Question:
How much food is too much?

I'm seven weeks out and can easy eat a cup of soup and 1/2 cup of fruit. I'm worried I'm eating too much and it will slow my loss. I've lost 31 pounds since surgery.    — Jo Dee B. (posted on June 12, 2004)

June 13, 2004
I can't answer for you or your surgen, but I only had a 1 oz pouch, and I was stuffed with less then one scrambbled egg, and maybe a bite or two of yougart.
   — Michael H.

June 13, 2004
I'd say at your current stage as a post-op, you should follow your surgeon's guidelines on the amount of food you are consuming and the amoutn of time you are eating. Prepare only as much as is recommended, eat as much as possible of it during the recommended time frame, then stop eating. My guidelines at 7 weeks was 1 to 2 ounces eaten in a 15 minute timeframe. Since I wasn't hungry and nothing tasted too great, that was easy to do. That said, soup is much easier to consume more because it is basically liquid that does not sit in the pouch. It's way easier to overeat on soup and not hurt and most fruit is pretty soft too. I'd bet you can't eat near that much if you are eating something really dense and you're probably not eating too much at your current stage but you most definitely do need to follow your surgeon's guidelines and develop good sound eating habits and portion control that will stand you in good stead as you get further and further out post-op. Congrats on the 31 pounds!
   — scbabe

June 13, 2004
I tend to believe that when we think we are eating too much, chances are we are eating too much. Secondly, as a general matter, for my peers and me at the Norwalk Hospital program, what has worked best is reducing carbohydrates (even complex carbs during the first few months); as a result, I tended to avoid eating fruit during the first few months. Thirdly, as soft as soup is and as good as it may be for hydration, I would question if one cup of soup isn't a little too much, particularly at only 7 weeks out. All any of us can do is tell you what worked for us and what our surgeon's guidelines were for that post-operative stage. So, as just about everyone else who's posted has suggested, you should check in with your surgeon about your intake. Good luck.
   — SteveColarossi

June 14, 2004
I don't think your eating too much, the soup would pretty much go right on through and the fruit would be just about the same cause it turns to mush!! I am a worrywart too when it comes to eating,, my daughter says I'm nuts when I say I am eating too much! I think we all just tend to get more obessive after were post-op about our eating, we just have to learn to cope with it!!!
   — bikerchic

June 14, 2004
Hi there, Honestly, soup is not a good choice. At this point you should be working on meeting your daily protien requirements that your nutritionist set up (I think mine was 72 grams a day). My nutritionist told me, protien first, then if you have room vegatables, then if you have room fruit. Fruit is not a very good food choice to be making.....even though that's what we've always been programmed to think, there's not much nuutrional value. All liquids pass through your pouch faster than solid foods. I hope I don't seem like I'm preaching or anything, but you may want to skip the soup and go on to solid foods. The solid food stays with you longer and keeps you fuller. Best of Luck to you & a big congrats on your weight loss!!
   — stacjean

June 14, 2004
Your profile does not give us a clue as to what else you are eating in addition to soup and fruit. Hopefully, you have alot of protein in your diet too! The others are right that soup and fruit are fluids and you will naturally be able to eat much more of these foods than you would something dense, like a chicken breast. If you told me you ate an entire chicken breast in 15 minutes at 7 weeks, I would worry. I don't agree with those that tell you to stay away from the carbs in fruit. Fruits are high in vitamin C and are good for you, as long as you don't overdo it. Get in all your protein, minimize (and not eliminate) the carbs, keep up the exercise, drink a ton of water and you will do just fine.
   — Cindy R.