How much can you eat 1/6/12 months post-surgery?

[Barry W 336]

Hello sleevers - I am considering this surgery, as I have attempted diet and exercise programs as a lifestyle change a half dozen times and have always done well for a time before falling back and then often winding up bigger than I was before losing weight.

I am a 56yo man, 6feet tall and presently 285lb. Judging by what I have seen from calorie calculators and what I also experienced in my own weight loss efforts, I could probably maintain my ideal weight as a young man of 165lb by eating about 1800-2000 calories daily. Currently I eat 3000+ daily, and when I eat 1500-1800 calories, I lose weight at about 1.5-2.0lb per week.

My concern about the surgery is it seems so drastic in terms of the stomach volume reduction - even a 50% reduction would be quite significant, but it seems to be in the range of 75-90%, depending on the info source. This seems to only leave room for a portion size of half a cup for meals, and a typical daily calorie level of about 800 calories? Is that right???

I know I shouldn't be eating anywhere near 3000 calories per day. But, < 1000 calories a day, 1/2 cup portion size sounds like an overcorrection, and to be forced at that level for the rest of your life, sounds strange. It seems that you couldn't eat socially, would have risks of malnutrition, and in time would drop well under your "ideal weight".

For those of you who have come out the other side of this procedure, 1-month, 6-months, 1-year out:

- How many calories do you eat per day?

- What is a typical portion size at meals?

Thanks for sharing your experience,

Barry

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I think what your real question is ... will I eat "normally again".

There is a utube video by a dr Weiner called something like "How to keep sleeve from stretching" - where he talks alot about food capacity.

I can assure you that years later (I am nearly 4 years post sleeve) I can eat enough at a sitting that I look like a normal, petite eater. So I don't eat a full restaurant meal, but i can certainly eat a "weight watchers" sized meal.

You are very unlikely to get too thin, but why not try doing this via diet and exercise alone? I tried that over and over and over and always regained more than I lost. It made it very clear to me that I needed a tool to lose/maintain to a normal size.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

I am eight weeks now, but at the one month mark earlier this month (incidentally, the day I was best man at a wedding and had nothing but food surrounding me all day), I could take about three bites of a steak filet or chicken breast, totaling probably 1 oz, and be stuffed. I wasn't supposed to be having that stuff that soon, so I wasn't surprised. I could have more of softer meats...for instance, I could have about two golf ball sized chicken or beef meatballs, as well as the insides of pork or chicken dumplings. I don't believe I was quite capable of 1000 calories at that point, though I am now, and still losing pretty well. I did not, however, have room for ANYTHING, and I mean anything, but my Protein. I can eat some salad now which makes me feel healthier.

[mismatched 24]

I'm one month out and my daily eating looks like this:

2-3 light muscle milks @ 20g Protein each

1 Greek yogurt (breakfast)

1 small banana or some turkey and cheese (lunch)

2-4 ounces of family dinner, eating Protein first

My plan doesn't involve limiting carbs but as I start tolerating more foods, I'll cut out the banana and scale back on the yogurt.

[naturegirl 320]

I'm 2 months out and can usually only tolerate a few bites of beef/chicken at mealtime. I can usually eat almost an entire container of yogurt but it's spread out over an hour; which is fine by me. Carbs are limited as I don't tolerate them too well. Fruits very based on density. Every body is different. My husband is 3 months along and has the sleeve of steel; while I can;t tolerate as much as he can and never have.

[Babbs 14,680]

At 13 months out, I can eat about 4-6 Oz of Protein (depending on what it is) and up to 3/4 cup of veggies.

That is almost exactly what the Weight Watchers requirements are per meal (minus a starch). I remember Weight Watchers measurements on our hands...ie 4oz of meat is roughly the size of a woman's palm....

I eat 1100-1300 calories a day, and I assure you I'm happy, healthy and thriving. Americans eat far too many calories. That's why we are all fat.

[Barry W 336]

I think what your real question is ... will I eat "normally again".

There is a utube video by a dr Weiner called something like "How to keep sleeve from stretching" - where he talks alot about food capacity.

I can assure you that years later (I am nearly 4 years post sleeve) I can eat enough at a sitting that I look like a normal, petite eater. So I don't eat a full restaurant meal, but i can certainly eat a "weight watchers" sized meal.

You are very unlikely to get too thin, but why not try doing this via diet and exercise alone? I tried that over and over and over and always regained more than I lost. It made it very clear to me that I needed a tool to lose/maintain to a normal size.

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Thanks Cowgirl - I looked up the videos by Dr. Weiner and went through a number of them and that was helpful in explaining that the amount you can comfortably eat will gradually increase, and he gave a brief physiological explanation of how that happens as well as the normal progression.

Also very helpful for me was the Post-Operative Sleeve Gastrectomy diet guidelines from Brigham & Women's Hospital that I found here:

http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/surgery/metabolic-and-bariatric-surgery/pdfs/SleeveDietGuidelinesColor.pdf

Some of the suggestions of the experience have been equivalent to a Very Low Calorie (VLC) diet - those are very controversial, and I didn't relish the idea of indefinitely being on a forced VLC diet. Now I see it's not as draconian (or risky) as that would be.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Barry W

[Barry W 336]

Thanks to all for your responses, they were all helpful and i appreciate your taking the time to share your experiences :-)