Question:
Describe how you eat after Laproscopic Gastric Bypass

What the meal consists of-portion and length of time it takes to eat that portion or meal.    — sheldon R. (posted on July 31, 2001)

July 31, 2001
My lap RNY was 16 months ago (-140 lbs. and 10 lbs. from goal). How and what you eat will depend on which type of procedure you have chosen (VBG, lap band, RNY or DS), NOT whether you have your procedure performed lap or open...that will make no difference at all. My surgeon instructs his RNY patients to adopt the following eating-behavior patterns: 1)eat slowly - take a MINIMUM of 15-20 minutes regardless of the portion size. That was difficult "retraining" for me after years of eating too fast. In the beginning, I had to leave the table for a few minutes between bites in order to accomplish this; 2)take small bites - another HUGE retraining for me. Our surgeon gives all his patients an infant feeding spoon in his pre-op "gift package" as a humorous reminder of what he means when he says "small bites". It really did help to use it during those first weeks...you'll be amazed how UN-conscious we all are of the amount of food that we place in our mouths pre-op;3)chew thoroughly - that means chewing until the food is a completely mushy consistency before swallowing. For RNY patients, this is critically important in the first days and weeks because the new stomach pouch is so small (and so swollen) that "chunks" of food can easily become lodged or "stuck" creating real discomfort temporarily; 4)limit portion size - in the first days or weeks, I was only able to eat a few spoonfuls at any one time. After a couple of weeks post-op, I could comfortably eat about 1/2 C. and by 6-8 weeks post-op I could tolerate approximately 1 cup of SOME foods. Everyone's experiences will be slightly different here....the important thing is to stop eating IMMEDIATELY when you experience a feeling of fullness. This accomplishes 2 important things: most of us have to "learn" what "feeling full" really means because we've spent years and years overstretching our stomachs. "Feeling full" following RNY is a whole new experience...it comes on fast and is quickly uncomfortable. You will learn that that feeling is a signal not to put even one more bite in your mouth...if you do, you will probably end up vomiting, and that's never a pleasant experience....but it's a great LEARNING experience! 5)limit fats and concentrated sugars - most RNY patients will experience a low tolerance (or complete intolerance) to these food items. "Dumping syndrome" can occur with either, but primarily with sugar intake...although some RNY patients never experience dumping. Most of us will "test the waters" at some point post-op. You'll know if you experience dumping if you develop any or all of the following symptoms after eating high fat or concentrated sugar items: nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, sweating, rapid heart rate, or just wishing someone would shoot you and put you out of your misery. Don't worry, the feeling is not life-threatening and usually only lasts 20-30 minutes...again, a GREAT learning experience! 6)drink all you want or can BEFORE eating, but drink nothing with your food or for 45-60 minutes after a meal. Drinking during the meal will make you feel too full, too fast, and will prevent you from getting an adequate amount of protein into your new stomach. Drinking immediately following your meal will flush that important protein-containing food out of the stomach and on through the shortened intestine before the body can accomplish optimal absorption of the nutrients. This is another difficult habit to break for most of us who have spent a lifetime "washing down" our food so that we can make room for yet another bite. After the first few weeks, it became completely natural not to drink with or after meals, and now I never even give it a thought. These were MY surgeon's instructions....remember that every surgeon seems to have their own particular routines. The important thing is to follow the post-op instructions that YOU are given. All this may seem complicated and tedious, but it's really very basic and simple. I chose RNY BECAUSE it offered me an opportunity (and forced me) to change a lifetime of bad habits. I was concerned about the higher "failure" rate of VBG, and the malabsorption issues associated with DS. I now eat anything I want...concentrating on protein-containing foods first, limiting fats, and avoiding sugars....I just eat MUCH less of it than I did in the pre-op days. I can eat an average portion of salad or vegetables, but feel incredibly full with less than one chicken breast....texture and consistency will influence the amounts. In the past 16 months, I can safely say that I have never felt hungry...in fact, I still have to watch the clock to remind myself that it's time to eat something. The RNY gave me a precious gift...food no longer controls my life, I control my life. This was the right journey for me....good luck to you!
   — Diana T.

August 1, 2001
It is hard to add anything to Diana's answer (which was excellent!) But, RELAX when you eat (especially when you get onto regular foods). I've found that if I am uptight, angry, or upset -- then I cannot eat more than a bite or two without experienced PAIN! I don't know why, but this is true. Sometimes I've also noticed that as soon as my stomach is full, I will hiccup one time. That's a signal I've started watching for too, but there is definitely a feeling I get when I should not put one more bite in my mouth because I know that if I swallow it, I'll be in pain. It is a great tool (this surgery) to keep you from overeating. I used to dump severly on sugar, but after a year postop, I don't normally do that. I do, however, still dump on much fat -- so I never eat fried foods. Best wishes.
   — Cindy H.