to snack, or not to snack?

[borg/assimilated 576]

I have had a bit of confusion over this as well. Early post-op the nurse in my program stressed "no snacking". You know how impressionable we tend to be in the early days, it has really stuck with me.

Then when I was on solids my dietician said no more shakes/bars, try to get your Protein from "real food" three meals a day. Later my dietician said I could add back in Protein shakes/bars since I was having trouble getting in 70g of protein per day.

So now my mind is always conflicted regarding "snacks". I still can't get in over 20g of protein per meal each day. So still confused at 13 months out.

[Sophie74656 1,572]

I think the problen is that we tend to associate Snacks with unhealthy things like Cookies or junk food. Snacks can be good healthy things too

[tmcx28 297]

I have 3 meals and usually 2 Snacks in between. If I feel hungry I drink some Water, if I'm still hungry I have a snack.. Usually a cheese stick or veggies and hummus or something. I'm getting about 60-70g of Protein a day, my calories are anywhere from 900-1100 (which my doctor and nutritionist are happy with), and I'm still consistently losing 2-3 lbs a week so snacking hasn't hindered my progress any. If I'm truly hungry, I eat.

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[JamieLogical 8,727]

I have had a bit of confusion over this as well. Early post-op the nurse in my program stressed "no snacking". You know how impressionable we tend to be in the early days, it has really stuck with me.

Then when I was on solids my dietician said no more shakes/bars, try to get your Protein from "real food" three meals a day. Later my dietician said I could add back in Protein shakes/bars since I was having trouble getting in 70g of protein per day.

So now my mind is always conflicted regarding "snacks". I still can't get in over 20g of protein per meal each day. So still confused at 13 months out.

It really all boils down to what will allow you to live your life long-term. I think all of the guidelines from surgeons and nutritionists are critical in the early stages so you have a chance to heal and learn new habits. But ultimately you are going to have to make adjustments that work for you for the long haul. In a perfect world, I would get all my protein from "real" food. But this isn't a perfect world, so I still rely on Protein Bars to supplement my protein. In a perfect world, you might be able to get all your protein and only eat 3 meals a day, but your restriction doesn't allow that. So if you need to use shakes/bars between meals, then that's what you have to do. In the end, it's all about what is going to allow us to get to goal and stay there. I am eating Protein Bars and snacking 2-3 times a day and I have maintained below goal for almost 7 months. I've found the balance that works for me. That's what each of us need to do to be successful for the rest of our lives.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

If I didn't "snack" I would never meet my calorie or Protein goals, ever.

I was never a snacker before surgery, I don't like most of the things that people like as Snacks. I hate crackers, I find chips annoying. pretzels are useless, don't like popcorn even the smell of it is gross. So the typical snack foods that most people like are a non issue for me. I like meals.

I eat 4-5 times a day, and I weigh and track all my food. I don't eat mindlessly and I leave appropriate amounts of time between meals.

I gained weight before by only eating once or twice a day and having huge meals. Small meals keeps me on track and prevents me from overeating.

I'm not very hungry this week because I have a huge work project I am working on. In the past on days like these I would have just had one huge 2000 calorie meal late in the day when i was starving because I was so engrossed with work that I didn't eat all day. So today I am not hungry but I am making sure I keep eating at the appropriate times, I had a shake for Breakfast, a steak for lunch, and now I am sipping on a shake as a "snack", and later I will have some fish and veggies.

Sometimes in the afternoon I have spinach as a snack so I can get in veggies and you can eat a ton of spinach for basically no calories.

[lsereno 2,525]

I eat three meals and 1-3 Snacks per day. Midmorning snack is often fruit. Midafternoon snack is often Protein and a little starch maybe. Evening snack is usually junky, but low cal.

Lynda

[Sajijoma 1,324]

My program doesn't allow snacking. We are suppose to eat 2-3 meals a day and if we feel the sensation of hunger to drink more Water and try distraction, but no snacking.

[lilbeanie 52]

Neither my nutritionist nor my doctor told me I wasn't allowed to snack. My calories per meal range between 150-300 and my Snacks are about the same. So I guess in a way, you could say I'm eating 4-5 small meals a day... even though some of those "meals" just end up being "cheese with cheese". I am most comfortable eating 4 times a day but after reading the forums a lot, I feel like a lot of successful veterans mention that they eat 5 times a day, so I've been trying to do that. It doesn't always work out. I usually try to stick to about 900-950 calories a day and 85-90 grams of Protein. Babybels are my best friends.

[chrisredjeep 357]

Im with Jamie Logical on this, I would never get all my Protein in otherwise.

[Dub 10,070]

My surgeon was very clear on this.

He said to stick with my 3 meals each day and to avoid snacking.

He maintains that the hunger is gone and that eating is simply about feeding the body what it needs and that Snacks aren't a part of the plan.

Does this apply to everyone ? Of course not......it was simply his instructions for me. I'm following along for the most part with his plan.

This always struck me as difficult to get in your required Protein per day, especially early on, without having to have Protein shakes. What is your required Protein per day?

My minimum protein goal is 64 grams per day. So 3 oz of chicken has 24 grams. So that leaves me 40 grams and 2 meals. For Breakfast I have 1 egg with tomatoes and spinach and feta. So 6 grams for the egg and 1 gram for the feta. So I have to get 33 more in my final meal of the day. That is for the minimum. I see for many people the protein minimum is frequently as high as 80. This doesn't seem like it allows much room for fruits or vegetables.

I am glad it works for you but I just see it as really tough to get your protein in with only 3 meals and still have a balanced diet with some vegetables. My surgeon wants me to eat only 4-6 oz per meal. Sometimes I can eat more than 3 or 4 oz of chicken at a time but that is rare. I am 14 months out, so not newly sleeved.

My surgeon was very clear on this.

He said to stick with my 3 meals each day and to avoid snacking.

He maintains that the hunger is gone and that eating is simply about feeding the body what it needs and that Snacks aren't a part of the plan.

Does this apply to everyone ? Of course not......it was simply his instructions for me. I'm following along for the most part with his plan.

This always struck me as difficult to get in your required protein per day, especially early on, without having to have Protein Shakes. What is your required protein per day?

My minimum protein goal is 64 grams per day. So 3 oz of chicken has 24 grams. So that leaves me 40 grams and 2 meals. For Breakfast I have 1 egg with tomatoes and spinach and feta. So 6 grams for the egg and 1 gram for the feta. So I have to get 33 more in my final meal of the day. That is for the minimum. I see for many people the protein minimum is frequently as high as 80. This doesn't seem like it allows much room for fruits or vegetables.

I am glad it works for you but I just see it as really tough to get your protein in with only 3 meals and still have a balanced diet with some vegetables. My surgeon wants me to eat only 4-6 oz per meal. Sometimes I can eat more than 3 or 4 oz of chicken at a time but that is rare. I am 14 months out, so not newly sleeved.

I'm in my fifth month........full blown weight loss mode.

There are seldom anything but protein in my meals.

I easily get 60-80 grams per day. tuna, chicken, steak and omlettes. shakes and bars help, too.

I suspect when I'm a year or more out things will change on types and quantities

[Airstream88 361]

My NUT calls them mini-meals and we are to have 4 - 5 of them a day, every 3 - 4 hours apart. She has us working towards that now pre-surgery so we will be ready for our new eating pattern post-surgery.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

All programs are a bit different, but my practice encourages us to eat "5 mini meals" a day.

The reason they say mini meals, is that they all follow the same pattern, Protein, followed by veggies - limited quantity of carbs/empty calories.

Some people think of crackers and stuff as "snacks" which is definately NOT a good idea. I personally have to eat 4-5 times a day to stave off hunger....

[Muted_Tummy 29]

I am pre op but met with NUT. The approach of this team (I like) is moving towards what we are told now to do but can't 4 to 5 mini meals a day (eating ev 3 hours). She said too many restrict calories and capacity too long...onky eat peotein and never work in feuit and veg and occasional grains...said i should be at cup to cup and half of real food by year one...and once maintaining

..should be well over 1000 calories (for most more like 1700 to 2100 a day)...varies based on each body. Said healthiest sleevers who maintain work at eating on a schedule and increase calories and nutrients gradually from 3rd month out, adding more and more real food. I hope this plan works for me as its what I want for myself. Dr Weiner also says compelling things about the Protein first (and usually only) approach not being the way to go for life.

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[SeahawksFan 444]

My nutritionist and surgeon go by the 5 mini meals rules as well. Protein first. And if you stay up late then by all means have another meal.

[JamieLogical 8,727]

@@Muted_Tummy Sounds sensible and realistic to me. I need about 1900 calories a day to maintain right now at 19 months post-op (actually more than that right this second because I'm training for a half marathon). As I increased my activity, I worked really hard to increase my calorie intake as well so as not to wreck my metabolism and it seems to have worked. I will say, though, that I can't come close to a full cup of real food still, unless it has a high liquid content like chili.