I am on the mushy stage and I just started. I ate 3 scrambled eggs and a few small bites of tuna w/ mayo. Im not worried about the calories from the mayo or anything, but I wonder if I ate too much. I felt just perfect when I stopped (not too full) but I am worried about wether that amount could stretch my pouch. It was the first time since surgery that I actually felt satisfied. Any thoughts?

For me, three eggs would have been way too much at that stage. One would have been all I wanted or all I could eat.

I would think that if you ate this much regularly, then your worries may be justified.

Well, I normally would eat 6 egggs and maybe a tuna sandwich. Yikes! My swelling has most certainly went down since surgery and my BMI is on the low side (34) so my doctor did say that I would be hungrier than someone with a BMI of say 45. He said some people with a BMI that high may not need a fill for quite some time and I will want one 4-6 weeks out. Anyone hear this?

My doctor usually says that you should be eating 1/3 of what you were eating before. Don't know if that helps or not.

You need fills when the fat around your stomach goes down, so I guess the frequency of fills would depend on that, plus the size band you have. I was banded last October and I've had two fills since then, totaling 1.9 cc in a 4 cc band. My husband was banded the same day with a 10 cc band, and he has had 2 fills with a total of 6 cc.

You can eat 6 eggs and a tuna sandwich in one sitting and you have a BMI of 34??? Amazing really....you must have a great metabolism...

Honestly I am SHOCKED to say the least. I have been banded for 4+ years and I have never could have eaten that much in a sitting. I would be terribly unwell had I done this. Maybe I am oldschool considering I have been banded for so long, but I never eat more than maybe at most a cup of anything completely inclusive on my plate. I just couldn't, I am not overly tight, 4 cc in a 10 cc band, but I could not hold onto that much food. Not to alarm, but I would be concerned, I don't honestly think that you should be able to eat that much at this point. Just my 2 cents and thats all it should be taken as.

Actually my metabolism sucks but eggs are full of protein so I would lose alot on a high protein low carb diet.

Well, 3 eggs is just a little over a cup.

Did you really feel like you needed that much, or did you just cut in half your pre op serving and eat what you had made?

I won't deny I've eaten a three-egg omelet in my time, but that certainly hasn't been since I was banded. I would really try to cut down the portions to see if you can be not hungry with less. Notice I didn't say "full," just not hungry. That's really what you should be striving for.

WTG Snowbird well said. The thing is we can continue to overeat and overeat and we will never gain the success that we all strive for. I personally have lost over 125 lbs and did so by strictly following the guidelines set forth to me by the surgeon. BUT...I have also faultered and managed to gain from time to time by simply eating the wrong things in the wrong quantities! Want to talk about metabolism sure....BUT if your metabolism was off the charts would we be where we are today. I am now a triathelete and days away from reconstructive surgery. My advise is good and I am not trying to be rude or uncaring. I am trying to give you the facts to make the best of this situation. This band IS A TOOL...and like any tool if we do not work WITH it....it will not work with us.....again just my 2 cents. Keep up the awesome work and I wish I had your metabolism!! Cheers

The Drs all have so many different rules. My Doc says only one half cup three times a day of protein first and some veggies, no sugar no potatoes no pasta no rice nothing white, you all seem to be able to eat so many more things, Im afraid, i will fail,

Since I'm assuming the OP has not had a fill yet, then how on earth is 3 eggs and a couple bites of tuna going to stretch her pouch? Some of you are acting like she's insane, and you're so freaked out about the amount of food she can consume.

I haven't had a fill yet either. I'm still on the mushy stage. While maybe some of you had restriction at that time, many of us don't. My stomach is still usually growling after 2 scrambled eggs.

I have a hard time believing that one "slip up" (if you can even call this a slip up for the OP since it seems like a fine amount of food for the mushy stage) will stretch a pouch. It took us a long time to stretch our stomachs as we became obese. So if you are worried about that one meal, then cut back on the next one. Don't live in fear of stretching a pouch...especially when you haven't even had a fill yet. My doc said there's really no pouch there until you get filled...and as long as you are eating the right foods for healing, then you aren't doing any permanent damage...the healing foods slip through very easily.

Yikes...well let me tell you....I was not at all indicating that she would stretch her pouch, if you had read the entire post I had indicated that I had experienced gain at one point in the last 4 years simply due to choice. We have "satisfied" our appetites for the last years and in my simple opinion....and that is all it is...an opinion, we need to teach ourselves quality not quantity. I didn't have a fill for 4 months and did not eat simply due to the desire to loose the weight. I am not saying anyone is wrong or right. I am not say that there will be stretched pouches, remained obesity, complications or a party in your monkeys cage next week at 6, I am only saying GOOD CHOICES....thats all. We aren't going on if you don't want an honest opinion then that should be stated in the post titling....LIE TO ME PLEASE! I am not going to....I have faught this fight and it is not an easy one! 4 years....let me know when you have been banded 4 years....one of the first 1000 in this province...I have the inside scoop....again.....JUST MY 2 cents.....POPT

Krista, the first thing I said was, "If you eat this much regularly . . ." It's not really a bad meal she asked about; calorie wise we are probably talking 300 calories, if she cooked the eggs without fat. I try to keep to 800-1200 calories a day; some people here say their daily intake is 600-800 when they are successful. The volume seems a bit much to me, though. I merely asked her if she thought she really needed that much, or was she eating it out of old habits.

Lots of times we are used to eating so much pre-band that we think we are doing wonderfully well when we cut down a bit. That doesn't mean what we eat is a healthy amount of food, just that it may be less than we were eating before. The whole idea of the post op diet is to not make our stomachs work too hard and move against the band recently stitched into it, which is why our doctors tell us to keep the volume and texture low.

Also, remember we didn't run up to the OP and yell at her. She asked us if we thought it was too much, and we replied, "yes."

timeforme, the portion amounts you said your doctor suggested is really what most doctors say. It is what my doctor says. Your doctor is steering you away from white carbs like bread and Pasta for three reasons: first, the empty carbs will make you hungrier by spiking your blood sugar, which will then rebound downward; second, because they are empty calories that do not provide you with much nutrition; and third, because bread and pasta are the foods most likely to get stuck in your stoma and cause you grief. They really are an addiction we would all be better off without.

Yikes...well let me tell you....I was not at all indicating that she would stretch her pouch, if you had read the entire post I had indicated that I had experienced gain at one point in the last 4 years simply due to choice. We have "satisfied" our appetites for the last years and in my simple opinion....and that is all it is...an opinion, we need to teach ourselves quality not quantity. I didn't have a fill for 4 months and did not eat simply due to the desire to loose the weight. I am not saying anyone is wrong or right. I am not say that there will be stretched pouches, remained obesity, complications or a party in your monkeys cage next week at 6, I am only saying GOOD CHOICES....thats all. We aren't going on if you don't want an honest opinion then that should be stated in the post titling....LIE TO ME PLEASE! I am not going to....I have faught this fight and it is not an easy one! 4 years....let me know when you have been banded 4 years....one of the first 1000 in this province...I have the inside scoop....again.....JUST MY 2 cents.....POPT

You also have a very old band. Things may be quite different for you as well. If you weren't one of the folks in "shock" that the OP ate 3 eggs, then my post shouldn't bother you, should it? I think 3 eggs is a fine choice during the healing phase...I was trying to offer the OP a differentiating view than the ones where everybody was belittling her for having 3 eggs. Next time, you might not wanna get so offended. Sure, I'll let you know how I'm doing in 4 years on a band that is completely different than yours. How would that help to prove your point? Doesn't matter how long you've been banded or how experienced you are...from what I've learned, all bandsters are different and no 2 bandings are alike. After all, bands are much improved now. You have an old band style if you were banded 4 years ago. See what I'm saying? Sure, we can all offer advice and tell tales of our own personal experiences, but to jump down my throat like you are holier-than-thou just because you (as you put it) "have the inside scoop", well, that's not very productive, nor is it very mature. I could sit here and say that I know it all just because I was banded by the best Band Surgeon in the country (and quite possibly according to his stats and teaching status, the top Band Surgeon in the world), but I won't do that because I'm here to offer a point of view...not to play a game. Also, do you think it was really wise or healthy of you to not eat for a whole 4 months (as you stated in your post) just because you wanted to lose weight? Didn't you say this was all about GOOD CHOICES? We've all learned that sort of behavior is very destructive and not a good choice at all. I also believe the OP never said she didn't want an honest opinion. And I'm not the OP...so I'm not sure how that portion of your post even applies to anything.

I am on the mushy stage and I just started. I ate 3 scrambled eggs and a few small bites of tuna w/ mayo. Im not worried about the calories from the mayo or anything, but I wonder if I ate too much. I felt just perfect when I stopped (not too full) but I am worried about wether that amount could stretch my pouch. It was the first time since surgery that I actually felt satisfied. Any thoughts?

No...I read here that the OP wanted to know only about quantity and stretching her pouch, which is stated exactly in her original post. She said she didn't care about calories.