Portion Sizes (and the Dreaded Foaming)

[Deep6 50]

Things have been going pretty smoothly since bypass surgery June 6. The stages from the surgeon and nutritionalist seem fairly accelerated (compared to others I've looked up in the Internet). I would have a bowl of cream of wheat (3/4 cup of water) or a single egg omelet (adding some cooked mushrooms or shredded smoked salmon). All fine. The canned vegetables are pretty insipid but I don't feel like I'm ready for "raw" veggies and overcooked veggies (steamed) are kinda like the canned stuff-

To Celebrate my passage into regular food, I took a smoked turkey leg, reheated it, then stripped all skin and tendons off, leaving me with 1/2-3/4 cup of shredded meat. It was too much! I discovered what you folks call the "foamies"-- horrible. If I could have just puked and emptied my stomach, I would have been happy, but oh, no, all that came up was that dreaded froth. I was in major discomfort for hours and wound up falling asleep sitting up.

Next day, I decided to go back to basics- just Protein Drink, Gatorade Zero, a little hummus and 1/2 my usual portion of cream of wheat.

I'm now setting up a call with the nutritionist- interestingly, his plan disclaims any recommended portion size. And when I've looked at the internet, every plan is different, with different ranges of portions.

I feel much better having gotten through that experience of foamies- whether it was the density of the meat, the quantity, or the smoked flavor, I have no idea but I'm gonna stay away from smoked meats, at least for now.

Because I had a hiatal hernia repair, any sort of heavy lifting, sit-ups, etc. are taboo. I am walking (ironically, the mega grocery stores provide me with a venue for that since here in Texas, it's been over 100 degrees F until a couple days ago. Typical Texas summer).

So, two questions:

1.portion size- we'll see what the nutritionist says; and

2.did most of you hit overload at some point on your journey?

I have been losing weight. I definitely look and feel better, easier to walk without getting winded, etc.

My best to all,

Deep6

[Heatherhei 14]

The foamies are definitely no fun! I imagine it may have been it was too heavy on your stomach. If you have a FB you should join my June 2023 bariatric support group June 2023 Bariatric | Facebook

[ms.sss 14,679]

2 hours ago, Deep6 said:

So, two questions:

1.portion size- we'll see what the nutritionist says; and

2.did most of you hit overload at some point on your journey?

As you found out, the programs endorsed by different surgeons vary greatly.

The programs are guidelines, they will not work for everyone. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all M.O.

Def speak to your nutritionist, though in the end, whatever he/she advises you to do may still not work for YOU. Best course of action is trial and error on your part (keeping in mind any advice your NUT gives you). Now is the time to get to know your body and it's responses to different stimuli. Then go from there. Further, what works for you today may not work for you tomorrow. Its an ongoing learning process.

Good Luck! ❤️

Oh, and yeah, i hit "overload" many times during weight loss phase. Honestly, i still do sometimes, and i'm 4.5+ years out.

[Deep6 50]

1 minute ago, ms.sss said:

As you found out, the programs endorsed by different surgeons vary greatly.

The programs are guidelines, they will not work for everyone. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all M.O.

Def speak to your nutritionist, though in the end, whatever he/she advises you to do may still not work for YOU. Best course of action is trial and error on your part (keeping in mind any advice your NUT gives you). Now is the time to get to know your body and it's responses to different stimuli. Then go from there. Further, what works for you today may not work for you tomorrow. Its an ongoing learning process.

Good Luck! ❤️

Oh, and yeah, i hit "overload" many times during weight loss phase. Honestly, i still do sometimes, and i'm 4.5+ years out.

Very helpful. Yep, so I am gathering, and I guess I'm going to err on the side of caution. I was looking forward to a little sashimi with a few spoonfuls of seaweed salad- actually eating out at a restaurant! But, I'm gonna take it slow and careful. Gawd, that foaming/frothing was nasty! Gave me religion on this if you follow my drift. Thank you for the substantive response, ms.sss!

[Deep6 50]

Spoke to my nutritionist. He made a number of suggestions, including having some warm broth to "prime the pump." He wasn't bothered by the idea of dark meat (Ala the turkey leg, deboned and stripped of skin, that led to my frothing/foaming).

So, today, for lunch, we went to a good local Japanese fish house- had Miso Soup, which I rarely order, some seaweed salad and a few pieces of fatty tuna sashimi. Wonderful, no problem.

He also said that lean meat in the red meat department can be a problem. Which isn't an issue for me, because my favorite steak is a ribeye, bone in, and my favorite part of that steak is the rib-eye cap, which is basically stripped of all fat and binding before preparing. Not sure I'm quite ready for that, and I'll probably only have a few bites, but as I add to my selection of foods to eat, I'm getting happier! Yay!

Last night, I made chicken sueng (the chicken with chopped up scallion, Water chestnuts, normally wrapped in lettuce. I didn't wrap it but had a little romaine on the side, along with peas as a side dish.

I think I'm still well under my calorie limit and taking my supplements. Glad to report that enjoying real food is actually possible!!!

Edited July 11, 2023 by Deep6

[CarmenG 149]

I'm new to the bypass, so I'm not sure how foamies or dumping work with it because I haven't experienced it yet. However, I was sleeved 14 years ago, and I did experience the foamies like 3 times. I found it happened when I didn't chew my food enough, or when I was eating too fast. It may not be portion size. With a sleeve, you usually don't overeat because you feel it in your chest right away. I remember my nose would start running, or I'd hyper-salivate (foamies) when I wasn't paying attention to my chewing or to how fast I was eating. In my line of work, we don't have time to eat sometimes, so it was a real learning experience. What always helped me with the sleeve was to start walking. I'd just walk around inside the house for about 5 minutes and the pressure in my chest would eventually subside, as would the foamies.

[Deep6 50]

Helpful. The walking part was suggested by my wife the other night when I suddenly felt too full and it did help-- I thinking the sitting position just compresses things. Thank you for the insight, Carmen G.