how much to eat

I apologize as this has probably been posted before, but I'm wondering where I should be at regarding volume of food. I am 1 and 1/2 weeks out of surgery and I am sticking to a mostly full-fluid diet with thicker soups and even a scrambled egg occasionally. However, I am not feeling full at all. I am guessing this is normal since I really don't have much restriction on my stomach yet, but I don't want to overeat. I am keeping track of calories and average about 800-1000/day. What concerns me is that a lot of the documentation says to just have 2 oz of fluid every hour, but I can easily have more than that.... especially with water. Should I not be having more? If i have 2oz every waking hour that only amounts to about 30 oz, and we should be having 64 oz of water/day I thought. Can anyone clarify?

The views expressed are based on my own experiences - and should NOT BE FOLLOWED IN LIEU OF DOCTOR’S ADVICE/INSTRUCTIONS. Only your Doctor knows your condition, and make sure you talk to them before making any changes to your diet.

With that said:

 

I noticed you mentioned “calories". In the beginning don’t be too concerned/worry about “calories, fats, sugars, carbs, etc". Make sure you are getting your 60 to 80 grams of protein. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO WEIGHT LOSS. In the future, you can worry about all those other things, but for now - WORRY ABOUT THE PROTEIN. Now don’t get me wrong - I don’t want you to eat a bag of chips, or whole cake or drink tons of ice cream shakes in order to get protein in. You need to use some common sense :) !!

 

Last year when I first had the operation I noticed if I ate 4 ounces of protein I didn’t feel full - however if I ate 6 ounces I did. I spoke to my Doctor about it. FOR ME he said that those “numbers" are somewhat guidelines. He went on to explain there are some folks who feel full on 2 ounces of protein while some need 6 or 8. He also explained that the calories intake should not be too much of a concern in the beginning. The way he explained it to me was: Prior the operation I may have been taken 3,000 calories per day. After the operation, with the amount of food I was taking in - I may have been taking in 1700 calories. While that’s 500 calories more then the recommended daily allotment - it was actually 1300 calories less then what I normally took in. So not only was I loosing weight, but was also feel full. We need to worry about calories when out weight slows downs/stops or starts going up. ADVICE WARNING: TALK TO THE DOCTOR BEFORE INCREASING YOUR INTAKE.

 

As for drinking – still to this day I take about 1 – 2 ounce sip every 10 minutes. This ensures I will have by 64 ounces by the end of the day.

Thank you... that makes sense. But there is no possible way to get 60 to 80 grams of protein just doing 2 oz of fluid every hour. I try to do 2 protein shakes a day. I guess I'm just wondering if it is normal to be able to drink a whole protein shake in a matter of 15-20 minutes.

Alright I was little confused .. Again, what I am about to say is for ME, as laid out by my Doctor and Nutritionists. Please consult YOUR Doctor before you change anything.

64 ounces of fluid is needed daily. - Basically to get this, try having a 1 to 2 oz sip every 10 to 15 minutes. By the end of the day you should be able to hit the requirement.

Get in 60 to 80 grams of protein in daily. In the beginning, you will need to supplement your intake with protein drink. Each protein drink should contain no more then 24 grams of protein (anything more is wasted protein), with no more then 5 grams of carbs. per serving. You should be able to "drink" your protein within 30 minutes (or longer if you have trouble swallowing).

Each meal (solid or liquid) should take 30 minutes to complete (because it takes 20 to 25 minutes for the stomach to tell your brain you're full. No matter what you're eating, and what volume).

Chew 30 times before you swallow, and wait an additional 30 seconds before putting another piece of food in your mouth. It will make the meal last longer

No drinking 30 minutes before, during, or 30 minutes after each meal (notice my Doctor has a 30 minutes rule)

Rules of eating: Protein first, then fiber (vegetables, fruits, salad); then (non-starchy) carbs.

I agree to talk to your Dr.  Mine expressly said not to follow internet guidelines or what friends have done. 

I plan to follow the plan from my Nut to the letter.  If you think you need more, call or e-mail your Nut and talk about it,. 

In my case, 7 days after the surgery, I move to soft/mushy foods and do not have to do protein shakes anymore. 

Are you eating your protein 1st, followed by fruits/veggies?  Are you not drinking anything 15 minutes prior to or 30 minutes after eating?

Go over your post op diet and make sure you are following it to the letter.

Well, I guess that is the problem. The food guidelines from my doctor don't say specific amounts, they just say what foods to eat. The information from the nutritionist says to have 2 oz every hour.

My doc also says you can drink before, but don't drink for 30 min after eating. I haven't been worrying too much about that when I drink only fluids, but when I eat soft foods I follow it.

I'm curious, how do you get your protein in if you are not doing shakes?

One more thing, I was told to have 2oz of fluid every 15 minutes. so my 8 oz shake should take 1 hour to drink. 

I honestly can barely make it though a whole shake.  I cannot wait for Sat.

I am only 3 days out,. so I am doing shakes right now. 

After Saturday, they are optional of I am tight in the  morning.  My dr has us do full liquid with shakes for meals for 7 days after surgery and then 3 weeks of soft foods. 

I was told to have protein at each meal in the form of eggs, fish, low fat cheese, non-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, caned or soaked beans or poultry.  Fish is highly recommended because it is soft.  The poultry needs to be very tender and they recommend cooking it in a crock pot.   Dry meats will not go down.

After week 6, then I can try other red meat

I was told that meals should be no more than 1/2 to 3/4 cup of food total.  s. 

Yes, that sounds about right from what they told me. But I'm just concerned that I can drink a whole protein shake with no problem, because that is 8-11 oz.

How are you feeling? For my first 3 days after surgery I couldn't have anything but juice, water and broth because I had the WORST diarrhea ever! (TMI? sorry!)

Anyway, hope you are doing well.

My doctor didn't limit how much I could drink during the fluids.  At times, I seemed to be able to drink a lot and at other times, a little seemed to fill me.  I remember the nutritionist saying that the juice is waht causes the diarrhea and to avoid that to mix the juice 1/2 and 1/2 with water...see if that helps.  The biggest thing is to stick to the kinds of fluids they approved for as long as they approved and don't move up any sooner.  You can cause complications if you don't follow their recommendations!