So I'm eating mushy foods now, and I was going over everything that was given to me, and I have NOTHING about amounts of food I can eat. No suggestions for meals, no amounts to eat, nothing. When I called my dietician on Friday, I got an email back that said "Since you had a sleeve, you can pretty much eat what you want, just in smaller amounts. Just try a lot of foods and see what you like and what your body can tolerate. And make sure you have 60-80g of protein per day, and make sure you have a very low amount of carbs, or you'll undo all of your progress." WHAT am I supposed to do with that??? I already know that!!! I need to know how often do I eat the mushy food? Is that when every 3 hours starts? How much food should I have at each meal? 2oz, 3oz, what? Do I eat actual meals every 3 hours or do I do 3 meals and 2 snacks? I'm so irritated right now. And I'm so afraid I'll eat too much and mess this all up. I had restriction when I first started mushy food, but now I can eat a to-go cup of applesauce in 1 sitting, or 2 tablespoons of hummus in 1 sitting. Is this bad?

Ok I just had dinner (took almost an hour lol) and I gave myself some variety. I had 1 tbsp of hummus (my favorite), 1/2 tbsp of avocado spread, and 1/2 tbsp of no fat refried beans. And I'm drinking Iced black tea lemonade. OMG. Can I just tell you how amazing my dinner was? I have timers set to eat every 3 hours, but I'm wondering...is it every 3 hours, or 3 hours after your last meal? Because I can't imagine eating again in 2 hours lol

Don't eat past your hunger cues.

One of the things that I want to beam into everyone's head is that for a LOT of us, aftercare is pretty horrible. My surgeon's bariatric nutritionist lit into me for eating 800 calories a day 3 months out - I work outdoors and work out for an hour a day. My surgeon actually skipped two check-ins in a row after that. So I went and got a nutrition coach (whom I absolutely LOVE).

I could always eat more than they said I'd be able to. But as long as I ate slowly, the restriction kicked in eventually. I lost weight hand over fist (it has since slowed down, but I'm 8 months PO and not far from goal).

I wouldn't worry about it. But do watch out for stalls. They happen, they suck, and they shouldn't derail you.

23 minutes ago, vikingbeast said:

Don't eat past your hunger cues.

One of the things that I want to beam into everyone's head is that for a LOT of us, aftercare is pretty horrible. My surgeon's bariatric nutritionist lit into me for eating 800 calories a day 3 months out - I work outdoors and work out for an hour a day. My surgeon actually skipped two check-ins in a row after that. So I went and got a nutrition coach (whom I absolutely LOVE).

I could always eat more than they said I'd be able to. But as long as I ate slowly, the restriction kicked in eventually. I lost weight hand over fist (it has since slowed down, but I'm 8 months PO and not far from goal).

I wouldn't worry about it. But do watch out for stalls. They happen, they suck, and they shouldn't derail you.

I'm wondering...am I supposed to eat every 3 hours, or 3 hours after my last meal? Because it takes between 30-40 minutes to finish eating, and I am really struggling to eat every 3 hours (3 hours after my meal ends seems more reasonable).

11 hours ago, SleeveDiva2022 said:

I'm wondering...am I supposed to eat every 3 hours, or 3 hours after my last meal? Because it takes between 30-40 minutes to finish eating, and I am really struggling to eat every 3 hours (3 hours after my meal ends seems more reasonable).

If you can get to your protein target by eating three hours after you finish eating, go for it.

4 minutes ago, vikingbeast said:

If you can get to your Protein target by eating three hours after you finish eating, go for it.

Awesome, thanks!!

I've never heard of eating every 3 hours, I was recommended to eat three meals with two "snacks" in between, which sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

I also track calories but for me it's always more about the portion size. I started at about 4 oz, now I do 6 or 7. I try to stay low-cal and low-carb if I can but I don't drive myself crazy about it.

Typical day for me is breakfast of two scrambled eggs with 1 oz of shredded cheese (same breakfast since right after my surgery). Before eating usually an 11 oz premier protein drink - if I don't have it first I wait an hour after eating to have it.

Usually no snack before lunch because of the protein shake but sometimes either an apple or 6-7 oz of cantaloupe.

Lunch is usually a pre-made salad I get from Target, either the chicken caesar (360 cal) or asian fusion (270). Post-lunch snack is usually two sugar free jello puddings (chocolate/vanilla swirl).

Dinner I mix up a bit but frequently it's a 4 oz piece of fish plus 3 oz corn, with 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce.

Dessert is Halo Top ice cream.

I drink Crystal Light sweet tea whenever I can remember to drink.

That's pretty much it and it's working pretty well.

This is from my patient manual on meal spacing for the first three months z

I’m at 2 1/2 weeks from gastric and I have the same issue I was told just limit to 1/4 cup off soft food. Not good I ended up with bad stomach aches and I was told to go back to liquids. So far I have not lost any weight nor gained. I have no clue what to do. So I know what you are going through. Good luck!!

On 5/16/2022 at 9:46 PM, SleeveDiva2022 said:

I have timers set to eat every 3 hours, but I'm wondering...is it every 3 hours, or 3 hours after your last meal? Because I can't imagine eating again in 2 hours lol

The rule of thumb for almost all bariatric patients is three meals a day with no snacking in between. This is because snacking allows you to overeat and exceed calories. We are supposed to be drinking fluids between the three meals. I have never heard of a plan that has you eat every 3 hours. Recommended serving size is 1/2 cup per meal. After six weeks, you can increase to 1 cup per meal. It should only take you 20 to 30 minutes to consume your meal. If it’s taking you an hour, then something is wrong. The food is too dense or not diluted enough or too high in fat content and causing restriction.

1 hour ago, suzannethemom said:

The rule of thumb for almost all bariatric patients is three meals a day with no snacking in between. This is because snacking allows you to overeat and exceed calories. We are supposed to be drinking fluids between the three meals. I have never heard of a plan that has you eat every 3 hours. Recommended serving size is 1/2 cup per meal. After six weeks, you can increase to 1 cup per meal. It should only take you 20 to 30 minutes to consume your meal. If it’s taking you an hour, then something is wrong. The food is too dense or not diluted enough or too high in fat content and causing restriction.

Yeah, my surgeon's office said every 3 hours, 5 times a day. It might be 3 meals and 2 snacks, not sure. They didn't specify that. They just said every 3 hours 5 times a day.

Ok, so I thought I was eating soooo much each meal because I can eat about 2 tbsp each time (maybe 2 1/2 depending on what it is). So I decided to look it up. How many ounces are in 1 tbsp. It's 1/2 an ounce, ya'll LOL I'm seeing people eating like 2-4 ounces each time they eat and I thought I was doing horrible because of 2 tbsp each time I eat. Now, I'm also on kind of a combination of mushy/chunky mushy food right now, so definitely not solids yet. But somehow I still had it in my head I was eating way too much. And I called my surgeon's office and they said I'm to eat every 3 hours 5x a day UNTIL I hit solids at 6 weeks. Then I go to 3 meals a day and a very small snack or 2 IF needed. So that explains why I need to eat every 3 hours right now.

I bet your nutritionist was thinking about food restrictions for sleeve patients and not truly understanding your question. The first two weeks I was restricted to liquids, but after that I could try whatever I felt comfortable with eating. I had stage 3 hiatal hernia repair, and had a lot of pain the first time I tried chicken. I couldn't eat food that was "dry" without pain in my upper chest. The focus on the 3rd week was introducing foods again and hitting your protein mark while watching carbs. Eat protein first. I bet that's what he meant by no restrictions.

On 5/15/2022 at 10:26 PM, SleeveDiva2022 said:

My stomach doesn't growl at ALL. I keep reading that it happens a lot, so I'm waiting for it, but nothing so far. I eat until I'm comfortable and then I stop.

I think that's the point, to eat until you're comfortable. That's what we're supposed to get used to. Since getting sleeved almost 4 months ago, I've really learned how to tune into my body and hunger signals. Chewing 30 times or until the food dissolves forced me to slow down and be aware of everything I put in my mouth. The challenging part has been what I've chosen to put in!

A tip I have I to drink as much water, and as often, as you can. I found I'm significantly hungrier when I'm low on it. And adhere to stop drinking 30 minutes prior to eating, and waiting 30-45 minutes before drinking again.

Edited May 20, 20224 yr by SoCalEm

Glad to hear that you got the answers that you were looking for. I am 14 months and I eat about every 3 hours still. Breakfast is a protein shake at 9, lunch at 12, snack at 3, dinner at 6 and snack at 9. I set alarms until I got used to it but now that have been doing it for a while and my hunger has come back my body tells me it’s coming up on time for my next meal or snack.

You know, I actually like your schedule. I might do something similar. My schedule changes everyday and I think that's part of the problem, too. I need to set alarms for the same times everyday so my body can get used to it.