How many oz?
Don't worry about how many ounces. Pay attention to how many calories. Weigh and measure your food. Track every drink and bite and weigh yourself daily. If you reduce 500 calories a day, you will lose a pound a week. In 20 weeks that will be 20 pounds gone.
You need about 10 calories a day to maintain one pound. So if you weigh 150 pounds you need about 1500 calories to maintain and 1000 to lose a pound a week.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
on 1/26/16 12:44 pm - WI
At 1 year and 4 months out your sleeve is no longer "new", it's fully grown and can probably hold about 8 ounces, comfortably. Your sleeve is supposed to grow over time. If it didn't, you would starve to death because you could only eat about three tablespoons of food at a time. It is very difficult to "stretch" a sleeve or a pouch. You would have to over stuff it regularly to cause it to stretch.
White Dove is absolutely correct. You have to track calories and carbs to lose weight. Just because your sleeve can hold 8 ounces, doesn't mean you should fill it to capacity. Eating dense protein first (usually about 3 ounces) should be the goal, then non-starchy veggies if you have room. Eating this way will keep you feeling satisfied with minimal calories. Plan and measure your daily meals and snacks to fit the calories allowed for the day. It really is all about the calories.
You can't track calories, carbs, fat, or protein if you don't weigh your food. That's why people weigh their food -- to get accurate information about nutrient and calorie intake -- even if they aren't super-concerned with exactly how many ounces each meal "should" be.
At 2.5 years post-op I keep my meals to about 4.5 ounces -- 3 ounces of lean protein and 1.5 ounces of green veggies. That's both to keep my meals small and protect the size of my sleeve and to keep my calories, protein, and carbs at the levels I want them.
on 1/26/16 3:27 pm - WI
Nobody said that it didn't matter if you measure your food portions. On the contrary, measuring your food portions becomes MORE IMPORTANT the further you get from surgery. The only way to be sure that you are not over eating is to weigh and measure your portions and plan your daily meals ans snacks. I am five years out from RNY and still measure my food so I know exactly how many calories I am eating. If I didn't, I know I would over eat. You can still gain weight, even if you are eating the right foods, if your portions are too big. Measuring my food keeps me honest and on track. It is very easy for portion sizes to creep up the further out you are from surgery, because your sleeve/pouch is full grown and can hold more food.
Measuring is about keeping calories low more than it is about "stretching" your sleeve.