I am struggling like hell

Me too. I don't ever feel full like I did before. Instead I feel a sensation in my throat/chest that tells me it's time to stop eating until the next mealtime.

Usually if I get to that point, I'm then TOO full and that's when I start thinking I might throw it up.

Hi there,

I am sorry you feel discouraged. You have gotten some EXCELLENT advice here. I will reiterate that dense protein is your best friend, as is hydration. Screw 64 oz of water a day - try for 100 oz! I always lost weight more quickly when I drank a ton of water everyday - mostly plain ice water but I also used to use Crystal Light additive as well. Instead of using a glass, I still (to this day! Almost 5 years post-op) use a 32 oz Camelback water thingy. I know I have to have 3 per day. That way, I don't lose count of how many glasses I have had.

Also, during my weight loss phase, I used a digital scale I got on amazon.com. I found it overwhelming to measure a half cup of food when the food was deli turkey or chicken breast...so I just weighed in. I weighed out my little 3 oz portions and put them in small tupperware's or plastic baggies.

Another thing that I think was key to my success was PLANNING THE DAY BEFORE. I tracked all of my food in MyFitnessPal (the app on my iPhone but they do have a desktop version on the computer). The night before, I would input what I planned for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. That did two things. One, it helped me to see my total calories and macros (protein at least 60 g and carbs under 30 g). If my planned foods did not get me over 60 g of protein a day or were too many carbs, I would adjust and say oh ok, I should switch my breakfast to XYZ. Also, in planning, it took the guesswork out of my day and I was much less likely to grab a handful of crap since I already knew lunch is balsamic chicken and goat cheese, dinner is shrimp in pesto.

At almost 5 years out, I can certainly eat larger quantities and have relaxed to allow some food back in my diet that I wasn't eating in my weight loss phase. And here I sit, with 20 lbs regain that is HARD AS HELL to lose. It will never be easier for you than it is right now, and I urge you to eat all dense protein which will satiate you, will afford you to lose weight, and will give your body the fuel it needs to lose your excess weight.

What are your favorite meats? My typical meals for the first almost year were:

Shrimp sautéed in pesto sauce

Ground turkey in marinara sauce

Ground turkey in taco seasoning with cheese and sour cream

Trader Joe's balsamic chicken strips with goat cheese

Honey roasted deli turkey with a slice of munster cheese

Chicken breast in some sort of sauce

"pizza" with a crust made from cauliflower and parmesan cheese

Snacks were:

Deli cheese

Turkey pepperoni nuked into crispy good things

Bacon

Eggs - either hard-boiled or scrambled or fried

Pickles

For the first year I didn't love having food first thing. I had a Chike high protein iced coffee protein shake (from Amazon) every single day for breakfast for a good year. Now I never have shakes, only real food (and I still prioritize dense protein). I never bought into the whole "breakfast has to be eggs" thing. I would eat chicken breast for breakfast - and I still do.

And use the scale! 3 oz of meat won't look like a big portion but it's enough for you, I promise. IF you're eating the right stuff.

I also recommend you join the "What are you eating today RNYers" thread. JuniperBerry starts it on weekdays and InsertFitness on weekends. It's a great place to get an idea of how people eat at various times (immediately post-op, a few months post-op, a year, 3 years, etc.) and it's also a great group of people to get to know. If you put up a picture for your avatar it will make it much more personal as well!

You can do this if you believe you're worth it and take the advice above!

LOVE LOVE LOVE your response !!!

I'm a band to RNY revision and all of the advice here is 100% on target. You won't feel full the way we did with the band. It's a completely different feeling and it's very liberating. I couldn't eat any dense protein and now it's not an issuer all. So if you have that "inner fear" as I did about dense protein don't worry about it. Towards the end I could only eat slider foods. But now, I've not once had to slow down for fear of getting stuck or out of concern for "foaming". It's a whole different feeling I'm still getting used to two years out. Don't chase the full feeling and eat dense protein and follow all the advice you've gotten on this thread.