Question:
Just Wondering If I'm eating 2 much @ 3 1/2 mos post-op

Hello everyone- I am 3 1/2 mos pos-op and down about 55lbs or so maybe a lil more but I don;t weigh myself and I know I plateaued for the first time last month I might still be on plateau but I don;t weigh myself so I don't know-I also don't count calories-2 much hassle but I'm just wondering if you guys hink I'm eating too much food-This is for the entire day today About a 1/2 cup of turkey chili-around 6pm about 3/4 cup of raw spinach w/about 1/2 cup maybe less of homemade turkey salad with soy mayo-about 8:30 About 1 1/2 hrs later I ate 2 homemade jumbo fried shrimp made with whole wheat bread crumbs and whole wheat flour-about 10:30pm Then about an 35 minutes after that I made a fruit smoothie using 4oz of V8 smoothie 65 cals and 14 grams of sugar, 1/2 small banana, and 2medium and 1 very small straberry-I dump on sugar usually under 24grams, but I don;t abuse it I also had one Tbsp of pb and that's it around 11:30 Liquid Intake: not sure maybe close to 50-60 oz so far I think maybe I'm eating my food too close together how long do others typicall eat their meals-ow far should I space them out-I should note that some days I have no appetite, but this week I have and I'm wondering if my period will be on next week I do notice that I go through the muchies the week be4 my period-but anywho-IS THIS 2 MUCH FOOD?    — TotallyTori (posted on July 3, 2003)

July 2, 2003
It seems to me that you are eating too frequently. I have three meals a day and three small snacks. I usually have 1/4 of a cup of GrapeNuts with grapejuice (just enough to mositen the cereal) for breakfast; then at my morning break I have a Lactose Free Slim Fast (for protein); lunch is usually 1/2 cup to 1 cup of cottage cheese (I don't measure); mid afternoon if I'm hungry I have a piece of beef jerky (again high protein; dinner varies - sometimes cheese and crackers, sometimes salad and grilled meat, sardines, other fish, etc and then I have about 1/2 of cheese before bed if I feel I need it. This time span is from 7 AM to 11 PM. Sometimes I eat fairly close together but it's not a lot. The smoothie might be a problem too - that is a LOT of calories. Do you use diet V8 Splash? Why don't you try a protein drink instead of a fruit smoothie? Also, do you need that 5 minutes after eating? I hope this helps you some.
   — Patty_Butler

July 2, 2003
I usually do breakfast between 6 and 7 a.m. Then I do lunch about 11:30 and do dinner between 5 and 6 p.m. My surgeon's office recommend about 4 hours between. They say don't drink 30 minutes before or after meals, so you'll retain the full feeling. They also recommend a minimum of 60 grams of protein per day, 64 oz. water and no more than 20 grams of protein and carbs per day.
   — Cathy S.

July 2, 2003
Are you eating only at night? I am confused. The smoothie sounds like nothing but carbs and I seriously doubt that it keeps you full for long because it is a liquid so you might want to rethink that one. It might be a good idea for you to count your calories for a few days at least just to really see what you are eating. The calories add up fast. I too think that you are eating a little too frequently for 3 months out. <p> This may be long but I found it to be very interesting. In a study with equally healthy lab rodents they fed them exactly the same diet with the same number of calories. Half of them were fed 3 meals a day and a snack and the other half were fed in the later half of the day and all of their food at once. Well guess what happened? The 3 meal group maintained their health and their lean body mass. The late day, all at one time group gained weight and lowered their lean body mass to fat ratio. They were eating the EXACT same thing! The bottom line is that our eating patterns are at least as important as what we eat and maybe even more so. That story (from my nutritionist)convinced me to change my habits and start eating breakfast and get off that pattern that had made me fat and even at 800 calories a day would keep me fat. Good Luck!!!!
   — Carol S.

July 3, 2003
I'm with Carol Sodaro on this one! You <b>have</b> to eat in the morning (or when you get up) to kickstart your metabolism or you've wasted a whole day of fat burning. By waiting until 6pm to eat (unless you work graveyard or swing) you can't expect your metabo to kick in and start burning for the day. It's already sluggish and now more so cause its not been fed. You're choices aren't horrible, but you certainly need more protein and definitely need to bring the fluid levels up past 60 (at least!). Everyone else has said it well about spacing your food out more. Good luck to you!
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 3, 2003
I'm three months out, so just about where you are. I think you definitely need to spread your food out during the day, and not concentrate it all in the evening. I, too, have read that eating most of your food late in the day leads to weight gain and retention. It had been a life-long habit for me that I'm working hard to break (though that evening head hunger is a terrible demon). You shouldn't need to eat any more frequently than every 3 to 4 hours, and you should start eating in the morning. A typical day for me is breakfast around 8:30 (usually half a cup of yogurt with about 2 tablespoons of fruit or half a cup of cottage cheese), lunch around 12:30 (generally 2 to 3 ounces of protein such as chicken, seafood, ground beef, etc. and then sometimes 2 tablespoons of vegetable), afternoon snack around 3:30 (1 to 2 ounces of cheese or deli lunchmeat or a couple of tablespoons of nuts), and dinner around 6:30 (similar to lunch). I do get head hunger after dinner, but generally resist it. If I just can't resist, then I have a small snack of something healthy (nuts or cheese or deli meat). I avoid processed carbs as much as possible. I drink between 60 and 80 ounces of sugar-free, caffeine-free liquids a day, including 2 cups of Rocomojo protein coffee substitute (love the stuff!). I get between 65 and 80 grams of protein a day. My dietititan (who I see once a month) says I am doing remarkably well.
   — Vespa R.

July 3, 2003
Thanks everyone for your input you are right I do need to eat more during the day and Iw as doing that for awhile but when my appetite slumed I would not eat until I was hungry and then that wasn;t until late in the evening, Well anyway I was told to eat every 2-3 hours, how do you guys count cals for things that you make at home suc as turkey chili-just add up the ingredients, sometimes I add here and there and then I lose how much the cals are then I'm like I can't be eating enough anyway so why worry about it, but I will start to get up and eat breakfast,lunch, and dinner, and space my food up more, but I love the fruit smoothies, maybe it will just be better if I eat fruit, and I'm on my way to going partailly vegetarian. Thanks guys keep the posts coming I can handle it-I think ;)
   — TotallyTori

July 3, 2003
I never really counted calories either, just guesstimated. Sometimes you can, like when you eat one egg or 1 slice of packaged cheese. You can also weigh your food and look it up online or in a calorie guide book. I, too, agree with the others to space the food out-try eating small mini meals every 2-3 hours. Your body works best when you fuel it every few hours. Everything on your list sounded good, including the amounts, and why not add a scoop of protein powder to the smoothie?
   — Cindy R.