i have questions relating to the amount of food one should eat per meal. i have read and reread everything from my surgery doctor (in mexico) and i cant find a place where there was a specified amount i should eat. it says the "typical" eat Protein first, avoid empty carbs, etc etc....

fast forward to my fill doctor who tells me that i should have no more then 1/2 cup per meal. 1/2 cup 4 times a day actually.

then i was reading through posts here and it seems that everyone's amounts vary. which i know is normal.

i am not really even sure what my question is, or better how to phrase it. if i eat until i am satisified and that amount is more then 1/2 a cup and yet i am losing weight, is this "bad"? is the 1/2 cup "rule" to keep from stretching the pouch? how likely is it to stretch the pouch? i mean, i know that by constantly overeating and stuffing the pouch, it is going to stretch, but how likely is that? does that take weeks? months? days? how hard is it to shrink the pouch after you have stretched it? my fill doctor said that you can shrink it after stretching it, i was just wondering a general how long that takes?

good thing i have a fill on the 27. seems like i have a bunch of new questions for the doc. i just wanted to get input from fellow bansters. thanks!

I measure my food out to about a cup, but I can tell you I almost never eat more than a 1/2 cup. I do eat 4 times, but one is a snack.

Yes! 1/2 cup is perfect restriction. Just make sure you are getting plenty of protein. Some folks would argue that you don't get in enough nutrients when you consume 1/2 cup of food but my doctor specifically said that 1/2 cup of food is fine. Welcome to your sweet spot!

I measure my food out to about a cup, but I can tell you I almost never eat more than a 1/2 cup. I do eat 4 times, but one is a snack.

So I have a total newbie question... but how exactly do you measure food per say? Like I can see measuring stuff easily like veggies etc, but how does that work with things like meat?

Wow , I would be really hungry if thats all I ate. I eat one to one and a half cups and I am losing fine. I guess everyone is different. Donna

I eat 1/2 cup per meal. But, that is when I actually eat a meal. Usually I try and have mainly protein, since that is the most important thing. My protien takes the form of things like nuts, 1-2 oz. cheese, a protein shake, that kind of thing. You know it really varies and what works for one doesn't work for all. The first 4 months when someone said I should eat 1/2 I just looked at the doctor like he was crazy. But now, at 1.8 ccs if I eat more than 1/2 and it isn't something like soup....I'll be so---rr---y!!!

ang1982 that is a good question. Im not at the half cup stage but I try to eyeball it.

I was told no more than three ounces at any meal. Eat the Protein first and then veggies and then some fruit.

I was given 1 ounce medicine cups at the hospital and told to use these to measure my food. I carry one with me in my purse with a baby spoon in a zip lock bag.

I have measure everything I put into my mouth. I do NOT eyeball it. I was told it is to easy to overeat when you do this. I was told the small portion size is very important in how the band works.

We should never ever stretch our pouch too much. It needs to be full so that our brain gets the signal that we are full, but that is it. Not OVERLLY full.

Also the speed in which we eat has to slow way down. I was told 20 to 30 minutes to eat and 45 would be wonderful. However if you eat too slowly, your pouch will empty and you can overeat that way as well.

Never drink with your meal, this is a no no. It just forces the food out of the pouch and the goal is to keep it in their as long as possible. Protein takes the longest to digest and that is why we eat it first. It will keep us fuller longer. With a small stomach this is key.

Hope this helps, some. It is working for me, I have no hunger and I have lost 21.5 pounds in 4 weeks.

Good Luck!

I don't measure my food. I did buy myself some small dinner plates so that I can use them and I try, try, try to eat more slowly. That's not so easy, but I do manage. I still have trouble with fixing more food for myself than I can possibly eat, but I'm getting better with it. I just do my best to eat slowly and stop when I start to feel satisfied. That's the key for me - in the past, I would eat so fast that I would blast right past the satisfied feeling and then end up overeating. But, this seems to work for me and the pounds are coming off. I'm at 9 cc's in an 11 cc band.

Steph

So I have a total newbie question... but how exactly do you measure food per say? Like I can see measuring stuff easily like veggies etc, but how does that work with things like meat?

I used to put it in a measuring cup, but now I have gotten good at eyeballing it. One thing, use a kid's plate, it really does help with head hunger! Your fist is about cup size when balled up!

Ahhh gotcha, thanks everyone!

So how long does food stay in the pouch? I know it's different for different foods, but is there an average?

if i eat until i am satisified and that amount is more then 1/2 a cup and yet i am losing weight, is this "bad"? is the 1/2 cup "rule" to keep from stretching the pouch? how likely is it to stretch the pouch? i mean, i know that by constantly overeating and stuffing the pouch, it is going to stretch, but how likely is that? does that take weeks? months? days? how hard is it to shrink the pouch after you have stretched it? my fill doctor said that you can shrink it after stretching it, i was just wondering a general how long that takes?

I'm going to give you a slightly different answer. IF you're someone who has the exact same amount of restriction all the time, then MAYBE you can go off a set measurement. I know VERY few people for whom this is the case.

In my case, I am almost super restricted during the day, but I tend to loosen up at night. I used to loosen up more than I do now. 45 minutes ago I had two spoons of Soup and I'm still feeling it. It doesn't hurt, I just have no doubt that it's still there. Tonight, I plan to eat turkey chili. This is very, very typical for me. I may have early days where a Protein drink wants to take its time, and then I will have chicken breast for dinner.

So for me, I could never go by a measured quantity. Sometimes I can eat Breakfast, most of the time I can't, so there goes the 1/2 cup idea.

Hope that makes sense.

I also wouldn't necessarily look only at what you're eating in terms of weightloss. Very often it's posted that if you eat X, and you're losing weight, then your restriction is good. That has never made much sense to me. I mean - maybe your restriction is poor, but your concept of a meal has changed. Maybe you have awesome restriction and eat a cup of food, but aren't losing weight because you're eating a cup of the wrong foods and laying on your ass watching tv all day. Who knows?

The best answer I can give is to give it some time, and you WILL be able to answer this for yourself. No one can answer it for you, because as different as we are personally, we're also different with our bands.

(Just saw the last question)

When I'm heavily restricted, it can take 45mins to... around 2 hours for food to move through. When I'm moderately restricted, 20 mins or so. Light restriction, it either goes right through, or takes maybe 15 - 20 seconds.

Well, SueBob, I only know what I read in these threads--but people have stated here that it takes 20 minutes to begin the digestion process from our pouch.

I DO know that when I have pain (for whatever reason--too much, too fast) it takes about 25 minutes and suddenly the pain disappears.

Want_so_bad, you will find that 1/4 to 1/2 cup (2 to 4 ounces) of food is going to satisfy you completely. For breakfast and lunch, I go with 1/4 cup so that I don't get that 'overfull' feeling--but dinner time it's usually 1/2 cup.

You won't realize that's all you're eating, but when you measure it, you'll be shocked! :hungry:

Hello All,

I haven't been on in quite a while but I do try to keep up on all the reading. I have been banded since Feb. '07 and have 3.5cc's in a 4cc band. I am going in at the end of Dec. to have another adjustment because I am able to eat more than I use to. My question is this...how full can a band be filled. I have read heard different things. For example, a 4cc can be filled to 7cc's? True? If I eat solids...sure, 1/2 to 3/4 cup but if it is soft foods then there are times when I can go 1 cup even up to 2 cups. liquids...easy 2 cups. What concerns me is that I get hungry now and haven't felt that in some time. There are times that I can begin to eat something and only be able to have a few bites. Other times, things go down way to smooth! Anyone have any snippets of wisdom on any of this. Is this normal band stuff? How long can one go on a 'sweet spot'? Help! Thanks!

Hi everyone. This thread is helpful in getting everyone's input and outlook.

Let me preface my post by saying that I have not had a fill yet. I was banded 7 weeks ago, I had my apt. yesterday for a fill, but the Dr. said I was doing fine with losing 2-3 lbs per week and he'd see me again in Jan.

I am overly conscious of not wanting to stretch out my pouch (self inflicted damage). So with no fills I feel that I have pretty decent restriction. I will typically pack and plan my meals for 1 cup servings, but I break them down in to shifts. I eat part of my breakfast at 8am and part at 10am. So I'm eating 5-6 small meals a day about 1/2 cup each. I feel my magic number depending on time of day and restirction is about 1/2 - 3/4 cup unless it's soup or something liquidy. I find myself getting full quickly on 1/2 cup after about 20-30 min. But I get hungry again within 2-3 hours. So I pace myself all day.

I know we are warned against grazing, so that's why I pre-plan, I measure, I educate myself on portion size and eyeballing because you're not always going to be able to measure, and I record my food after each meal online, and I stay between 700-800 net calories per day. Seems to be working ok for me.

Reading everyone elses experiences has certainly helped in my personal benchmarking.

*Tip, I have found the Ziploc brand disposable tupperware makes 4oz containers, you get like 6-8 per package for like $4 these are a perfect 1/2 cup! When I open a can of Beans, I just portion them out and put them all in the fridge, easy breasy!

I have also found that using baby spoons and forks, along with small salad plates (especially when eating out) helps a lot!