How much can you eat 4+ years post-op?

[middlet 7]

For those of you 4+ years post op gastric sleeve, how many oz are you able to eat? (Not including slider) 

What does a typical day look like for you? 

[Spinoza 1,503]

Are you interested in answers from people who had any particular procedure?

Might be difficult to answer without a little more details/specifics because certain foods pass through our new stomachs much more quickly than others. Some really quickly ('slider' foods, like chips).

So one might be able to eat 3oz of chicken but 10oz of pizza. Is there anything particular worrying you about your own situation OP?

Edited August 5, 2023 by Spinoza

[middlet 7]

Gastric sleeve! Sorry I didn’t add it.
Not slider foods, just general avg oz in a whole food meal 😊

[middlet 7]

Gastric sleeve! Sorry I didn’t add it.
Not slider foods, just general avg oz in a whole food meal 😊

[catwoman7 11,274]

I had RNY but it's probably similar. I don't go by ounces anymore - I just know that it takes about 1600 calories to maintain my current body weight, so I try to stay around there (or under if I want to lose a few pounds). And the above person is right - the number of oz depends on the food. I can easily eat 8 oz of yogurt. But a piece of meat? No way. Maybe 2 or 3 oz.

btw - no one would be able to tell now that I've had weight loss surgery. They'd just assume I'm a "light eater", just like lots of my female friends are who've never had a weight problem. I'll go to a restaurant and order a salad or an appetizer. Or I'll get an entree and eat half of it (and box up the rest to take home).

Edited August 5, 2023 by catwoman7

[KathyLev 286]

My dietician told me to aim for 12 oz. every meal. I'm only 2 months out and that's still alittle too much for me.

[The Greater Fool 2,071]

I had gastric bypass. The following has been repeated here enough to be... well... repeated enough here. But since no one researches old posts, here I am...

My plan is 3-4 oz Protein, 1oz veggies (or other) 3 times per day... Or as much as I can manage before I become full. I never counted calories or much that isn't described in the first sentence of this paragraph. This was my plan Day 1 through current (20+ years post op.)

Currently, I'd say I reach 3-4 oz protein 1oz veggies for perhaps 50-60% of meals. The rest are meals where I can't come near my meal goal, I just stop when I max out for the meal. Perhaps 1% of the time, when the meal is exceptionally good and hits all that is good of an exceptional meal, that I might (very much might, because is is uncomfortable) push the envelope. The fact that I don't challenge my limits is why I believe my restriction is in the same place as it was about 3 months post-op.

I can't eat much more per meal than I have since I have been 3 months post-op because I have rarely ever pushed the limit. My belief is the more one pushes the limits the larger those limits become. I simply do not push the limits, so I believe they remain narrow. Whether the limits actually exist as I said are perhaps a matter of belief doesn't really matter. My belief has kept me near my goal weight.

So what I eat now is not a whole lot different than during the post-op period when I was learning how to eat again. I don't push my limits.

[Arabesque 7,573]

I had sleeve & am just over 4 years out. my weight has been pretty much stable aside from a small gain of a good 2kgs after a medication absorption issue (& lost about half of it when the meds were adjusted). I never was required to measure & track my food intake. I only did it & still do randomly out of my own interest.

While portion size is important equally important is calories & you can’t judge or make decisions about one in isolation of the other. The importance of nutritional value goes without saying of course.

Generally I say I eat about a recommended portion of most foods & tend to eat predominately low processed food with the exception of some things. As an example I eat about 3-4ozs of Protein with a good cup or so of vegetables for dinner. I have a half serve of rolled oats made with milk & blueberries for Breakfast. lunch may be 4 steamed prawn gyoza, a tub of yoghurt, 12 mid sized prawns, 1.5 egg omelette with vegetables, etc. I snack about 4 times a day (to get in additional protein, nutrients & calories). It’s usually some multigrain crackers with labneh or liverwurst if I haven’t made labneh, macadamia nuts, Protein Bar, string cheese, peanut paste, fruit, beef Jerky. I don’t eat dessert, cakes or biscuits (except on very rare occasions), rice, bread, Pasta, potatoes, chips, popcorn or other traditional ‘snack’ foods & don’t drink soda. Nor do I eat fast food & very rarely have takeaway (maybe 5 times since my surgery & not through my choice). Don’t really miss them either.

Also I still take 30 - 45 minutes to eat a meal. If I eat more quickly, how much I can eat is reduced & I can end up with the foamies. I still aim to eat 60-70g of protein & to get my fluids in every day.

I eat about 1500 calories to maintain my weight. I’m 5’3”, have a finer build, am 58 & aren’t really active. If I was taller, weighed more, was more active &/or younger I’d need more calories.

Anyway that’s what I do & found works for me. It may not work for you. There is no right or wrong way to eat only what is right for you & allows you to maintain your weight & health, is sustainable & doesn’t limit or restrict the life you want to live.

PS - Earlier this year I checked a BMR calculator out of curiosity. Interestingly, it suggested I’d need to consume about 1500 calories to maintain my weight which confirmed I was on the right path.