WLS clean plate club

I've noticed something recently and wanted to share because when you hear it, you'll go DUH! but it wasn't obvious to me until it smacked me in the head.

Lately, I've noticed (and I think it's been going on for awhile) I will fill my plate for a meal (still use a salad plate and can only eat about 1-1 1/2 cups of food) with nice nutritious protein and complex carbs....and get about half way through it and not finish because I feel full.  About 1 hour later, I'll go snack hunting because I'm hungry.  Now I don't usually have bad snacks in the house but a bag of Kay's pretzels or 100 calories of grahamy bears is NOT as nutritious as the 2 oz. of steak and green beans I scraped into the disposal. 

NEW PLAN:  the plate stays next to me until I fini****  Started this yesterday and guess what?  I wasn't looking for snacks!  Go figure!

I hope this saves someone out there their own DUH! moment.

Hi there - I have a little different twist on this.  I don't try to stuff food in at one sitting - it's my understanding smaller more frequent meals is better as you do not risk stretching out your pouch.   I have had situations where I couldn't finish my dinner.  What I do instead is save it for the snack I go to a little later on.   I would be cautious of the clean your plate concept.............that was part of my problem in the first place.  It was ingrained for me to finish all my food - starving kids and everything.  Well, bottom line is when your full --- your full period.   My maintenance plan from the Nut/Surgeon is 8oz in a sitting so 1 cup total.   We all  need to find what works best - just be careful.

I would suggest saving your unfinished meal to eat in few hours when you get hungry and not forceing yourself to finish at one time, you might over stretch your stoma.

Just a suggestion.

Sher

Hi Sindarin,

I agree with the other posters to you.  The thought is to eat only for 20 minutes.  If you become full before the 20 minutes, of course, stop.  If it has been past 20 minutes, you are just refilling or overfilling your pouch.

I know it is hard to put food away that you are enjoying.  Just like so many habits we must break in order to lose weight and maintain, this is one of them.  Rather than throw it out, save it for your next planned snack or add to it for another meal. 

The snack items, regardless of their health claims or low calories, are usually triggers for grazing or can turn on the habit of snacking/grazing.   If you're hungry and you've planned snacks, eat lean protein rather than the snacky stuff.  Eat some of the steak and green beans rather than throw them out.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Cathy

I used to only be able to eat like 1/4 of a chicken breast.  I would take my chicken with me wrapped in aluminum foil if the restaurant would give that to me.  I kept it in my purse, then later, I would eat some more.  I ate on it when I was hungry or need something until it was done or I was tired of it , then threw it out.  

I worked my way up to maybe 3 oz of chicken but still I cannot eat an entire chicken breast.  3 oz at a time is about all I can handle.

 

At restaurants, in getting to go boxes, I will take the brocolli/vegs home with me, nibble on them a little bit but mostly they are in the trash. Chicken however, I usually try to eat it. 

It's so hard to throw away food!!  I've found myself falling back into the cleaning my plate and then hitting up my kids plates too (used to do that all the time).  I realized it was because I wasn't serving myself enough ~ only about 1/2 cup when I can now do about 2/3 of a cup.  Much better than going for other plates.  I find myself more hungry in the evening but I don't usually eat until 11:30-12, then a snack at 4ish, dinner at 6:30 and a snack at 9:30 or so.  That's 4 meals a day which gets me to about 1100 calories and 60g or more of protein.