't know if I can eat everything allowed, but here is what I am going to attempt. I don't think it will stretch anything out:

Breakfast: 2 oz Protein

Snack: 1 oz cheese

Lunch: 4 oz protein 1/2 cup cooked veggies

Snack: 1 oz cheese and 5 nuts

Dinner: 8 oz protein

I measured out 8 oz (1 cup) of Manwich meat tonight (hamburger with goo on it) and I ate it.

Will let you know how it goes.

This is a great question, b/c in the "Inamed" manual - they are saying no more than 1/4 cup of food at a time. I'm confused.

That seems like a lot to me. I can only eat about 1/2 cup at a time. Good luck.

I actually just talk to my doc about this yesterday.

1/4 a cup is a VERY small amnt of food (per Dr C)

1/2 is fine... even 3/4 of a cup...

If you can eat a cup of food... it is time for a fill.

Poodles- I think you need a fill!!!! IMHO

OH no! This is a time where we can go crazy trying to figure out the "real" answer. My surgeon says no more than 1 1/2 cups of food (Protein first).

I tend to think that we are all so different in our comfort levels. I hate to be too tight and only getting 1/2 cup of food would not be at my comfort level.

Shawn

Early on when my doc asked if I had any questions I told him I'd found some great online resources. He looked alarmed and said "you have to be VERY careful about what you believe" and to take everything I found online with a grain of salt and to ASK before I did anything, lol.

That's when he told me to ignore the high Protein advice and to eat a "normal" diet, based on the food pyramid, but to avoide white processed carbs and other junk.

He also told me to ignore the cup a meal, half a cup a meal advice, apart from in the liquid phase where I had to be careful not to put too much down there at any one time.

He said that I should eat till I felt satisfied, however much that was. To respect my band and try never to eat past satisfied and that if I just did that, I woiuld not have to worry about PB's and stretching the pouch. That if I did that and I lost, well then the amount, whatever amount it was, was perfect for me and that if I did that and wasnt losing then it was time for another fill.

Made sense to me. So I've never measured, and early on I always served myself way too much and wasted a lot of food but nowadays, I serve myself just the right amount

Well, I followed this plan again the past few days. I can not eat 8 oz of meat a night, I do good to get in 6, the rest is ok and going down.

I don't want to get a fill, because I lived overfilled for so long.

He also told me to ignore the cup a meal, half a cup a meal advice, apart from in the liquid phase where I had to be careful not to put too much down there at any one time.

He said that I should eat till I felt satisfied, however much that was. To respect my band and try never to eat past satisfied and that if I just did that, I woiuld not have to worry about PB's and stretching the pouch. That if I did that and I lost, well then the amount, whatever amount it was, was perfect for me and that if I did that and wasnt losing then it was time for another fill.

Made sense to me. So I've never measured, and early on I always served myself way too much and wasted a lot of food but nowadays, I serve myself just the right amount

This is EXACTLY what I was told too. My doc said that if the food was healthy then eat until satisfied and he didn't care if it was three cups, unless I stopped losing weight or if I was stuffing myself sick.

My Dr. said to eat a normal diet, BUT to eat the protein first, veges second, and then whatever else if there was a little room. That's been a comfortable arrangement for me.

Typical would be....

Protein drink AM

2 T of cottage cheese snack

homemade chicken and vege Soup lunch

1/2 Protein Drink with crushed berries in it snack

1/2 chicken breast and fresh veges dinner

Well I have a sample menu from the Doctor but have the last week moved to the blended foods. I am able to eat a cup of food for my breakfast, lunch and dinner. In between I have my snack of either a sugar-free pudding or skim milk and I also take 2 chewable multi-vitamins a day. I feel satisfied after this but would not say full. However I also do not eat anymore and use self-control. I do not want a fill until I really need it so as long as I can do the proper eating and be satified and use self control I want to try that as long as possible, unless others have better advice which I would like to hear.

You're on your way, Tony! What I'm finding is that if I'm trying hard and not losing...or gaining...it's time to quit kicking myself and just get a fill! Otherwise, enjoy the learning curve.

Everyones pouch is a little different size. No two are alike. Listen to your body, if you are losing and you are staying satisfied for a couple of hours after eating then you are doing great, if you get hungry inbetween meals and you aren't drinking with your meal and are eating your protien first then it's time for a fill. Personally when I have good restriction, I do good to get down 2oz of protien at one sitting until evening when i have around 3oz and then i eat my veggies. I was told 4-6oz of protien a day or 56g of protien so as not to lose muscle, and after that veggies and some fruit and grains as room allowed. A typical day for me is

breakfast: protien shake

lunch: 2oz tuna on 2pieces of melba toast

snack: small salad (1/2cup)

dinner: 3oz chicken, some veggies (1/2cup)

snack: no sugar fruit cup or sugar free yogurt with fruit