Question:
My surgeon said never to eat more than 2 oz. at a time until I reach goal!

Does this sound right to everyone? At times, I can only eat 2 oz. and other times, like today, I almost ate a slice of a small pizza! I know some day syou can eat more than others, but 2 oz. unitl you reach goal? I am glad I don't feel hunger yet, but I am worried about this when I will feel hunger again. He also discourages snacking at all. How is it physically possible to get all my protein in with this amount of food anyways?    — Michele B. (posted on August 15, 2003)

August 15, 2003
I also eat 2 oz. at a time while losing. I eat 3 meals a day with no snacking. It is not possible to get all your protein in, and the good doc knows it and he requires a good protein shake or two to be included in my daily liquids. When I reach my goal weight, I will still eat meals that are 2 oz each, but there will be more meals added to my day.<p>I am just 15 days post-op, but I do measure my food to make sure that I'm not getting a larger portion.</p><p>I went to Sam's club locally and found a box of 2 ounce portion cups and a box of lids for them. I keep a few of the cups in my car for when I'm running around town. I have not any nausea or vomiting, but I haven't eaten more than 2 ounces at a time, so I don't know if I would throw up more or not.</p><p>Always follow your doctor's directions. Call him if you have questions. Afterall, you trusted him to give you new anatomy, trust that he knows what is best for you to take care of it as well.</p><p>Good luck with your weight loss.</p>
   — Rachel T.

August 15, 2003
This is what I'm supposed to be eating too... (sometimes I eat a little more, most of the time I eat a little less)... like you say, it's ok now when you're not hungry, but I wonder too...one suggestion is that my doc orders 5 meals per day....breakfast, brunch, late lunch, dinner, and evening snack...protein first at each one (to make you feel fuller longer)...also recommends protein drinks as one of your snacks, (I use for breakfast too)...I'm only three and a half weeks out though, so I can't give you a view of how you'll feel down the road.
   — Kelly B.

August 16, 2003
I think it depends on how many times a day you eat. If you only are allowed 3 meals a day, then 2 oz is probably not enough. If you eat 5 or 6 times a day, that might be enough. I eat 2 meals with about 3 or 4 oz of food and 1 or 2 snacks of about 2 or 3 oz, and I'm down 115 in just over 6 months. Good Luck!
   — Heidi H.

August 16, 2003
"Until you reach goal"? If your goal is finally getting so hungry that, one day, that even shoe leather will sound tasty to you, this is the rule to live by!<P>I think you're right; you probably can't get adequate nutrition following this rule all the way to goal. I sure can't see how, not on three squares of 2 oz. per day, with no other food allowed. So that's ... 6 whole ounces of food a day. Ask him for a suggested menu plan for those 6 daily ounces that will fit you "all the way to goal." Should be fun to see how many calories he's thinkin' you'll subsist on 'til then, let alone protein grams.<P>Early on, sure, it's probably a good guideline, though I always ate 5-6 times per day, from the beginning, and still do, at 14 months out now (at or past goal for five months). I have no idea when I stopped eating two ounces per meal, but I'm sure it was long, long ago. And obviously, a lot depends on the type of food you're measuring. Two ounces of cheese isn't the same as two ounces of chicken or bread or cookies, is it?<P>Unless pressed, my surgeon still talks to me in terms of the number of "bites" per meal. ("Would that be gerbil bites, or Tyrannasaurus Rex bites?") This drove me nuts. I'm a literal person; I need stuff broken down for me "Big Bird" style, so I need to know stuff like calories per day, or even better, protein and carb grams per day, or some kind of meaningful guideline that I can get my mind around as I struggle to retrain my eating habits as a post-op. This rule would drive me nuts because the math just doesn't track for giving you adequate nutrition when you're, say, 6 months out, or 10 months out, or whatever (perhaps even sooner out). Press for more info, or ... figure out what works for you, bearing this guideline in mind, and stick with whatever works (perhaps 2 oz. four-six times a day; perhaps more than 2 oz. for certain types of foods). Good luck!
   — Suzy C.