DS THAT ARE POST OP ATLEAST A YEAR.

rofl..............nice to read i am not the only one who dissects their food.  i do the same with other breaded items.  chicken fingers, i take a few bites then start the de-breading process.  pizza is a hoot to watch me eat.  first slice, a few bites of crust and all  the the toppings are enjoyed.  then i rip off the crust,  open it up like a book and shove the toppings inside. yummers.

hubs laughs at my plate when i'm finished, he calls the topping-less slices "dead soldiers" 

oh heck, now i want pizza.  lol

I'm 5 years out and, as others say, it does vary a bit.  Maybe 2 cups of food?  Definitely a full plate.

But then sometimes I'm stuffed after just a little bit.  

I never measured my meals.  I just ate until full and used generalized measurements to guess how much protein I was eating per day.

STILL measuring meals?  Whoever told you that DSers ever measured meals?  Nope, never did, never will.  Eat protein first and eat all the time.

Early out, when I could only hold about three ounces at a time, I did measure, but my hospital gives you meal plans that gradually increase in volume, so by a year, I was able to hold about 8 oz.  My dinner plate is now a bread/salad plate!  At 3 3/4 years i neither measure nor weigh my food. I let my body tell me when it's full, and I eat expandable foods (rice, white meat chicken, bread, pasta) sparingly.

I need to eat every two hours, so I'm a grazer most of the time.

I don't measure my meals, either.   I focused on protein first immediately post op and still try to focus on protein first. 

Most days, I can eat a normal meal at one sitting.  There are days when I feel like an endless pit and others where I take two bites and can't eat any more.  YMMV.

I am almost 10 years post op. 

I am 4.5 years out. No, I do not measure my meals. I try to eat protein first and then whatever else I want until I am sated.

I also do not drink protein shakes or eat protein bars. I go for meat and cheese and THEN carbs. And when I do eat carbs, I make sure I really enjoy them. No accidental crap carbs, like blah bread or so-so- cookies or ho-hum chocolate like in the old days. Good stuff that really hits the spot, like Godiva chocolate or good ice cream or great bread or awesome cinnamon rolls. Make it count!

As to volume, if I go to a restaurant, I eat what a normal woman might eat. About half of my meal. I just went out for breakfast and ate half of a huge omelette with feta cheese and some bacon on the side. I brought half home.

Let's say it's McDonalds, something we are all familiar with. I will get the Big Mac meal. I toss the top, fluffy bun. I flip over the middle bun, making that my "top" bun. I eat the entire thing and eat some fries and drink my whole Diet Coke.

So far, so good. No issues maintaining my weight loss.

Hope that helps.

Nicolle

7 1/2 years out, and I never measured a meal.  I follow simple rules - protein first, everything else is a bonus.

No one would ever know I had surgery if they watched me eat.  It's one of the DS blessings, and there are many.

Sharon

The ONLY time i measured my food was when I first had surgery. I would look at the package serving size and weigh it out. This was to overcome Portion Distortion I had developed through the years. (Early out, I didn't like the look of a serving because it was so small!) I would tell myself, if I wanted more, I could have it. Mostly, I couldn't finish the serving. 

Now, I never measure my food. I eat several times a day. Hobbits were right...two breakfasts! A normal lunch then a 3:00 snack. Normal dinner. My weight has stayed off and I just don't worry about it. I make sure to get my protein in!