Portion Control

[Carms1979 1]

I had gastric bypass in Feb 2009 so it's been a while. I still can't get this new lifestyle thing perfect. I get sick a lot for eating the wrong things and eating too fast. I want to start measuring my food, but need to know what is my start up amount? Do I measure everything or do I weight everything? How much should I be eating this far out?

[JanetteH 80]

I had gastric bypass in Feb 2009 so it's been a while. I still can't get this new lifestyle thing perfect. I get sick a lot for eating the wrong things and eating too fast. I want to start measuring my food, but need to know what is my start up amount? Do I measure everything or do I weight everything? How much should I be eating this far out?

I had surgery in February - I'm about 10 weeks out now. I was put on a "graduated" eating plan, 10 days of liquids only, 1 month of pureed food and now I'm getting to the end of a month of soft food (eggs, poached chicken, fish etc). Then I'll begin to add other foods one at a time to see if I tolerate them. I was told I should only be eating ½ cup food at each meal but recently I've been able to handle close to 1 cup soft food at a time (e.g. ½ cup fish, ¼ cup mashed potato, ¼ cup veggie). I have only thrown up twice (once when I didn't chew long enough and a bit of chicken got stuck, and once when I tried pureed pork although I'm not meant to eat any red meat yet!) I'm losing weight pretty steadily so I recommend you go back to soft foods and eat no more than 1 cup (yes I measure). I believe that's the maximum amount recommended so we don't "stretch out "our pouch. Beware of fat and sugar. Good luck!

Edited May 3, 2014 by JanetteH

[Baconville 578]

I had gastric bypass in Feb 2009 so it's been a while. I still can't get this new lifestyle thing perfect. I get sick a lot for eating the wrong things and eating too fast. I want to start measuring my food, but need to know what is my start up amount? Do I measure everything or do I weight everything? How much should I be eating this far out?

I am just over 10 months out. I don't think anybody gets this new lifestyle perfect - you can't expect perfection or you will always be dissapointed. That said, I would recommend that you get on MyFitnessPal.com and begin tracking what you are eating. This free app gives you the suggested serving sizes and tracks your Protein and calories for you. It would also help you to know what foods are going to make you sick. My 'for life' plan is about 1 cup of food per meal. My Protein target is 80 - 90 grams of protein each day. The only way to know exactly what you are eating is to measure. I found a great digital food scale at Target for about $25.00, but I know that others have found them online and at other stores. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just needs to be accurate. Go back to the basics, get your Water in, eat protein first, don't drink when you are eating. If you are really struggling, contact your clinic. They should also be able to help you get back on track - its what they are there for! Good Luck!

Carol

[psu98nittanylioness 1]

I just had mine Apr 9. I am getting enough Protein for sure but not enough cals... I am super lucky to get to 600 cals a day.

I sip all day every few hrs a shake or soup...but I am worried since I started out with metabolic issues I am making things worse. My endocrinologist suggested this surgery because it has the side effect of resetting metabolism. I am awaiting a call from the doc...The nutritionists look at me like I have 10 heads when I tell them this because most of the patients are getting full cals and still feel hungry...Anyone else having this issue?

[DLCoggin 1,788]

I agree 100% with Carol about My Fitness Pal. An extremely powerful tool. Use it to get a starting calorie goal based on age, gender, height, weight and what your weight goal is. That will give you a daily calorie goal. It's not carved in stone, just a starting point. Try that goal for a week and if you don't get the results you're looking for, adjust the calorie goal up or down by 100-200 calories and try it for another week. In no time you'll determine the goal that is right for you and your goal.

Should you weigh or measure everything? Absolutely. Ultimately, weight management comes down to the old cliché - calories in vs calories out. One of the advantages of using calories is that it forces you to weigh or measure in order to get a reasonably accurate calorie count. I weighed or measured practically everything for almost two years.

At this point I'm pretty good at estimating foods that I eat frequently. But I still weigh or measure anything new, anything I'm not sure about or anything that I have found to be quite deceptive. For example, try to estimate one ounce of turkey Jerky. I love Jerky, it's healthy, filling, and loaded with Protein. But the pieces come in all different sizes and shapes and it's obviously quite dense. One long skinny piece can easily exceed an ounce. And one flat broad piece can be two ounces or more. No getting around it, I gotta weigh it! Ditto for things like chicken or tuna salad. You can very easily exceed a four ounce portion by 50% or more if you don't weigh it.

It sounds like a lot or work but once you get used to it, it really becomes second nature and you don't give it a second thought. Most things can be weighed or measured and input into MFP very quickly. Commit to it for 90 days and you'll be amazed at how much you learn and how effectively you can control you weight!

[Baconville 578]

I just had mine Apr 9. I am getting enough Protein for sure but not enough cals... I am super lucky to get to 600 cals a day.

I sip all day every few hrs a shake or soup...but I am worried since I started out with metabolic issues I am making things worse. My endocrinologist suggested this surgery because it has the side effect of resetting metabolism. I am awaiting a call from the doc...The nutritionists look at me like I have 10 heads when I tell them this because most of the patients are getting full cals and still feel hungry...Anyone else having this issue?

You are less that 4 weeks out! At that point I was only getting maybe 300 calories max and most of that came from my Protein Shake. I think you are getting plenty of calories. Listen to your NUT, worry about Protein and Water. In the beginning that is the most important. Good luck!