?s for Vets....How much can you eat now?

I'm interested in knowing how much you can eat a year or more down the road?  Do you still feel restriction?  Also, do you still measure or weigh your food?

Between 4-5 oz, depending on the food.  Yes, I still measure, because my eyes are bad judges of how much food is on my plate.  Yes, still feel restriction.  And I typically measure out between 3.5-4 oz of food a meal.

I am three-plus years out and still have a LOT of restriction, even though I have pushed the limits many, many times ... a thing I do NOT recommend!  

I have never weighed or measured my food, which I also do not recommend, but I know from past experience that if I have to spend a lot of time messing with my food I will fall off the wagon.  From the start I have focused on protein first and veggies next.  If room, I'll have a little bit of complex carbs.  I can maybe eat a half-cup of food at this point, more if it is slider / mushy stuff, less if it is dense protein.

You will notice that I am 25+ pounds from goal.  I WAS at goal until I started back eating sugar and junk carbs.  It is a long story that I won't go into here, but stay away from the junk; it only causes you to crave more of the same ... and it goes down so easily and in such large quantities!!  If I could convince anyone here of anything, it would be to stay away from garbage food and sugar.  They are the devil  
--Dorothy 

Thanks for your responses.  I just want to know what I have to look forward to.  And thanks for the warning Dorothy.  I will definitely try to follow your suggestions!

I'm nearly 2 years out and still have great restriction. Depending on what I eat it's any where from 4-8 oz of food each meal. If I am having dense protein then it's only about 2.5-3 oz plus maybe 1 oz of veggies. Of course I can eat more yogurt and cottage cheese since they are less dense. I do still weigh/measure everything I eat and probably will for life.

This has become a routine for me. I dont view it as a diet but as a lifestyle change. The key is to watch the carb intake and under eat your sleeve. Just because I measure/weigh everything doesnt mean I eat everything on my plate. There are a lot of times I have a little left on my plate which is really strange for me since I have always been the one to "clean" my plate.

When I was in my losing phase, I measured everything and I only ate about 2-3 ounces of protein, less if I was eating veggies.  Now, I really don't measure my food at all.  I eat until I am comfortable, not stuffed but almost full.  Sometimes I miss the mark and overindulge like I did this Thanksgiving.  Overall, I keep a close eye on the scale and eat according to what the scale tell me I need to eat.  It works for me.  People who don't know that I had surgery would not be able to guess just by looking at my plate.  I eat about the same amount as my skinny friends, about 1/3 to 1/2 of a regular restaurant meal.  I am 2.5 years out.

I am 10 months out. I measured my food early out, and now just do it about once a week or two, and then also figure out my calorie counts just to make sure I'm on track still ! I am now 10 pounds from my surgeon's goal for me, and I DO eat more now. I am at the point that I want to lose those last 10 pounds (actually, I would like to go about 5 pounds under that) slowly, and learn how to maintain my weight....right now I'm only losing maybe 1 to 2 pounds a month, and I eat what I see as pretty normally. I DO eat fairly often -- I eat 4 to 5 times a day. 3 meals and 2 or even 3 planned snacks. This is what keeps me full of energy and going through my busy day ! My snacks are healthy -- 4oz of yogurt with a handful of cereal; a small handful of almonds; 2 baby bel low fat cheese; or one and a couple crackers. or one cheese and half an apple....hummus and vegies....meals are dense protein and a bit of vegies. I do eat oatmeal for breakfast, which is where my carbs come from !

I am 15 months out and still have fantastic restriction - probably a bit too much according to my nut, but I'm NOT complaining! I can eat between 1-2 ounces of dense protein at a time. It is very rare that I have anything other than protein because the veggies come at the expense of protein. (Hence, my nut's recommendation that I go back to two shakes a day to make room at meals for fruits and veggies - but I am SO over sweet shakes by this point, lol.) I am able to eat 1/4 cup of chili at a time. I don't do things like pasta, rice, or potatoes, because I've lost my taste for them, for the most part. I've developed quite a taste for fish - which I never had before - because it's so easy on my stomach. I've lost my taste for shrimp and lobster tails because they are hard on my stomach. Scallops are great, though - weird, huh?



I realize this is mostly rambling, but hopefully it will help some.



Cheers,

Joan

I am a little over a year out and eat fairly normal, just less.  I still have good restriction and sometimes I can eat more than other times.  It just depends on what it is and how my stomach wants to act on any given day.

For example, today I had a slice of turkey bacon for breakfast.  I usually have an egg with it but I didn't today.  For lunch, I had a half a turkey sandwich with some lettuce and mayonaisse and a spoonful of Waldorf salad.  I also had about 3 or 4 Pringles chips.  Not a great choice I guess to have the chips, but I don't eat 15 or so like I would have in the past.

For dinner I am planning on spaghetti.  I will have just a few whole wheat noodles with sauce made with ground turkey and a little salad.  I may have a little popcorn or a greek yogurt if I want a snack later.

I am completely satisfied with the amount I eat now.  I don't measure, I just eat smaller portions with the protein first.  I also use a smaller plate I guess so I fool my eyes!  lol!

Beverly

At two years I still have very good restriction. I can eat a cup of something mushy like greek yogurt but only three ounces or so of chicken or beef. I don't measure stuff as I have learned to "eyeball" about the right amount of a serving. If I take too big a piece, well the dogs get a treat. Two years is not that different from one year except I feel maybe just a little more hunger more often but its easily resolved.   Diane