A thread for Maintainers to share our daily menus!

(This thread is a spin-off from another thread I started that was open to all people at different stages. Meant to start this one specifically for Maintainers a while back, but am just now getting around to it )

Same format applies: To help keep things in perspective for everyone, let's try to note our height & weight (or BMI), gender, weight-status & how far out we are post-op (unless this is already stated in your side profile )

Post as little or as much info as you want. If you track macros, feel free to share your Protein, fat, & carb details...if all you feel like saying is you had a really yummy taco, that's cool too.

How long does it take you to eat? I still feel restriction at around 1/2 cup of most food and up to 1 cup of salad with toppings. However in the past month (around 8 months after surgery) I can eat so much faster. I can sit and eat my small meal in 10 minutes. I try to slow down but I guess since it's not a huge amount it's ok. If I were eating something out of a bag or form a big bowl i am sure eating too fast would cause me to eat too much and then feel sick. Do you think I am pushing it? Going to cause an issue?

22 minutes ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

How long does it take you to eat? I still feel restriction at around 1/2 cup of most food and up to 1 cup of salad with toppings. However in the past month (around 8 months after surgery) I can eat so much faster. I can sit and eat my small meal in 10 minutes. I try to slow down but I guess since it's not a huge amount it's ok. If I were eating something out of a bag or form a big bowl i am sure eating too fast would cause me to eat too much and then feel sick. Do you think I am pushing it? Going to cause an issue?

As soon as I was healed, I have always been able to eat quickly. It hasn't caused an issues for me, except for as you say, I miss the full signal and get nauseous. But it usually passes in 15-20 minutes. It also usually happens if I am working and distracted.

1 hour ago, sillykitty said:

As soon as I was healed, I have always been able to eat quickly. It hasn't caused an issues for me, except for as you say, I miss the full signal and get nauseous. But it usually passes in 15-20 minutes. It also usually happens if I am working and distracted.

If I do overeat I get a pain in the middle of my upperback. It's weird. I also feel better after 15-20 minutes. That only happens if I try to eat and it has only been an hour since my last snack/meal especially if it was a denser food.

I eat quickly also and am told by my boyfriend to slow down. I really need to slow down and take my time. Years of eating fast is really hard to break and after surgery I did really well, but now over 2 years out I have been reverting back to old habits and need to focus on slowing down.

6 hours ago, 2Bsmaller18 said:

How long does it take you to eat? I still feel restriction at around 1/2 cup of most food and up to 1 cup of salad with toppings. However in the past month (around 8 months after surgery) I can eat so much faster. I can sit and eat my small meal in 10 minutes. I try to slow down but I guess since it's not a huge amount it's ok. If I were eating something out of a bag or form a big bowl i am sure eating too fast would cause me to eat too much and then feel sick. Do you think I am pushing it? Going to cause an issue?

How long does it take you to eat?

It still takes me quite a while to eat, takes me about 45 mins to an hour to eat one of my regular-sized salads (not the ginormous ones I make when I'm excited, lol). I can eat a lot more that I used to, that's for sure, it just still takes me a while to do it.

I can sit and eat my small meal in 10 minutes. I try to slow down but I guess since it's not a huge amount it's ok <....> Do you think I am pushing it? Going to cause an issue?

I do think that eating slowly is a good habit to have long term. Mindfulness and all that...

Today, Wed, Nov. 13
Maintenance : 5'2" / 1yr PO Sleeve / 115.3 lbs

...So I actually forgot to eat today. I had my first meal around noon and then went grocery shopping, dropped the groceries back home, then went to get a haircut, then to a couple medical appointments, then stopped by the mall to go shopping (so I could get off the road and wait for the traffic to die down). Got home around 9:30pm and realized I hadn't eaten! Wasn't hungry, but also didn't want to NOT eat, so I picked on some leftovers from Mr & the Kid's dinner. It was meh.

8:00am - earl grey teas w/ stevia

12:30pm - salad greens + vinaigrette + 1/2 an avocado + .5 oz gala apple + 3.5 oz grilled chicken

5:00pm - 1 Starbucks Grande Blonde Americano Misto

11:00pm - 2oz baked chicken & mushrooms in cream sauce

Totals: 504 cals - 36g Protein - 15g NET carbs - 30g fat

Okay so I can eat really fast. As in 3oz meat and 1/2 cup salad in 10 mins fast.

My saving grace on that is that I’m veeeery careful to pre-package/measure beforehand so I don’t gobble up too much too fast.
If I’m eating something super-delicious and find myself looking longingly at leftovers, I set an alarm for 15 minutes. If I’m still hungry after that time then I go get 1 spoonful of whatever I wanted and then make myself savor it slowly.
it took me 3-4 months to figure this out, but the first signal I’ve eaten too much is a runny nose, followed by sneezing.
once the sneezing stops, I better not take another bite bc then the pain/stomach cramping starts.
still haven’t thrown up once since surgery, but it’s mostly bc I’m super cautious and am lucky enough to have a cast-iron sleeve

Gosh, like all of y'all I can eat fast! But then I would over-consume. So I try to make myself take 20 minutes at minimum (although I could probably eat my portions in 10minutes give or take). This is disturbing to me. Ha.

I always usually portion my food by scale/volume so I only get what I get until the next meal. No seconds. Evs. It's a hard firm rule in my house these days.

I don't often feel "full" and have quit trying to chase that full feeling. So my portion is just my portion and I doubt seriously that it makes my pouch expand to give the full signal. The GI dude said something disturbing in my last EGD, he said, you're wide open, so I wouldn't be overly concerned with staying within a portion size to keep from stretching out your pouch.

That kinda said, your pouch through your stoma is wide open so food is just thru and thru. What do y'all think? I know RNY doesn't have a pyloric valve, but I think many of our anatomies are full stop open faucet from tummy to bowel.

1 hour ago, FluffyChix said:

That kinda said, your pouch through your stoma is wide open so food is just thru and thru. What do y'all think? I know RNY doesn't have a pyloric valve, but I think many of our anatomies are full stop open faucet from tummy to bowel.

This is how I understand it as well.

Which is why I think the whole don't-drink-while-eating is suggested, so that food is not washed down prematurely?

Although, I don't drink and eat either, but its because if I do I will get way too full too fast and then barf...

Weighing in at 169.2 this morning. Yesterdays menu

Breakfast 1 scrambled egg, 4 strips of bacon, and 1 package of grits

Lunch mixed green salad with 1/2 avocado, 1 bacon, cheese, and 4 croutons. 2Tbl ranch

Dinner 4oz porkchop no sides

Snacks greek yogurt, 1oz almonds, 1 oz mixed nuts, seeds, and granola

@Sheribear68 I had the same thing with the runny nose when I was full the first 6 months, but it doesn't do that anymore. I have to weigh out my portions because if I over eat I feel miserable. I also have an iron sleeve and never got sick.

@FluffyChix I have heard the same thing about RNY and having a stoma as @ms.sss and you both pointed out. Its a good that you still measure all of your food. Do you have sensations of fullness with portion your portion size ?

19 minutes ago, Tracyringo said:

Weighing in at 169.2 this morning.

Gooooo Tracy, Goooooooo! ❤️

Ditto. Yay @Tracyringo woooohoooo! Your menu looks tops girl!!! BACON!

21 minutes ago, Tracyringo said:

@FluffyChix I have heard the same thing about RNY and having a stoma as @ms.sss and you both pointed out. Its a good that you still measure all of your food. Do you have sensations of fullness with portion your portion size ?

I have to eat something really weird to feel "full" or eat way past my 1cup volume.

Things that make me full:

Glugging water quickly can fill me up to the point of discomfort. It's as if my roux limb reaches capacity then sends the full signal back up to my pouch stopping things. But I don't fully understand the physiology or science behind this. I just know this happens.

Cottage Cheese eaten quickly within 5 minutes can back me up and make me full for hours. I can eat 9oz by volume.

Dense dry chicken or pork eaten fairly quickly within 5 minutes can back me up and make me full for a few hours. I can eat 7-8oz by weight (terrifying cuz that's about 1 1/2cups of food by volume).

Combined meal: 4-5oz dense dry protein (no sauce or meat lube) + 3oz al dente veggie + 1oz avocado + 1oz grape tomatoes can make me full for a few hours but not as full as cottage cheese.

Mostly I just eat to my volume per meal and stop when no longer actively starving. That meal looks more like this:

3-4oz dense dry protein (no sauce or meat lube) + 2oz al dente veggie + 1oz avocado + 1oz grape tomatoes - I'm no longer hungry, but I don't have a full sensation either.

@FluffyChix : I don't really have a good idea what my "before-full" capacity is like. So naturally all this talk about capacity has me wondering LOL. How do you determine the volume of airy things like salad? Do you pack it in the measuring cup?

Edited November 14, 20196 yr by ms.sss