Question:
Confused about food intake at 4 1/2 weeks out total...

On the paper the nutrionists gave me for a day of soft solid foods it says I should be getting in about 6oz total of protein a day and then it gives a sample day od soft foods which says-Breakfast 1/4 cup egg beaters,1/4 English muffin,and 1/4 soft banana;Lunch-2 oz of chicken salad,1/4 pita bread,1/2 cup well cooked vegetables;Dinner 3oz Tuna Salad, 2 baked tortilla chips,1/2 cup cooked veggies-Now with all this said if I am only supposed to be taking in 3-4 oz of food how am I supposed to eat this and this is way more than 6oz of protein a day-how can i eat all this food at one sitting without stretching my stomach-someone please help me to understand what I should be doing...Tori    — TotallyTori (posted on April 11, 2003)

April 11, 2003
Tori...I'd go with the protein first above anything else at this stage. At the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (where I had my surgery), the nutritionist says to go with 5-6 small meals a day rather than the 3 it seems that Dr. Meilahn is recommending. With the size of our pouches, it helps to get the food in that we need and in addition, it helps prevent wild swings in blood sugar. I'd go with the 1/4 cup of egg beaters in the morning - save the 1/4 English muffin or the 1/4 soft banana for a mid-morning snack/meal. I'd go with the 2 oz of chicken salad at lunch - skip the pita bread and - at this point - the veggies (though you could have them at mid-afternoon). Then for dinner, I'd go with the 3oz of Tuna Salad with the 2 tortilla chips (or 2 saltines). Again, eating the veggies at this point may be too much volume for your pouch. You are only getting 7 oz of protein in this sample - 2 at breakfast, 2 at lunch and 3 at dinner - so that's not "way" more than 6 oz of protein a day. BTW, does Dr. Meilahn have a support group? HUP has a support group that is normally open just to HUP patients *unless* the surgeon doesn't have their own support group and he writes a letter to HUP to give their OK for the patient to attend the HUP group. If you are interested, contact me at [email protected] for more details...JR
   — John Rushton

April 11, 2003
Tori, Go with the protein and if you have any room left have a tiny bite of the others. If you are an RNY patient I sincerely doubt if you can even come close to eating this much. At 9-1/2 weeks I would not be able to get in all of this without being very stuffed. I do eat 3-4 ounces of food total but that includes the veggies and fruit. About 90-95% of my food in a day is protein. I do not have veggies and fruit every day as I am trying to focus on protein and stay in max ketosis at this stage of my program. But if I want something else I have it, but it's after the majority of the protein has gone in.
   — zoedogcbr

April 11, 2003
Tori, if you had an RNY your pouch only holds a maximum of about 2ozs when totally healed. The foods you were told to eat sounds like what our nutrutionist was telling us it would be like a year out. Maybe better check back with the nutritionist.
   — Mark

April 11, 2003
So you guys were eating about 3-4oz per meal not all day right?
   — TotallyTori

April 11, 2003
Keep in mind that surgeons make different size pouches. The last posters note about a 2 oz pouch may not necessarily be true. I know of post-ops who have 1/2 oz micro pouches up to a 4 or 5 oz pouch. And, over time, the pouch does stretch out as it is supposed to do. There is a difference between the natural stretch of the pouch and overstretching it due to pouch abuse. The other posters are correct, to eat several mini-meals a day, concentrate on protein first and just eat what you can. Over time, you will be able to eat more. I'd say that at about 2-3 months post-op, I could have handled any of the suggested meals the nutritionist gave you.
   — Cindy R.

April 11, 2003
Victoria, yes I eat 3-4 ounces per meal and 3 meals a day. At 4-1/2 weeks though I was eating around 2 to 2-1/2 ounces per meal. The surgeon gave me a 1/2 ounce pouch. The main thing is to listen to your pouch. When you feel the leat bit full stop eating. I still weigh my food just to be sure I do not eat too much because sometimes I do not get a full feeling to tell me to stop. Yet if I do stop with the measured quantity it is always enough to keep me satisfied till the next meal. I can guess pretty close now by looking at the quantity but the weighing just confirms that my eyes are getting better.
   — zoedogcbr