I’m only day 4 but I keep hearing different things from people on how much can you eventually eat? I guess this question is for people who have had the procedure for a year or so? I am being that I will never be able to have more than 4 oz in one time? Is that true? Does your intake goes up eventually? I’m sure people cheat here and there but what if you are invited to a buffet? How much can you eat without vomiting? I know I shouldn’t be thinking about these things I am just curious…

Thank you,

I am 16 months out and I can comfortably eat about one serving of most things. Not everyone can eat a full serving though. I see people who say there is no way they could eat like a hamburger for instance. I can’t eat a big one like one from a restaurant but I make small burgers at home and I can eat that with a thin roll which seems more than I expected to be able to eat. I also make fish sandwich with those thin rolls and fish filets and I can finish that whole thing. Normally I eat around. 3-4 ounce serving of protein and some veggies and I am done though. I mean I am satisfied and I stop myself but I could eat more if I tried. Or if I have cauliflower pizza I only make one slice but I could probably eat more. I can’t eat a whole salad still for some reason. I mainly eat the toppings off of it with a little bit of lettuce and toss the rest. To sum it up I basically eat the main entree portion of what I used to eat and skip the rest.

that's going to vary a lot for people depending on several factors (how active you are, your metabolic rate, how much weight you're trying to maintain (you'll have to eat quite a bit less to maintain 120 lbs than you will 160 lbs)), etc. but in any event, no - you won't be eating 4 oz for life. NO ONE would be able to tell I've had surgery at this point - and it's been a few years since that might have been obvious. If they notice at all, they'd assume I'm a light or careful eater, like many of my women friends who have never been obese.

I eat around 1700 calories to maintain - I can go higher if I'm exercising a lot (but again, calories will vary depending on those factors I mentioned. Some women here on BP can maintain on 2000 calories - others can only eat 1200). When I go out to eat, I'll usually order an appetizer. Or I'll order an entree and take half of it home - pretty much the same as a lot of my female friends.

an example I often use is pizza. Before surgery, my husband and I would order a large pizza, and we'd each eat half of it. Now I can only eat 1-2 pieces before my stomach tells me it's time to stop.

anyway, hope that gives you an idea..

I agree with the above posters. I was curious about the same thing and measured out what feels comfortable when eating. I can eat 4oz of meat, tofu or whatever protein. Then I feel good with 1/2 cup of salad or berries or anything veg/fruit. If the meat is physically bigger, just 2 oz of veg/fruit fits in afterwards. I’m 11 months out. All mashed up, about 1 cup of food fits in, like the size of my fist closed up. I did overeat at family reunion this weekend for the first time, watermelon, I went for a walk to feel comfortable again. There was no throwing up. Again, everyone is different.

50% of post-op regain their weight. They're not doing it by eating too little.

Good luck,

Tek

I’m just over a year out and eat 3-5 small meals a day. They consist of about 2.5 to 4 ounces protein and .2 to 1 cup vegetables. Now, I will say that the consistency of the meal changes things a lot. If it is a grilled meat or something with little to no sauce I can’t eat that much…but if is ground meat or something with a good sauce I can eat a lot more. I also find that eating bread-y stuff can be touchy….some days I can eat more than others.

Overall, my meals are 1/3 to 1/2 of a regular person’s portion. My daily calorie intake is usually between 1100 and 1500.

5 hours ago, learn2cook said:

I went for a walk to feel comfortable again.

This is what I do to feel better if I eat too much! Sometimes just a little walk can make a huge difference!

This doc gives a pretty good layout of the progression that you should expect:

I'm not so sure about his books and green smoothies, but his progression is consistent with my experience after 10+ years, though my wife is still somewhat more restricted in volume, so there is a YMMV thing going on there. I can eat about half of what I could before surgery. This is good and bad, in that it is plenty to be able to get the bulk of our nutrition from food (at least with a VSG), but it is also plenty to get into trouble with if you don't learn to eat right - that "gain it all back" threat is a real one if you don't pay attention. Volume can also be highly dependent upon what you are eating, as there are slider foods out there that are virtually unlimited, mainly highly processed junk foods (think chips, pretzels, etc.) One of my takeaways from Dr. Weiner's piece above is if you feel the need to increase your volume over time, try to do it with bulky, low calorie veg as a way of dealing with this. I've been having a salad for lunch most days since early post op, using a couple ounces of leftover meat, bit of cheese and, at the time, maybe 3 oz of salad veg - chopped spinach, pepper, tomato, avo, scallion, etc. My lunches are still just a couple ounces of meat (thats all I need along with all of the other protein in the day) but the veg content is a lot higher now, maybe 7-8 oz. Still pretty moderate in calories, but very high nutritionally.

I avoid buffets as they don't provide good value anymore, but can handle them when presented with one. I have never vomited (at least from over eating.)

I was sleeved in Nov 2021. I welcome the smaller portions and to be honest I don't want to go back to eating the same amount that I had before. I can comfortably eat 3 ounces of anything, and I am satisfied. The thought of eating more really makes me feel ill. I follow ALL the rules from my nutritionist/dietician including tracking my meals and calories, macros etc. I am taking this seriously because I never want to go back to the way I was. I feel so much better physically and emotionally. I am very concerned about stretching out my stomach to the way it was. No way will I let myself do that. It's important to eat and beware in the moment. I also started meditation and that helps my anxiety, which in the past leads me to snack.

Starting weight 325

Surgery day weight 315

Current weight 224

I had my RNY in August 2021, so I am coming up on 11 months out.

I haven't weighed my food since the very beginning of the solid food stages, so I can't speak to how many ounces it is, but here is roughly what I can handle these days.

If I go to a sit down restaurant with my wife, I will order a protein-heavy entree (salmon is the first thing I look for on the menu) and I will choose a veggie side (broccoli, Brussel sprouts, side salad, etc.). I can usually finish the entree, but I have never completely finished a side. I try to order sides that my wife or kids will enjoy eating so they can finish them for me. I'll order a water in case I need some liquid to sip on.

Earlier this month, my wife wanted to go a Chinese buffet for date night. I moderately filled one plate of food (plate was covered, but food was not heaped on there in a mountain, like it would have been pre-surgery) and finished about 80% of it. I focused on putting some variety on my plate (a little of this, a little of that), knowing that there was a 0% chance I would take or need a second helping. Buffets are very doable as long as you know (1) your first pass through will be your only pass through and (2) it will not be a good value for the money.

I have a pretty basic eating routine that works for me these days. I make a coffee protein shake in the morning (~8 oz of cold brew coffee + a scoop of unflavored whey protein + collagen powder, mixed in a blender, then adding a vanilla premade Premier Protein 30g shake to it). I have another premade shake for lunch and another as a snack on the way home. For dinner, I tend to get into a groove where I eat something similar most nights until I get sick of it (right now, it is homemade tuna or chicken salad on Sola bread). I usually eat about 5 oz of tuna fish in a sitting.

I'm not sure I'm in maintenance yet, because I am still losing slowly, but I am 2 years post op on July 23rd. I can eat about 3 to 4 ounce of protein, about 1/4 cup of veggies, and a bite or 2 of carbs at a meal. There are some days I can only do 2 ounces of meat. Yesterday we went out for dinner at a BBQ place and I had 3oz. turkey, green beans and a baked potato and salad. I ate about 2 ounces of turkey, a couple bites of salad and green beans and a couple bites of potato. Sometimes I can eat a little more than that and sometimes I can't. I can eat about 8 shrimp now, when originally it was 2.
I can eat a small salad (like side salad).
Most of the time, I eat pretty normal servings now like what someone who was never overweight eats. I eat about 1300 calories a day on average. I will probably go up a little once I'm sure I'm in maintenance, but for now I stick to 1300ish.
I'm fine with not losing more and I'm not willing to cut my calories more than this, because I don't want to be starving. I'm satisfied now.

Oh and I'd like to add, I LOVE being able to eat smaller portions and be satisfied. It's amazing to me. I always felt so abnormal eating such big portions and never feeling like I got enough. I love the feeling of being NORMAL (or like what I expected normal to be) now and seeking satisfied when I eat!

My nutritionist says that I will eventually be eating about 1 cup at a time.

I am 16 months out and I can comfortably eat about one serving of most things. Not everyone can eat a full serving though. I see people who say there is no way they could eat like a hamburger for instance. I can’t eat a big one like one from a restaurant but I make small burgers at home and I can eat that with a thin roll which seems more than I expected to be able to eat. I also make fish sandwich with those thin rolls and fish filets and I can finish that whole thing. Normally I eat around. 3-4 ounce serving of protein and some veggies and I am done though. I mean I am satisfied and I stop myself but I could eat more if I tried. Or if I have cauliflower pizza I only make one slice but I could probably eat more. I can’t eat a whole salad still for some reason. I mainly eat the toppings off of it with a little bit of lettuce and toss the rest. To sum it up I basically eat the main entree portion of what I used to eat and skip the rest.

This is really true. It depends the food, what surgery you had, how it was done, how tight your esophagus is etc.

I find that I can eat one serving of most foods at a time too. Usually like 1 egg and I feel full. I can however resume eating within 1-2 hours pretty easily but you have to be careful not to eat too much throughout the whole day if you need to take a break in the middle of your meal. Sometimes I need a break after two bites because it feels so tight in my throat.

But yeah then there are foods I can eat more of like salad, cheese, and bread. I can also eat more than the recommended serving size of chips or crackers but that tends to make me very nauseous so I avoid it.

Pureed foods like refried beans, light soups, and yogurt I can eat in large amounts but again I don't because it makes me nauseous.

For example today, I had a protein shake for breakfast and felt fine for 4 hours. Then made lunch as i started feeling low energy. made a sandwich for lunch with some protein chips. I use low calorie low carb small slices of bread (45 calorie slice) 45 calorie slice of cheese and 40 calories worth of plant based lunch meat. I got through a bit over half of the sandwich and three chips from a 160 calorie serving bag. Won't finish it, feel satisfied and know if I went back for more I'd start feeling nauseous.