How long have your stalls lasted?

Partly it depends on how much your new stomach holds. Every surgeon is different and there are many different bougie sizes (the tube they use to shape your new stomach). My surgeon said he used one that was a bit bigger than normal, and that mine will hold 8oz ultimately--4oz dense protein, 2 oz non-starchy carbs, and 2oz starchy or other carbs. I'm 5 months out and I can still only manage 4oz of solid protein at a time with nothing else...maybe 1oz of veg depending on the protein. I can eat a cup of something soupy like chili or soup or something saucy. In order to avoid drinking shakes I focus on the protein and probably won't add veg and other carbs until maintenance.

I was also told through the initial healing phases not to take more than 30 minutes to eat. With this guidance, at 5 weeks, all I could manage was about 2 ounces per meal. You will be able to increase slightly as time goes by. Did your team tell you how big you new stomach was?

Since you can't feel full because you're still healing, I'd suggest 2-3 oz and then work your way up from there.

So, let's see. You're in your 4-6 week period post-op. When I was there, I was eating soft foods and measuring meals to be 4 ounces on the scale. I was unable to finish 4 ounces. I was also sticking to protein only which meant fish, soft braised meats, soft meatballs, etc. No salads, no fruit, no nuts, no seeds.

But, yes, in order to troubleshoot your eating, you can't be estimating portions, you need to accurately measure things.

9 weeks post op and I can eat 2oz of dense protein by weight. Last night I weighed out 2.5oz of pork thinking maybe it was time to go up a tad. NOPE. The part I couldn't eat weighed exactly .5oz. Ok, tummy...you win. At my 6 week NUT visit I was getting about 1.5oz by weight. At 6 weeks I could eat about 3/4 of a 5.3oz yogurt and now I can eat a full yogurt + a babybel cheese, but no more.

I feel totally and completely lost when I can't weigh (meals out of the house). In fact I went looking for compact/pocket digital scales I could take with me. But apparently people don't use those to weigh food So they don't go to a high enough weight to measure my food + zero out the weight of a heavy plate.

I use this one for out of the house weighing - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012N1NAA/ref=oh_aui_sear ch_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've gone through all of your posts to the meal threads and here's my commentary since you seem like you really would like help/advice on where you're going wrong. (I've deleted duplicates.) I've also read through your posts from 2012 when you were initially planning surgery so I feel like I know more about your history now - are you still seeing a therapist?

I don't see how you can be reaching the protein numbers you've stated, or the calories, with the foods that you've posted you're eating.

I predict that you will say, "but my team said I should eat fruit and vegetables" but I'd like to head that off with the comment that teams tell people to eat a whole lot of things they shouldn't. Like mashed potatoes and cream of wheat while they're in pureed stage. The people who have sustained success, measured in years, not in months, are those who stick to protein forward diets.

Premier Protein Bar - these are not the best option. Yes, they fit the "no more than 10 calories per gram of protein" rule, but barely. And the ones I checked had over 25g of carbs in them. I recommend finding a better bar or skipping bars all together until you're farther out. For many, these are no better than candy bars and they can trigger cravings.

Chicken breast and strawberry feta salad - chicken breast is great, but nix the strawberry and feta salad. It's too early to be filling your stomach with foods that won't benefit you.

Goat cheese, trail mix - this is not a meal. Trail mix is just a lot of unnecessary calories and risky to your stomach while you're still healing. Goat cheese does not have enough protein for the calories. (1 ounce of goat cheese is 103 calories and 6g of protein.)

Egg bites - I assume these are eggface's egg bites - they're a good option.

leftover artichoke chicken - I looked at this recipe, it seems solid depending on portion size.

Chicken Fajitas - If you're just eating the chicken? Great. If you're eating the other stuff like tortillas and veggies? Nope.

Peanuts - nuts are a deceiver. They're too high in calories and too low in protein. They're over 20 calories per gram of protein which makes them a bad choice for your diet right now.

Tuna salad made with Greek yogurt and avocado - seems okay.

Tuna salad with a quarter of a pickle - seems okay.

1/2 cup of cottage cheese - sure, cottage cheese is lovely if you don't add things to it.

4 strawberries - skip these. There's no protein, this is not food that will help you reach your goal.

Cheese curds - seems okay

Beans with cheese in a whole wheat tortilla - beans with cheese are fine, skip the tortilla. It just wastes precious stomach space with unnecessary calories.

1/2 Bananas n Cream Premier shake - sure, this is fine

Wendy's grilled chicken sandwich sans bun and most mayo - probably fine

Spaghetti with high protein pasta - what's in the spaghetti sauce? Mostly meat? Skip the "high protein pasta," replacement foods are rarely optimal - they're just slightly better than what they're replacing. Opt for a nice, rich, meaty sauce instead and skip the noodle substitute.

Chicken salad (chicken thigh meat, Greek yogurt, mayo, seasonings) - seems fine

Beet salad at restaurant (greens, lemon vinaigrette, goat cheese, chicken breast, beets, apple slices) - skip stuff like this, unless you're just eating the chicken breast. Too much filler, you have no idea what sugars are in the dressing, apple slices are just sugar, this is not enough protein for the calories.

Clam chowder - probably too many calories for the protein based on what I know of clam chowder.

A cube of watermelon and honeydew each - too soon for fruit and it's unnecessary to your diet right now.

2/3 cup of crab bisque - see comments on clam chowder, they're the same for crab bisque.

4 gummy bears and 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds - this is all a nope. I already commented that seeds can get stuck in your healing stomach and are definitely a no go right now. You shouldn't be snacking on candy either. Or in general.

Campbell's Split Pea Soup - not a good option, very low protein for the calories

Lite Greek Yogurt - probably fine, depending what's in it Tuna pouch thing - good option, depending on what you're eating it with.

Egg Face's Ricotta Bake - good option

To the OP, I think you are going way too fast with food introduction. Being more than double out from you there is literally half your list I haven't eaten. For veggies I've had nothing uncooked and then only a taste. And I truly mean that a TASTE. As in, 1 small floret of broccoli after finishing my protein or 1 bite of peppers cooked with steak.

I have once had 4 strawberries that I picked myself, after I consumed my protein goal for the day. That was at 9 weeks out. I've had no other fruit.

I've had no seeds or nuts yet. I can't warrant the calories for the protein content, but I also got the suggestion to wait until at least 12 weeks for healing reasons.

I waited until 7 weeks to try protein bars and now I use them only when I have to (so far that's been in the car and on airplanes). I normally try to consume half of one because of the carbs and that tides me over. I have found Epic Bars to be a great alternative. 100 calories and 15g of protein, and tasty.

And no starches. No potatoes, no bread, no pasta, no rice, no corn, etc.

I'm 2 days shy of 10 weeks and no stalls so far. I was a "lightweight" to start so I think that means I'm doing pretty well.

My general meal plan is something like this:

B: Ricotta Pancake (eggface recipe) + sausage or yogurt + babybel

L: Deli Meat + cheese or leftover dinner meat + cheese

D: 2oz of meat

S: Premier Protein, Jerky or Cheese. I also eat SF popsicles and pudding on occasion.

I eat full fat dairy and mayo, etc. I use plain 2% greek yogurt for dipping a lot.

I love eggs but they fill me up so much that I can only eat one and that makes the protein for my meal suck.

Edited to add: I also highly recommend tracking everything and pre-planning meals. Mine don't always turn out as planned but it gives me a breakdown of what I need for protein per meal for the day. Ie: If I do decide to eat eggs, I plan fish dinner so that I off set the lower protein with higher, etc. It's a lifesaver.

Not sure why all of my hyphens and apostrophes were replaced with question marks..

I see an eating disorder therapist who has been worried that I'm not getting enough fruits and veggies, so I hear contradicting things from everyone. :-/

Does your therapist have experience with people who have had weight loss surgery? Or an educational background in nutrition?

I see her at a clinic that is only for eating disorders, so I imagine she has a lot of experience with both considering how the clinic is run.