Should I be able to eat this much?

I am only 12 days post op and at this point I haven't had any problems with anything I have tried to eat. I am eating according to the plan that my surgeon's recommend and am in "Stage 2" whi*****ludes flaky white fish, tuna fish moistened with low fat mayo, cooked mashed (pureed) winter squash, cooked mashed carrots and no-sugar added canned peaches or pears. Of course it includes the lower stage foods too, like soft scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, light yogurt (no "fruit chunks" though) and your basic liquids. My concern is that I think my pouch lets me eat too much...but maybe I just don't know the right amount I am expected to be able to eat! For example, a Gortons Grilled fish fillet is roughly 3-3.4 ounces. I can eat a whole one. Should I only be able to eat an ounce or so? My intake today has been: 1 scrambled egg with a bit of grated cheese in it 8 oz protein drink (I use Unjury) 1 slice Healthy Choice chicken breast (that's really on next week's "stage" but I opened the package...oops) 1 sugar free popsicle 1 Gorton's grilled fish filet w/ about 2 tablespoons of squash I still have another protein drink to get in as well. Is this too much food for someone who is less than 2 weeks out? I have been trying to let my body tell me what is right and so far it hasn't balked. I am being very careful and slow when I eat so that I don't miss the signals that tell me I'm full. Any thoughts from the pros?

I'm not a pro at the RNY Angel - but I just wanted to say Hi!! I'm so glad that you are doing so well -that is awesome! That does sound like a lot of food to me for only two weeks out of the RNY surgery - I would call and talk to the Dr. just to make sure - you don't want to stretch that pouch out!! Take Care! Tammy

Well. I was told to eat about 3 ozs once I got to mushies. How many ozs were suggested to you? I can't say if you are eating too much, thats between you and your doc. But I know that I wasn't able to eat that much for at least 2 months. I wasn't interested in food and everything tasted the same to me anyway. So basically my answer is to check with your doc or your nutrionist.

I can only tell you from my own doctors recomendations we told to eat 1 oz at each meal, and that was all I was able to get down in the beginning, but when you get to more solid foods you might notice a difference, even now 4 months past surgery I can eat only about two onces of meat. Sher

Hi Angel. Sounds to me that your probably pushing the limit as far as your meals are going. You "Pouch" may be a tad bigger than mine was so You may want to ease up a little. Check with your doctor as well , alot of the "Journey" is "Mental" as well as "Physcal" What folks who haven't had our surgery think as a "Snack" is a big meal to us! Liquids are just that and flow thru the pouch. If your feeling quite full at the end of eating that fish fillet with that bit of squash I am guessing thats about it for you . another bite or two and you will probably get a taste of what eating too much does to you. Just take it slow and Measure Your Food !! Setting the size of your meals in your head will help along the "Journey" you are on! Good luck!

Angel- Glad that you seem to be doing well and feeling well! Please go back and consult with your Nut & Doctor about apropriate portions of your meals. It's great that you know WHAT you can eat- but HOW MUCH is just as imortant, as you can see. Most of us have been given very specific guidelines for the anoumt as well as the type of food to eat at each of the stages our doctors put us through. It is very important to carfeully measure out your potions and only put what you should be eating on your plate, esecially in the beginning. Your pocuh is healing and has not yet gained full feeling, so you probably will not know you've had enough until you are actually over full. It doesn't sound like you're WAY off the mark, but a followup with your team is definately advisable. Continued success to you! Best, Lisa C

Hi, Do you have a digital food scale? If not, go out today and buy one. It is vital to your recovery and for your eating correctly to weigh your food. At this early stage out, you should be eating no more than 1-3 ounces of meat/protein at a time. A piece of meat that looks about the size and thickness of a deck of cards is about 3oz. You didn't post who your surgeon is, but, at only 12 days out, it seems like you're eating a LOT of veggies, etc. The rest of your food log looks ok. BUT, you need to take it easy on your protein sizes. You don't want to stretch the stoma (the opening from the esophagus to the pouch) too early out. At 12 days out with Dr Aranow, we're mostly on puree stage and we had to puree all of our protein and eat that. Added cups of sugar free/fat free yogurt and cottage cheese and scrambled eggs was all. You don't want to over do it to your pouch. You have several lines of staples that are healing inside. You don't want to rip them open, then you'll be back in the hospital to repair them. Your anatomy has been drastically altered and is still raw in there. Please be easy on yourself. Cut out the veggies for a bit. You really don't need them at this stage if you're taking your vitamins. Take it easy. Small meals, mashed up or cut into pieces of the size of a pencil eraser. Eat slowly, chewing every piece to a pulp. Don't take longer than 30 minutes to eat your meal. Unjury is fantastic. You can get your added protein with this. I swear by it. Can you buy fresh fish filet and cook it? The Gorton's may have a lot of added fat and sodium that is also not needed. Remember to constantly be sipping on liquids. Even more due to this heat wave. If you have any questions, post here and ask. We all have a lot of different surgeons that have their own opinions of how to do things, but, all of us here have been through it and also have our own tips and tricks on how to handle things. Another thing...keep your proteins moist with sauces and dressings...so they don't get stuck. paula At this point in time, you should be getting at least 65 gms of protein a day and a least 65 ounces of liquid a day. No caffeine, no carbinated beverages.

Hey Angel - How are you doing??

First of all I have to say thank you to everyone! I can't believe it took me so long to come back and reply, but I did read all the messages via email as they arrived. Bad form, I know...but life got in the way. I made a concious effort to just stop eating so much (which makes me laugh because everything I've eaten in the last three weeks combined was probably 3 days worth of food from "the old days"!) to see how that would feel. I won't lie, I have been hungry, and it isn't head hungry. I sort of made up my mind that this wasn't going to be a piece of cake and that it would be just as hard as any diet I'd ever been on. HOWEVER, once I ate some real chicken I could only do a couple of bites and that was it! So, in a way you were ALL right. I was eating a bit more mushy food than most people could, but I feel comfortable with the amount and my doctor's office agrees. In other news, I feel good. I had pulled a muscle right at the main surgery site and it was super painful, worse than the post surgery pain, for a week and a half but that's all cleared up. I can sleep for short periods of time on my side again (HOORAY!). I am easing into excercise with some hand weights and an excercise ball (though I'm still afraid to do any ab stuff). The scale has been going up and down the same 2-3 pounds, so I took my measurements to keep track that way. I notice a difference in my arms and legs and shoulders and face, so I know something is happening. I'm going to work next Monday so we'll see how it goes when I have to function for 9 hours a day in the "real world" Thanks again everyone!