How much are you eating?

[Jnfinney 513]

I was advanced to pureed foods this week and am about 2 1/2 weeks post op. Everything is going well; I am eating slow enough without pain/getting sick and I've been super thirsty and getting a good amount of liquid in. However, when I met with my dietician, she told me that I should only be eating 2 tablespoons of food per meal and drinking Protein Drinks in-between meals. How much were you guys eating this early out? I'm struggling to get Protein in with liquids and it doesn't help if I can only eat 2 tablespoons of pureed Proteins. I guess I just feel like 2 tablespoons is a tiny amount, but I'm not sure what I was expecting.

[Crick 144]

I went back and looked at my food logs for when I first advanced to purée. I was eating about 4 TBS per meal on average - after the first few days I was eating up to half a cup of puréed black bean Soup but my turkey chili purée was still 4 TBS (plus a TBS of fat free Greek yogurt and a scoop of Protein powder). I would listen to your body and what you can do - and I was probably eating 4 meals a day at that point but one was a shake.

[ms.sss 14,620]

We have the same starting weight and almost the same height (you are 1" taller than me). Assuming all else is the same (which we all know is NOT) for curiosity's sake only, I looked up what I was eating at 2.5 weeks.

For the 5 days immediately following the 2.5 week mark, it looks like I my menu consisted of Protein Shakes, eggs and cottage cheese. I totally didn't want to do any pureed foods cuz my one attempt to puree beef icked me out. According to what I put in, the sizes of my "meals" where either 1/3 a scrambled egg (made with milk) or 1/4 cup of cottage cheese.

2 tablespoons is 1/8 a cup, which was probably the size of my fractional egg meals?

It took me for-e-vah to eat these though.

Are you still hungry after 1/8 cup? If so, I would think that so long as you aren't experiencing any discomfort, it *should* be ok to have more. (but I'm not an expert on your body!!!) I've read many accounts of others who have eaten way more and were fine, as well as accounts of others who have eaten the same (or less), and were not....

[Jnfinney 513]

Oh wow @ms.sss our stats are super similar! I really appreciate both your input. I had 1/2 a scrambled egg for breakfast today with milk and a pinch of melted cheese. That really filled me up. When I eat refried Beans or ricotta bake, I can eat about 1/4 cup without any problems. I just don't want to do things I shouldn't be and stretch my stomach back out. 😕 I'm not even sure if that can happen, but it is a real fear of mine.

[Jaelzion 1,123]

From the beginning, I could eat a fourth of a cup (4 tablespoons, two Fluid ounces). I think your capacity is pretty normal (but of course I'm not an expert).

Edit to clarify: once I was able to eat, I could eat a fourth of a cup. But for the first two weeks, I really couldn't eat at all. I lived on clear Protein Drinks during that time. But once that eased up, my capacity was about a fourth of a cup.

Edited April 1, 2021 by Jaelzion

[ms.sss 14,620]

8 hours ago, Jnfinney said:

I just don't want to do things I shouldn't be and stretch my stomach back out. 😕 I'm not even sure if that can happen, but it is a real fear of mine.

With time, you will figure out what works and what doesn't work for you. I can say that don't be scared, but this lesson is best learned with time and experience. ❤️

P.S. I'm 2.5+ years out and I'm still learning stuff!

Edited April 2, 2021 by ms.sss