am i eating too much at once?

eric · May 26, 2006

hi all,

i a newbie with a couple questions. i am 9 days out, and sticking with the liquid regimen. my concern has to do with amounts of liquids. in my take home notebook, a "sample" liquid diet included 1/2 cup this, 1/2 cup that per meal. this is nowhere near enough to satisfy me. some of the recipes in my notebook are 8-10 ounces for a serving. i have been drinking my 64 ounces Water daily, and often much more. i am supposed to take 80 grams Protein daily, and have been meeting that goal with some of the high protein shake/drink

recipes i received. but, at night especially (classically my worst time for eating) a small shake just ain't cuttin' it for me. my take home information says i should eat no more than one cup of the mushie foods per meal at the mushy food phase, but has no defined amounts/limits for the liquid phase.

can i be taking in too much? for example, i got home 530 tonight, had a 10oz skim milk/yogurt/protein shake, then had some hot tea. then heated up a can of broth (10oz) mixed with a can of cream Soup (10oz), and ate it with a spoon over the course of 10 minutes or so. then had a popsicle, and feel pretty decent now. will probably have a cup of skim milk/fat free/sugar free pudding in an hour or so. the fact that i ingested 30 ounces of stuff over the course of an hour or so has me worried.

am i eating too much?

earlier in the day i had a juice/protein shake at 8am, 10am, water the rest of the day.

the other night i ate two cups of fatfree/sugar free pudding and felt too full physically, and didn't feel so hot mentally. felt like i 'binged'. wasn't painful or uncomfortable, just didn't feel like i did the right thing.

can i overdo the liquids? i am staying away from most high calorie fluids, ie no more than a cup of juice during the day, 1-2 cans of cream Soups, and the Protein Shakes about do it. everything else is either water, tea, crystal light, sf posicles, sf pudding, etc. my doc's regimen say to can the caffeine too.

last, i have had little energy this week too. 3-4 days post op i was actually feeling more energetic than i am now.

i've been riding bike at least one way to work each day (6 miles) though not pushing myself too hard. i am male, 45, 6 feet, started 315lbs, bmi near 40. i am about ten pounds down, but i am sure it is all Fluid weight, so not too excited yet.

thanks for your help. i am sure looking forward to some food with substance, but have another week and a half to wait for that.

kabeerah · May 26, 2006

I personally thing you are doing great. As long as you are not drinking a bunch of crap, I don't see the problem. I was on liquids for 4 weeks and I was taking in more than 1/2 cups.

judyc · May 26, 2006

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DonnaB · May 26, 2006

Sounds like you're doing great to me. The post op liquid diet is really a time for healing, not so much about weight loss. This doesn't mean you should eat ice cream or anything but you shouldn't be overly concerned about calories right now.

Liquids go right past your band into the large part of your stomach. Unless you're drinking so much that you're literally filling yourself up to the band, you're probably OK. What I'm trying to say is that liquids aren't going to stretch your pouch or cause problems passing the band. I think the only way liquids could harm you is if you gulp or guzzle so fast that it can't pass the band fast enough and you end up throwing it up. Sip slowly and you'll be fine.

I don't want anyone to think I'm offering medical advise, so I think you may want to call your doctor's office and discuss this with him or with his nutritionist. Personally, it sounds to me like you're doing great but it really can't hurt to give your surgeon a call and talk about it.