So I know how we are supposed to eat 1/2 to 1 cup of food per meal. This is easy to measure if you are eating soup, yogurt, oatmeal, protein shake, etc. And this maybe a silly question, but say you are eating a sandwich, salad, chicken wing, pizza, etc....pretty much anything that you can't really put into a measuring cup. How are you supposed to know how much to eat??

Maybe try the five bite trick and check in with yourself? My doc always ask, can you eat more than 1/2 hamburger?

I have always had a 4 bite rule of solid food dense food...also my band makes that rule too...because If I eat for example MORE than 4 bites of a toasted tuna sandwich....it will be SLIMMING. time for me..

This is why it makes MORE sense to eat solids because it makes you feel fuller quicker and you get prolonged satiety for hours ...

But if you eat soup, yogurt, Protein shakes, you can eat UNLIMITED quantities REGARDLESS of how tight your band is...the band will never restrict these foods, even if the band IS DANGEROUSLY too tight you can still eat large amounts of chips, candy, soup, greasy food, etc.....

The five bite trick sounds good -- had not heard that. My surgeon describes a tennis ball sized portion. Once you've eye-balled for a while it becomes second nature. What we are looking for is our bodies indicating we've had enough. Good luck to you!

I weigh my protein portions and measure veg and fruit and dairy. I always have a little left over when I hit my soft stop and have to toss it. If I eyeball my portions, I overestimate and have to throw away more food than I like. I don't like to waste good food. And I don't like having too much food on my plate, it makes me feel as if I have to try to push through my band's signal to STOP! That old head hunger, you know... It's just better and safer for me to have the smaller, more precise amounts of food on my plate, to begin with.

Edited January 11, 201412 yr by The Icy One

I gave up trying to measure and weigh and use the soft spot. It is working.

I measure whatever I can, and always eat off of a small dessert plate. I also really listen to my body, I'm usually satisfied on much less than what's on my plate.

I make a fist with my hand and never ever eat more than a "fist" size. but the best trick is just use a very small plate.

However, I will say that if you can comfortably eat more than that you may want to look in to having your band tightened. I did not start loosing weight at a good steady pace until my 3rd fill.

Portion control is the key to everything... but I also cut out all bread, rice, potatoes and starch.

Once I was in the zone... the weight fell off.

I use a desert plate to eat. Now, after 5 years of doing this, I pretty much know how much Protein to eat. if I have room for other stuff, then I will eat it. i seldom eat pizza, sandwiches, or that type food. I think that the 4 to 5 bite rule sounds great. If I have pizza, I make sure to stop after 1 small slice. It is not really one of my choices, tho'! Karen..aka.kll724

Edited January 12, 201412 yr by kll724

I bought myself a digital scale and I have been trying to measure everything. It has been very helpful since I now see that I had been eating more than I thought. This also helps when I record my food on the Fitbit website. Every person is different and your doctor/nutritionist will tell you how many calories you should be eating. My nutritionist called me a few days ago to check on me and I asked her how much I should be eating in a day. I am to stay between 800 and 1000 calories a day and 60-80 grams of Protein. So measure and weigh all your food so you know exactly how much you are eating.

I now use a small container like those frozen individual dessert pies come in. Yes I ate the pie, yes I know I shouldn't have but it was was a couple of months ago and haven't eaten sweets since. Upside:I got a 1 cup serving Bowl out of it lol. Anyway I use that and I put my protein (small cut pieces) in first and if there is room I add veggies. I have cut out starches, breads and sugars. I am a reformed bandster just recently taking back control. For a while there I went crazy with eating anything in small portions burgers, pizza, fried chicken...what's the point? those were my addictions and believe me... a little was never enough. So now I just stay away from them all together. It's hard but the best thing to do is stay away from your addictions. ..Bcz eventually a little isn't going to be enough. I have had my band 5 years and 3 of those were spent cheating myself back to fat. Whatever method you use, choose to do it right.