At some point I'm going to have gastric bypass and i want learn portion control ( if you will) therefore i want to get ahead of the game , how do i know my portions are either too much or not enough i try to ( eye it ) guess but i know i eat fast and i almost never pay attention to what is on my plate which must be a bd move , is it , even my wife tells me i take huge bites and i don't chew my food enough and a lot of the time i choak i don't know where i am going with this i guess i just want to be prepared for SX so there are no surprises when i sit down to eat and i "think" there's not enough food so i add more to my plater i eat too much and the end result is i get sick and vomit, can anyone help with this post , any advice would really help, thank you very much ☺️

Coop

Here's some suggestions:

A rough guide for this method is:

• Vegetables: Should take up half your plate
• Protein-rich foods: For meat, poultry, eggs, fish, legumes, beans, tofu serve a quarter of your plate.
• Complex carbohydrates: Take a quarter of a plate of carbs, such as whole grains.
• High-fat foods: Including butter, cheese, and oil – take only half a tablespoon

Alrighty then , that was easy ...LOL

Thank you for your prompt response?

Rich aka Coop

Typically when you first start out, you are only able to tolerate 4 oz (if that). I had surgery back on January 27th and still can't tolerate solids. But every situation is different.

You will almost certainly need to meet with a nutritionist/dietician. They will be able to give you all sorts of advice. But you can also check out a textbook on nutrition from the library. Just make sure it's a text book, not some fad book.

Get yourself a food scale that measures in grams and ounces. 4 ounces of meat/fish is a serving. Restaurants will advertise a 12 or 16 oz steak - that is 3-4 servings!

Read the nutrition facts on the food you are eating: a serving of cheese is one oz. Weigh out one once (28g) of cheese (or chips, if you must) and see how much you are used to eating.

Pick up your fork to take a bite then put down the fork until you have completely finished chewing and swallowing the mouthful of food. Take smaller bites: like the size of the top half of your thumb (they will need to be even smaller after surgery. If you are choking, you're either not chewing enough or you're eating too fast. SLOW DOWN! No one is going to take your food away from you!

Start counting calories using an app like MyFitnessPal

Weigh and measure. I agree with another posted, you will need a food scale, but a good set of measuring cups (both regular ones and liquid measuring cups) are also invaluable. Look at the nutrition labels - the serving size for each food is there, and you can use that as a guide. Weighing food (unless it is liquid) is the best way to keep track of how much you are having and avoid the "but this cookie is small, I can have another cookie above the serving size for the same amount of calories" game.

Of course you can eat more or less of a serving, so this leads to my next comment - start writing it all down and tracking how much you are eating vs. what you think you are eating. You should also measure any drinks with calories to know exactly how many calories you are drinking. For example, my idea of a "cup" of milk is very different from the reality. Even now, 8 months out, I measure the soy milk I use in my protein shakes because I don't trust my eyes. I track it all in the Baritastic app, but MyFitnessPal is great, and there are many others.

lizonaplane you are so informative i can't thank you enough for the advice you're the best.

I love this site, people here are so helpful and kind

life is good !

I agree on the measuring of the food. It really will help. Also, if you think you will eat it too fast..... only put 1/2 on your plate....wait 20 minutes....then eat the rest (if needed).

Example: if you measure out 4 ounces for your dinner..... put 2 ounces (mostly protein) on your plate. Try to eat it slowly by chewing and putting your fork down between bites. Once you are done, wait 20ish minutes to see how you feel. If you think you need to eat more, eat the other 2 ounces.

I have had the issue of putting too much on my plate at once...eating too many bites.....then really regretting it later. I still overestimate how much I can eat about 1/2 the time.

You can practice this before surgery also (with more normal portions). It may help you get used to eating slower. Good Luck!