Question:
5 weeks post. op. Eating too much?

I get in about 4 cups of food a day. I eat 1/2 c. of beans, 5-6 red. fat pringles a day, a small amt of peanut butter, maybe some meat babyfood, shrimp or tuna, and SF popsickles. My food (minus the popsickles) equals about 4 c. I have 4-6 small 1/2c. meals daily. (when I eat shrimp, i eat 4oz). I have been plateauing and having slow weight loss for about 2.5 weeks now. I have lost 25lbs in the five weeks. (I started out at 277lbs, now 252.) I walk bout 4 times a week. Am I eating too much or what is going on to keep me from losing?    — Carla M. (posted on March 28, 2003)

March 28, 2003
I would talk to your surgeon about your quantity. I can tell you I had to cut out the chips recently. They do not fill me up and I could knock out ALOT of Pringles and Kettle cooked potato chips. After a chip fest I feel pretty gross. I am a salty sweet addict. I have found cheese to be my favorite snack now. It is filling and has alot of protien. I also will have a spoonful of peanut butter for the sweet snack. You'll be fine! You just need to find the foods that will fill your pouch quickly.
   — Michelle H.

March 28, 2003
Original poster here..to clarify..i eat the 5-6 pringles throughout the day...usually 2 or 3 at one time... had RNY.
   — Carla M.

March 28, 2003
Carla: 4 C of food a day is not too much. I am 9 weeks post op and I can eat 1 - 1 1/2 Cups per meal...I have lost 23lbs. My doc says to reduce the carbs, pringles & beans have alot of carbs, increase water, exercise, and protein, and eat more low carb veggies for fiberous bulk, like salad greens, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.. I have found that doing the protein shakes and eating more veggies helps me get everything in, instead of trying to eat meat for the protein. Good luck.
   — DONNA P.

March 28, 2003
you didn't mention water. Are you getting in your 64 ounces per day? If not, this could be why your weight loss has slowed down.
   — Delores S.

March 29, 2003
WOW, talk about different eating plans. First my meal plan is as devoid of carbs as one can get - no added carbs, just what little might be in some foods - usually no more than 1-3 carbs per 1/4 c. serving. I am 2 days short of 8 weeks PO and I eat 3-4 oz's per meal and 3 meals a day. Once in a great while I will have a snack about 9:00 at night because I am quite hungry but it is always some sort of protein. I can also have veggies and fruit now, but am careful what I choose, but many meals still only eat protein. I'd literally burst if I had to eat more than 1/2 cup at a meal and can only get that much down if it's something really soft like cottage cheese. I'll have 3 oz of cottage cheese with 1 oz of washed diced peaches. I am right on schedule or a little ahead of my surgeon's plan. His plan takes advantage of ketosis and uses it to the max to burn fat instead of using protein for energy. So far it's worked as I've lost 63 lbs total and 42 since surgery. The rest I lost on a protein and veggie diet 2 weeks prior to surgery. <p>You do not need to count s/f popsicles in as part of your food, it is part of your liquid, but don't go crazy with them as they do have calories - usually 15-25 calories each. <p>If this quantity of food is in keeping with your surgeons plan then I would not worry about it, but I'd lose the pringles and be very careful with how much peanut butter as it is very high is carbs compared to the amount of protein you get, so use it like a small snack or something. Beans are a good protein source but again watch how much because they are significant in carbs, but not much from sugar. Also make sure you are not eating something like baked beans - tons of sugar. <p>I've found for me that albacore white tuna, string cheese, The Turkey Store shredded BBQ turkey, cottage cheese, shrimp etc. are all good protein sources and go down good. I just have almost 3 ounces of shrimp for lunch with a little ketchup, so I do venture into carbs but very little, but for me shrimp and ketchup go hand-in-hand. The shredded BBQ turkey is awesome because in 1/2 c. there is 20 grams of protein, 3 grams of carbs and 3.5 grams of fat, which is quite low for what you are getting and it tastes awesome. I also make Manwhich which tastes great. It looks like it's fairly high in carbs but when you cook it all up and measure the total quantity you get it's quite reasonable. I always throw a piece of reduced fat cheese on the BBQ turkey and manwhich to bump the protein up. <p>Please discuss this with your surgeon or dietician as none of us know the details of your surgeon's plan and I would not want to tell you something that is wrong.
   — zoedogcbr