Question:
I'm 4 weeks post op and confused about how often I should eat.
I generally get hungry about every three hours. I've had advice from two different dieticians. One says to try to eat only three times a day so as not to get in the habit of snacking. The other says to eat 5 or 6 small meals, since we can only eat small amounts at a time. The second opinion makes more sense to me. I'd like to know how often others are eating at different stages post op. Thanks. — Bonnie R. (posted on June 2, 2003)
June 2, 2003
I've been eating 5-6 small meals per day - about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours
apart. My nutritionist feels that this is the best way to prevent wild
swings in blood sugar. This is the same way that I ate pre-op since I was
diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes back in 1998...JR
— John Rushton
June 2, 2003
I eat when I'm hungery and try to limit my eating to certain times. I wake
up at 5am and have a protien shake, by 9am or so I'll eat some string
cheese/half protien bar/nuts etc..., 12pm I'll eat lunch about 3-5oz of
meat, 3pm I'll do the same as I did at 9am (I often skip this meal), 6pm
I'll eat Dinner 3-5oz of meat or some meat/cheese on a salad. Maybe around
9pm I'll have a SF creamcicle or a pickle. Some days I'm worse than others
and will snack a bit but I try to snack on protien then Carbs. I notice
that when my physical activity increases so does my appetite.
<p> In my opinion, you'll have a hard time getting in your calories
with 3 meals a day. Perhaps later on down the road when we can eat much
more then go for the 3 meal plan but right now we should try and hit 1000
calories or so with bulk of the calories being protien which is not easy
given the weight vs calorie content of protiens.
<p> Take Care, Be Well, Be Happy!
— John T.
June 2, 2003
I grew up with the 3 meals-a-day mindset. By the time the next meal rolled
around, I was starving and would overeat. I firmly believe 5-6 small meals
is the way to go. It keeps the hunger at bay, the blood sugar stable and
you never feel deprived. Some of these dieticians still live by the food
pyramid, and even the FDA finally said it really should be upside down.
So, do what makes sense for you and what you can live with.
— Leslie F.
June 2, 2003
Bonnie, I've found that many post-ops do the latter. As we're hungry, so we
want to eat more often, but smaller meals, and it helps boost our energy
and metabolism a great deal. I eat about every 2-3 hours, that is usually
3-4 meals, a protein drink and protein bar and its been great for me so far
(I'm 1 year out) Also, not that we should care, but I've been reading more
and more about how celebrities eat 5 smaller meals a day instead of the
large 3 meals. My point of that is just that not only does it work for
those with WLS, but for everyone. It seems to just be a great way to
lose/maintain your weight. Goodluck to you :-)
— Lezlie Y.
June 2, 2003
I eat about 5 times a day. I need to in order to get more than 600
calories and all my protein in. I plan to do that for quite a while if I
need to. Some people make themselves stay hungry, and only eat at
prescribed times. That's what got me fat -- not listening to my body. I
should eat when I'm hungry, and choose healthy foods. Waiting to eat can
lead to overeating in my opinion.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 2, 2003
5 to 6 times a day. Breakfast , lunch, supper and a snack in between.
— charanewme
June 2, 2003
Early on I at 6 times a day (5 minimum)...now that I can eat more - 10
months post-op - I eat 4 times a day. I have breakfast to kick-start my
metabolism for the day, lunch, dinner and then some kind of fourth
meal/snack in the evening. Every now and then if it's a long time between
lunch and dinner I'll have a meal/snack between as well, but then a really
lite dinner.
— [Deactivated Member]
June 3, 2003
I'd never really been a snacker before surgery. My dietitian's plan had
three meals plus three snacks a day. To me, that seemed like too many
times to eat. I'd also had it drilled into me on so many previous diets
not to eat anything after 7:00 p.m. So, I was getting in my three meals,
but only one or two snacks. At my last visit to the dietitian, she told me
that I really need to have a snack between my 6:00 pm dinner and bedtime
because 14 hours is just too long to my next food at breakfast the
following morning. She strongly advocates a snack before bed, preferably
mostly protein with a little carb (such as peanut butter on a couple slices
of apple or banana). Around the same time, I had been complaining about
feeling tired, especially in the evening. Eating small amounts more
frequently has helped the fatigue, and leveled out my blood sugar, so it
seems to be the right thing for me.
— Vespa R.
June 3, 2003
3X a day may be OK for pre-ops but for most of us post-ops, it takes such a
small amount of food to fill us up and its out of our systems within 2
hours of eating. If we only ate 3 meals a day we could not possibly get in
enough nutrition or vitamins, so whether you call it 5-6 meals a day or 3
meals and 3 snacks, it still works out to eating every few hours. It does
help to keep the body fueled, the blood sugars even and hunger at bay. I'm
15 months post-op and still eat every few hours and plan to stay this way.
— Cindy R.
June 3, 2003
I've noticed that when I eat more often, I lose more. It is difficult at
this stage (7 wks) because I'm never hungry but seeing how this makes a
dramatic difference in the #'s on that mean ol' scale, I try to eat at
least 4 times a day.
I'm curious as to who these dieticians are? Do they work for the doctor? If
they do, they should have the same mindset as the doctor. Nothing like
going for care and getting conflicting information from the people you
trust.
Good luck!
— Diane S.
June 4, 2003
I eat 5-6 times a day. I can't eat much at any one meal to justify 3 x a
day. I would get too hungry between meals and when I'm famished I tend to
inhale my food at my next meal and that usually results in it coming back
up. I try to avoid that so I eat 5-6 times a day. It makes things much
easier.
— susanje
Click Here to Return