How much to eat?

Hi all...wondering a bit about how much I should be intaking with moving to purées. I'm generally having a 1/4 cup of things like refried beans, ricotta bake etc. I had mashed fish tonight and wasn't sure. The thing is that my sample menu plan says things like 2-4 tablespoons of meat, 2 tbsp of potatoes and 2 tbsp of carrots. So does that mean I'm suppose to eat around 6 tbsp...since I'm only having the protein and not the starchy veggies do I eat the whole amount in meat then? Or do I just have the 2-4 tbsp of meat portion and it's fine? took a half cup of fish tonight, finished just over half of that so about 3-4 tbsp. And couldn't decide if that was too much or not enough. It's hard because it's not like I'm getting a signal of fullness yet. Any advice appreciated.

I know it's hard to tell but definitely knew today when it was too much. What's in the ricotta bake? Kind of like lasagna w no noodles?

Well...that's good to know, I was thinking since I had read so much about not getting the feeling to stop because the vagus nerve being cut I might be overeating and not know. So worried about stretching things I'm being cautious and probably worrying more than I need to. So it is good that you do at some point get some sign. The ricotta bake is from the world according to eggface blog - ricotta, Parmesan, egg, sauce, Italian seasoning and mozzarella. If you google eggface ricotta bake it will come up. Love her recipes. But yes it basically is the inside of a lasagna with no meat or veggies lol.

I don't think you'll stretch your pouch on 3-4 tbsp of anything!! Also, if you're only eating the protein, you're missing valuable nutrients and fibre. Maybe try to get some veg in... I was doing mashed cauli, broc, carrots and more. I puréed cooked spinach... I also did lots of beans. :)

I didn't eat vegetables of any sort for months - even today I eat very little veg because once I'm done my protein there just isn't room. If I make a salad with chicken I make sure I eat all the chicken first.

I'm not suggesting you not follow your Centre's plan, but the successful people here didn't add carbs until they reached goal and even still limit them.

Yeah, that's about a quarter cup but the suggested menu adds up more to 6-8 tablespoons so wasn't sure if I should be doing that in just meat. I was thinking I was suppose to avoid veggies for a bit due to the carbs?

Not according to the dietitians. I had my 6 month f/u yesterday at TWH and I reasked the question. She said to eat the protein first, but leave some room for a bit of veggies. It is, as we all know, a protein first diet. But our bodies do need wholistic diet... that includes some carbs, fibre, the vitamins from different fruit and veg.

You'll have a hard time with many fruit this early out. My body was starving for veg and fruit at the point you were at. My digestion was impacted and I knew I needed to have them. I am protein first still today, but I have to have veg and fruit.

I get there are people here who don't. And it works for them. Figure out what works for you and do that. I am 94 lbs down at 6 months... 51.5% of my excess weight lost, so clearly my way is working for me. :)

I have had a two frozen strawberries and one inch piece of banana in a smoothie without issue but was worried about the carbs in even that so minimized them the rest of the day. Maybe I'll try to add a non-starchy veggie in tomorrow.

That's great. What's wrong with that?! :)

I haven't added veggies yet. I eat 1/4 cup of meat with 1/3-1/2 cup of sauce, then purée. I end up with about 1/2 cup in my bowl and often don't fini**** It's all I can handle right now.

I will worry about veggies when I move to soft food next week.