Hi All -

I am curious about how the ability to eat returns once past the critical 12-18 month period where weight loss is fast and aggressive.

As an example, lets say before sleeve I could go to Outback and eat: 1/3 Bloomin' Onion; 1/2 Bread; Salad; 12oz Ribeye; and Baked Potatoe with butter and sour cream. And drink about 4 glasses of sweet tea to wash it all down.

Question: Compared to above >>> Once at 1yr to 2yr post-op normalization >>> how much will the sleeve restriction allow a person to eat? Ball park, of course.

Aware of the fact that stomach can stretch and a lot of eating behaviors must change ... BUT my question is focused on the physical capacity ... comparing BEFORE/AFTER.

I recall reading one guy discussing the Outback scenario as after he would order the Victoria's Filet and maybe not eat all of it, along with some veggies on the side.

Let me know what your experiences have been, if you can share.

Cheers and regards ...

-RC-

Female here, 15 months post-op. Pre-op, I coud have eaten the table bread, a salad, a seven ounce steak, baked potato, a steamed veggie, dessert and two or three large glasses of tea or pop.

Post op, I can eat 2 ounces of steak, and 1/3 cup of a steamed veggie. Closer to bedtime I may have a piece of cheese or a deviled egg. I may swish a little Water around in my mouth to rinse the spices down, but I save the rest of my beverage for at least 1/2 hour later.

I'm 18 months (female) out and just had a dinner at a great steakhouse in Dallas...Here's what I had:

A few of bites of an appetizer called a crabstack (think 7 layer dip with crab meat). It was delicious, but I knew I had more food coming, so I just had a few of bites.

Then came the salad - I had a few bites with blue cheese dressing. It was heavenly. Again, I had to stop myself because I knew I had the main event heading out soon.

Then my 6 ounce filet came with some roasted Beans and mashed potatoes - I again, enjoyed a few bites, enjoying each and every nibble. The steak was done to perfection for me - just a hair above medium. The potatoes weren't wonderful, so I didn't waste my bites on those. The beans were awesome, ate a couple. I packed up most of the steak and veggies, which I nibbled on a few hours later - I eat every 3-4 hours.

I was full - I try to never eat until I'm full, I try to eat until I'm satisfied, sometimes that hard, especially when you have different courses coming out at different times. You have to pace yourself.

In the past 18 months I have felt "weird" about the small amount of food I can eat and that was a couple of weeks ago when out with friends. My tummy was really restrictive that day for some reason and I ate very little while one of the gals we were with ate an entire chicken sandwich and fries after eating a salad. I was surprised at how much she ate, but then thought "I could have done that 2 years ago and probably did." She commented on how little I ate and it made me uncomfortable for some reason - I've been in many social situations where I have eaten with others, but this one was very obvious at how little I ate.

I am 17 months post surgery. (Male) Before surgery I could eat everything you mentioned. Now I eat much less and make better choices.

If ordering steak, I can eat 4-6 ounces, I usually order Filet because it tends to be more tender. I can also eat a small amount of vegetable. I almost never order an appetizer unless it is going to be my meal, and I avoid fried foods entirely

@@macman

Do you eat that amount of food because that's all you can hold comfortably, so it's a capacity issue?

Or, do you eat that amount because you know that's the portion sizes to maintain/lose weight and you won't feel hunger later.

Just trying to gauge if it's a capacity restriction due to sleeve, or your choice.

Thanks for helping me understand better what my future holds.

Cheers!

-RC-

I have found that 4-6 ounces of Protein is the right amount to keep me satisfied for about 3-4 hours. I can eat more of some items but dense protein (beef, chicken, seafood) fills me up and I stay satisfied longer. If I do yogurt or protein shakes I find that I am hungrier sooner.

Guy here. Pre-surgery, I could go to a steak house and have: bread, split an appetizer, salad, 12-oz steak, baked potato, side veggies, and split a dessert, all with 3-4 glasses of iced tea. Now, not quite a year post-surgery, I go to the same restaurant and have: no bread, maybe split an appetizer, no salad, 4-6 ounces of steak, a bite or two of veggies, no starch, no dessert, and nothing to drink. And I'm stuffed! I know it doesn't sound like much fun, but it's fantastic to get filled up on much less food – and you have great leftovers for lunch the next day!

69-year-old woman here.

Pre-op at Outback, I'd have skipped the whole onion thing (terrible stuff and never would have indulged in that), eaten a 6 ounce filet, a baked potato with butter/sour cream, an order of broccoli, a slice of bread with butter. I'd have had unsweetened tea or 6-8 ounces of red wine. And no dessert.

Now, nearly 9 months post-op and at goal, if I were out at a steakhouse on a weekend "special night" meal, I'd have 3 ounces of filet mignon (would take the leftovers home), broccoli (would probably eat half the order and take the rest home), 1 slice of bread (and maybe a little butter?), and 4 ounces of red wine. And that's it. I'd be full and content. And have enough leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

For me, it's a question of portion control, etc. -- and making sure I'm getting plenty of Protein and good, healthy carbs. The treats for me that night would be the (probably not whole-grain) bread and the wine.

Or is wine a necessity?

Great posts thank you all!

69-year-old woman here.

Pre-op at Outback, I'd have skipped the whole onion thing (terrible stuff and never would have indulged in that), eaten a 6 ounce filet, a baked potato with butter/sour cream, an order of broccoli, a slice of bread with butter. I'd have had unsweetened tea or 6-8 ounces of red wine. And no dessert.

Now, nearly 9 months post-op and at goal, if I were out at a steakhouse on a weekend "special night" meal, I'd have 3 ounces of filet mignon (would take the leftovers home), broccoli (would probably eat half the order and take the rest home), 1 slice of bread (and maybe a little butter?), and 4 ounces of red wine. And that's it. I'd be full and content. And have enough leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

For me, it's a question of portion control, etc. -- and making sure I'm getting plenty of Protein and good, healthy carbs. The treats for me that night would be the (probably not whole-grain) bread and the wine.

Or is wine a necessity?

wine is always a necessary! I miss a glass every once in awhile now. I am only 3 weeks out - so no way

Thank you everyone

69-year-old woman here.

Pre-op at Outback, I'd have skipped the whole onion thing (terrible stuff and never would have indulged in that), eaten a 6 ounce filet, a baked potato with butter/sour cream, an order of broccoli, a slice of bread with butter. I'd have had unsweetened tea or 6-8 ounces of red wine. And no dessert.

Now, nearly 9 months post-op and at goal, if I were out at a steakhouse on a weekend "special night" meal, I'd have 3 ounces of filet mignon (would take the leftovers home), broccoli (would probably eat half the order and take the rest home), 1 slice of bread (and maybe a little butter?), and 4 ounces of red wine. And that's it. I'd be full and content. And have enough leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day.

For me, it's a question of portion control, etc. -- and making sure I'm getting plenty of Protein and good, healthy carbs. The treats for me that night would be the (probably not whole-grain) bread and the wine.

Or is wine a necessity?

Yes, I'm commenting on my own post (above) made 8 months ago when I was 9 months post-op.

Now that I'm almost a year and a half post-op I can't eat much more than I could when I was 9 months post-op. But one significant difference is that now (while I'm maintaining comfortably) I would eat some salad with dressing and at least part of a dessert.

FYI, hubby and I just returned from a 17-day luxe cruise with fabulous food served in small European portions (not gargantuan US sizes). I ate absolutely everything I wanted. At the evening meal I typically had bread, one appetizer (usually protein-based), a main course (protein and 1-2 veggies), a dessert and about 3-6 ounces of wine.

One thing that made eating that much food possible is that we were served in courses, and meals lasted about an hour -- not the 20-25 minutes we normally sit at the table when we're home.

While on the cruise I didn't track calories, but estimate my daily calories were about 2000. I didn't gain any weight at all.

For the first time in my life I felt like I was eating like a normal person. I noticed that other slim women weren't eating much more than I was. However, most of them were complaining about their clothes feeling a little tighter and groaning about having to go on a diet when they got back home.

Neener neener!

Neener neener. My feet just hit the floor and this is the first thing I did while waiting for coffee. Lllol congrats! Oh I live in ID so it is only 615 - its early here.

Edited January 13, 201610 yr by cherri2082