How much can you eat?

I am now over 1 year post op. My starting weight was 297 I am now down to 190. I have platued since December. My surgin said I probably am done losing. I went to a plastic surgin and he said I was ready for ps. Now my concern. I think I eat to much. I am having a really hard time controling what I am eating. I tolerate everything. I have noooo problems. I wanted to have problems tolerating stuff so I won't eat things I shouldn't. How much at one sitting can you eat. I can eat a whole bagel. Then what shocked me was an hour later I was stupid and tried another one and I still wasn't stuffed. I am scarde I haven't gained any weight yet but I haven't lost any either. Please let me know how much we should be able to eat now being 1 year post op.. thanks Pam

Pam, Everyone is different as to the amount they can eat. I personally wouldn't be able to eat a whole bagel..not because I can't eat the quanitity, but I don't tolerate bread well. I guess if you are hungry often, then you should try to eat things lower in calories that will fill you up especially if the surgery has stopped working for you. Try eating vegetables or fruit. You have complete control to eat the things you should and shouldn't. You just have to make sure to have the right foods on hand to keep yourself in check. I still have to keep track of everything I eat and believe me some days i feel like I can eat a lot and other days not so much. But I do keep track of all my calories because I am still trying to lose weight. I wish you luck. Kerri -151lbs

Hi Pam.... I can eat half a bagel, but feel stuffed. My problem is I tolerate most everything and I have to fight with myself not to eat more than a 1000 calories a day. I fight the grazing urge. Its hard to do sometimes. I put a before pic of myself on my desk at work. It sounds dumb, but it really helps me not to over eat. I look at that pic and I'm like ..... maybe I'll just have a cup of coffee instead of eating. I also track my food intake on fitday. My nut has me eat 1000 cal per day, 80-100 gr of healthy carbs (fruits, veggies, whole grains) and 60+ gr protien. I am still trying to lose weight, my nut said when I decide I want to stop losing to eat 1200 calories a day. Good luck! Scarlette 309/294/169/150?

Pam, I think that you are brave to post about this concern. Good for you. I am sure that I could eat a whole bagel and then an hour later, eat another. I don't like bagels, tho. I have noticed that I can eat a lot more and I still struggle with emotional eating. I average 1500 calories a day. I counter that by walking/jogging 6 miles most days of the week. I am still losing a couple pounds a month, and if I would eat less, I would certainly lose more. I wouldn't mind losing another 10 - 15 pounds, but I am not sure it is necessary. I think that if you want to maintain, just add exercise to your life. It makes up for some poor eating choices. Good luck, Becky

Hi Pamela, First of all, congratulations! You have done GREAT!!! I hear you about the concerns, too. I sometimes am afraid I'm eating too much. Depending on what it is, I can eat about 4oz at a time. Soft stuff, soup, etc., more than that at once, but dense stuff (meat, bread) often less. Interestingly, no matter what I've eaten and whether or not it is enough (or even too much sometimes), it seems I'm ALWAYS able to find room for carbs! Potatoes, or sweets, an extra pinch of bread, whatever. Grazing is another thing I have to watch out for. If I am not careful I can get into some truly mindless eating. I know that's what got me to 351+ over a year ago (a year on 3/28--w00t!). I use fitday.com also to help me "keep it real" with what I'm eating. Sometimes I will actually skip eating something because I don't want to have to enter it on there and see what it does to my carbs/calories for the day! I like the before-pic idea. I cringe looking at my pre-op photos now, remembering how I was in constant pain for many years pre-op. I've had several gains of a pound or two during this past year, by the way. Often followed by a big drop of 4-6 pounds. It's been crazy erratic like that for me with the weight loss. I'm trying to get used to it! Again, congrats on your progress so far! Best wishes, Kathy

Pam - how much you can eat shouldn't be the question. How much you do and or should eat is a more appropriate question. Also, what are you eating is a good question to ask. As far as how much, talk to your nutritionist because every surgeon's program is different but a good rule of thumb would be about three to four ounces of food at any one meal with the majority of it being a dense protein. Of course you still need to get your fruits and veggies too. When we get this far out and don't have problems tolerating things, it really comes down to the good habits we've been building over the year. It's also when our old food addictions can rear their ugly heads and start causing problems again. Talk to your nutritionist and/or psychologist, they can help you with the food issues. As far as if you're done losing, my surgeon told me that the first 12-18 months is our window of opportunity, but if you use the tools you can successfully lose for a longer period than that. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.