Eating More 19 weeks Post op - Please Help

Hi Guys,

let me initially thank you for your time reading this post and any helpful suggestions provided. I am currently 19 weeks post op VSG and I am able to eat a lot more which concerns me.

I am still making healthy choices. For instance I don't drink soda or juice, I don't eat candy or desserts, I don't eat fried foods, I don't eat bread and I try to limit pasta, rice and potatoes as frequently as possible. However, the little amount that used to make me full no longer satisfies me and I would like to know if this is normal and if not what can I do to help me reduce my portion sizes but still feel full?

An example of what I ate today including estimated calories are listed below:

3 strips bacon, 1 scrambled egg, fruit 250 cal
Dried fruit 100 cal
Small caramel machiatto 190 cal
Bojangles Roasted bites with BBQ sauce and green beans 400 cal
Protein bar 200 cal
1140 total cal

How much did your surgeon say your new stomach would hold when it is fully healed? That will make a difference as to how much you can eat at a given time through the process. Are you weighing everything? How much are you able to eat at one time...4oz, 6oz? That is the important thing.

My stomach will hold 8oz max when fully healed. I am 6 months out and I can manage between 4-6oz per meal. At 19 weeks I could do 4oz.

And are you still losing weight steadily? If you aren't, then I suggest cutting out the extra carbs like pasta, rice, potatoes, BBQ sauce (so much sugar), caramel macchiato (unless it is sugar free). And dried fruit is pretty much pure sugar and carbs. These are all trigger foods for carb addicts, and are a slippery slope.

Focusing on protein and only good carbs (green vegetables) is your best bet to consistent weight loss and is best for your new tummy.

Thank you for the reply Cathy H! I am eating about 6 oz of food at each setting. I am still losing weight but it has started to plateau. I've lost 52 lbs since my surgery on 12/6/16; however, last month I only lost 3 lbs.

I don't really eat carbs such as pasta and rice but I do occasionally have some sort of potato. Although I look at the sugar content and try not to eat or drink anything more than 10g of sugar, sometimes (not very often) I will not look at the sugar content. I will try to eliminate the added sugars in food to start with.

Try eating just chicken or beef and see if you feel your old amount of restriction. I agree with weighing your food to get a sense for how much you are really eating. I would not eat fruit, bbq sauce, protein bars, or the caramel machiatto if you are not at goal weight.

Thank you for your comments. I will definitely try eating just lean proteins and vegetables and cut out the unnecessary foods with no nutritional value.

I recommend sticking to dense proteins and ditching the extra carbs and liquid calories.

Specifically - ditch the fruit (both dried and fresh), ditch the macchiato, be careful with the BBQ sauce. Replace the protein bar with dense protein.

When you eat slider foods/drink your calories, those things don't make you feel full so you're going to be hungry more often than if you eat dense proteins which will give you a feeling of satiety.

The short version of this is "just because you can eat more, doesn't mean you should." And "full shouldn't be your goal."

Work at getting 3 protein forward meals a day and skip the carb snacking.

Thank you for your reply Gwen M! You provided some very helpful tips that I will put into action immediately.

Your progression is fairly typical - increasing capacity from a combination of your stomach adapting and growing a bit, and your diet becoming more adventuresome. As noted, sticking more to basic firm proteins like meats tends to fill your stomach and keep it full longer, minimizing the total amount that you eat. But that does get boring and some variety is often desired.

Personally, I didn't do many meals of strictly or primarily meat, but often mixed it up with some more slippery but lower calorie veg - salads, stews and stir fries took a bit more volume at a small cost in calories, but a big boost nutritionally.

This doc discusses the typical volumetric progression and most importantly, ways to accommodate it while losing and controlling your weight in the long term - something that's not often discussed. I don't agree with everything he has to say (I rarely do!) but much of his perspective has merit, and I have evolved into something approximating his veg-first approach to bariatric post-op eating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_aahPETzH0

Wow, thank you so much for your reply and helpful information. It's comforting to know that this is fairly typical. I do eat salads quite frequently and stir frys but I do need to make more of an effort to primarily stick with those choices instead of some other ones. Thank you again for your time replying to my post, greatly appreciated!

TOO MANY CALORIES & CARBS! At this stage, you should FIRST be eating dense proteins (foods that are 1 gr of protein for every 10 calories) & non-starchy vegetables. Later on you can add in some healthy carbs. You're hungry because most of what you've listed are laden with carbs with very little protein. Do you weigh, measure and track (on a app such as myfitnesspal) what you're eating? If not, start doing so and cut your calories back below 1,000. Also, go over a food plan with your nutritionist or doctor's office. GOOD LUCK!