Was anyone else able to eat a lot post-op?

[lqlcgf 0]

Hey everyone, I'm glad I found this forum.

I had my gastric sleeve on the 5th of August, so I'm 6 weeks post-op now. My healing went well, not much pain and fast recovery.

But there is one thing that's stressing me out a bit - I'm able to eat quite a bit of food. I average around 1100-1200 calories per day since 4 weeks post-op, on one day I was even able to eat 1400 calories. I can easily eat 7-8oz (200-220gr) of food per meal, even if it consists of chicken with veggies. From what I read about what others eat, my amount seems to be quite a lot in comparison. I eat very healthy foods, so not filling up my calories with junk. I eat apples, bananas, kidney Beans, green peas, veggies of all kind, lean chicken, greek yoghurt.

So my question would be, did anyone else eat that much so quick after the surgery? If so, were you able to lose a good amount of weight in the long-term despite eating that much?

For reference, I'm male, 28 years old, surgery weight was 352lbs (160kg) and my height is 5 foot 11 (181cm) and my activity is walking a bit, that's it so far.

I would really appreciate any input on this, I try to not freak out and keep calm, but my calorie amount seems really high. Especially those 1200-1300 days stress me out.

Thanks for helping and I hope my english is understandable enough.

Edited September 14, 2019 by lqlcgf

[AZhiker 2,252]

So what is your weight loss pattern looking like? What does your nutritionist say? I was only eating 500 cal/day at week 6, but I am a 63 yr old female - not a 28 yr old male. Tell us what your weekly weight loss has been. That will help a lot.

[Guest]

Hi... I am a month out and can eat anything (Haven't tried steak) and do not seem to get full....I am still loosing, so I am not too concerned about it.

I notice that on this forum all people can eat different things at different phases, so I think the phases are more suggestions to scare you into eating right.

No I am not a Dr !!!!! and here come the critics......Drumroll please .

[Sandra Nuelken 419]

The phases are designed to allow your stomach to heal. Throwing up is not a good thing. Now each doctor has their own program. I was on Clear Liquids week one, full liquids for two week and soft foods for 3 weeks. I'm still at phase 3 six weeks out because I'm not hungry. The pre-surgical and post-surgical diets are important, and everyone should follow their doctor's suggestions.

[Orchids&Dragons 9,047]

Very specifically, how are you eating? For instance, do you eat the lean Protein first, very slowly, chewed well? How much protein? Once you've finished with 2-3 oz of protein, moved on to the low-carb veggies, again, very slowly. This will help you fill up. If you mix the chicken with veggies, it can become a slider and go right through your pouch. This may explain your lack of restriction. Pretty much all fruits/vegetables (including beans) act like sliders compared to dense protein.

Did your surgeon's office give you guidance regarding the amounts of foods to eat at a time? For instance, I started out with 1-2 tablespoons at a time and gradually went to 1/4, then 1/2 then 1 cup. Hope this helps.

Edited September 15, 2019 by Orchids&Dragons

[FluffyChix 17,413]

As the others have said, each doc has their own plans and you totally need to work with your doc and RD to determine their plan that fits your nutritional needs.

We're all very different as are the way our tools react post surgery.

The one thing I learned is that you just can't "chase that full". For many of us, it doesn't exist or exists in a form we don't yet recognize. I didn't start feeling a send of fullness or a "stop" signal until about 3 months. Our nerves have been cut and they aren't sending trusty signals to your brain as they should.

That's why VOLUME is KING. It's important not to exceed the quantity PER MEAL that your doc recommends for your particular stage. Once you have that, then you work backwards starting with Protein.

I literally have a 1 cup limit. I CAN however, eat around 1 1/2-2 cups of food depending on if it's protein and veg or if it's salad, or a fancy gooey casserole, or soup/stewp. But just because I CAN, doesn't mean I should. You know? So I try to rack up as many meals as possible where I honor my doc's and RD's limits for me of 1 cup per meal--ever--forever. Cuz that's gonna protect my tool from stretching and hopefully protect me from regain.

I place a 1 cup measuring cup on a scale and then I weigh in my 3oz of protein. (I'm 18 months out and can easily eat 3-6oz of protein at one sitting if I let myself. But I honestly ONLY need 2-3oz of protein per meal for my body size.) Then I weigh in lean veggies (al dente) until my 1cup is full. That's it. That's the meal concluded. Add a tsp of fat equivalent. And you have your meal. The End. Right?

Except, we're humans. And sometimes that won't satisfy. And that's ok. We're human. But our job is to PLAN to have as many days/meals on target as humanly possible. And also, to not stress or beat ourselves up over that 1 meal where we mess up. It's just important not to PLAN to mess-up. Right?

The reason I weigh is so that I know exactly how many macros I'm getting in and grams does that more accurately than volume. But your tummy doesn't recognize grams. It recognizes VOLUME. That's why it's important to do both.