What was your Christmas meal like?

[Willow216 91]

I will be 4 weeks out tomorrow. My boyfriend's family does their Christmas on Christmas eve so I had 2 days of holiday meals. Christmas Eve I had 3 one inch cubes of cheese, 2 slices of pepperoni & 2 crackers. Two hours later at dinner I had 2 tbsp. of squash, 2 tbsp. of green Beans & 2 bites of filet mignon. On Christmas Day for Breakfast I had 2 pieces of bacon and about 1/4 of a cup of an egg & cheese casserole. I didn't have anything until dinner time. Then at dinner I had 2 bites each of stuffing, mashed potato and green bean casserole along with about 1/2 a small slice of turkey with gravy. Three hours later I had a sliver of chocolate cream pie. It is really amazing. What is a usually a 2 day food extravaganza for me was reduced to a about 2 small salad plates of food. Part of me was sad at first. Especially when it came to the filet mignon. I can usually eat two huge pieces of it, but this year after 2 bites my stomach started to hurt. It was my first time eating beef since surgery. Looking back today, though, it was such a better holiday. I had so much more interaction with family and friends. I wasn't obsessing about food the whole time. I wasn't in a lethargic food coma & this is the first holiday where I haven't gained weight.

I felt the same way you did this Christmas, usually on the holidays I'd be taking an inventory of what foods I have first to what deserts I was having last, this year I wasn't even thinking about it though I had a little chocolate mousse and a bit of pumpking pie each bite was less than a tablespoons each I was able to enjoy it but not fee guilty for eating loads of it.. Life is definately good post sleeved!!

Happy Holidays to you and your family!!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Our family dinner isn't till Saturday, so I'm nervous about how that will go. But my wife and I had our traditional eggs Benedict brunch. I had 1 instead of 5.

[Liberated Sleeve 148]

9 1/2 months out. I had a little bit of everything, After 9 /2 months of learning how to eat again it was fabulous to not even want to over indulge. I love my "Tiny Tum"!

[kyllfalcon 768]

PDXman, missed seeing you on the forum lately.

Nine months out. We had homemade lasagna, green salad, garlic bread. There are only a handful of things I don't eat, and salad and white bread are two of them. I had about half a typical serving of the lasagna, but I indulged in my baked goods several times throughout the day, such as Cookies and pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Oh, and chess pie. I enjoyed all of it immensely.

Sent most of the leftovers home with kids. Brought the rest to work today.

[Goodnurseg 31]

I know there are a lot of new and soon-to-be sleevers out there and many are wondering if they are ever going to be able to enjoy a Christmas dinner like days gone by. I know it was a concern of mine. So' date=' I though I would post about it.

I am nearly 19 months post sleeve.

Yesterday, I made a turkey with stuffing ... gravy, mashed potatoes, green Beans ... you know the drill. I had about 4 bites of turky (first) then about 4 green Beans, 2 bites of stuffing and 2 bites of potatoes. Gravy slathered across everything. I put it on a salad plate and it was about half full. I was one of the last ones to finish eating (guy across from me had 3 platefulls) and I was stuffed. Had ice cream and peanut brittle and a sliver of apple pie about an hour later.

I ate about one fourth of the meal I would have had 2 years ago and didn't attack the refridgerator 4 hours later like I used to do. Didn't even think about it, to be honest with you. Crazy, huh? THAT'S a new behavior.

Oh, I almost forgot ... Breakfast ... I made French toast, sausage and bacon and a double batch of carmel sticky Buns. I ate a sausage and some bacon and half a sticky bun with butter. I sent half the sticky buns over to my sisters home, a quarter of the batch to a neighbors home and the rest to my in-laws (Merry Christmas!) I did keep one big one for the kids for today (I'm sure I'll have a bite), but I am better off having those kinds of things out of the house.

It was a great Christmas and no food hangover. I love being sleeved and how it helps me to be accountable for what I put into my mouth.[/quote']

Happy to hear that at 19 months out you're still doing well and there is hope for the rest of us.

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

One thing is puzzling me: this saying of a two or three "bites" of this or that. What constitutes a BITE. Are you no longer weighing/measuring food just eyeballing? A bite can be very small or VERY large. Just want to understand everyone's "quantity' when they are saying, "bite".

Only a few posts acutally talk about the portion of food they ate, which makes sense to me not a "bite of this or that".

[lessofmeismore 1,405]

I'm not sure about everyone else but I still take babyspoon bites...more like half a baby spoon full. I fill up rather quickly so I go slow and take small bites. I still measure my food but that's just me because I hate my old habit of trying to finish my plate if I don't measure...then I will be miserable.

[PdxMan 4,292]

One thing is puzzling me: this saying of a two or three "bites" of this or that. What constitutes a BITE. Are you no longer weighing/measuring food just eyeballing? A bite can be very small or VERY large. Just want to understand everyone's "quantity' when they are saying, "bite".

Only a few posts acutally talk about the portion of food they ate, which makes sense to me not a "bite of this or that".

That's a good point. I have never measured my food, but rather let my stomach tell me my limits. If my bites are too large, I can feel it in my stomach and it is not good. So, my bites now are definitely smaller than they were 2 years ago when a bite was as big as whatever utensil I was using could hold. A fork, spoon ... whatever, would be mounded.

Now, my bite would be about half to three quarters of that. Sometimes, though, depending on the food, even that will be too much. I hope this isn't TMI, but in those cases, I chew very well and will not swallow everything in my mouth. I would rather take two individual swallows and know it will all go down and sit in my stomach comfortably. Yes, the second swallow is a bit gross, but then my next bite is smaller and I learn.

I think the bottom line is to start by taking bites smaller than we used to, chew it well and don't rush to take the next bite. Evaluate how you are feeling after each bite and join in the conversation at the table. There was 20 people at my table yesterday and only a couple knew I had surgery. Everyone else didn't even notice my eating and I didn't give it a second thought.

Another reason for my post was to give hope that this is not a permanent thing, this pureed food and restrictions. Everyone will be able to enjoy their holidays and be able to eat food again. Myself ... I felt like I was never going to eat anywhere near "normal" again, but that was just my self-sabotaging mind attempting to hijack my happiness.

Crazy people are like that ...

[SleeveNZ 219]

Never weighed my food as I can never get anywhere near the recommended amount by my NUT! My stomach tells me when I'm full Who wants to measure food on Xmas day anyways?

[jrabbit81 89]

2 months post op! My Christmas dinner, which I couldn't finish!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

One thing is puzzling me: this saying of a two or three "bites" of this or that. What constitutes a BITE. Are you no longer weighing/measuring food just eyeballing? A bite can be very small or VERY large. Just want to understand everyone's "quantity' when they are saying' date=' "bite".

Only a few posts acutally talk about the portion of food they ate, which makes sense to me not a "bite of this or that".[/quote']

I still weigh and measure food all the time. But it's a hard thing to do at Christmas dinner with 25 people. That's one of those times when I have to rely on good judgement.

[Lorraine Freeman 47]

2 months post op! My Christmas dinner' date=' which I couldn't finish![/quote']

I'm 7 weeks post op today and had about the same as you. And like you didn't finish it. I did however thoroughly enjoy at and was surprised to ding I didn't feel as if I was missing out. Loving the sleeve. (Oh I did however overdo it with the trifle today and my word I felt I'll, forgot what I was doing and ate too much and too fast) oops.

[ibehere10 163]

2 months post op! My Christmas dinner' date=' which I couldn't finish![/quote']

Looks about the same as mine but had more turkey than veggies!!

[Willow216 91]

That's a good point. I have never measured my food, but rather let my stomach tell me my limits. If my bites are too large, I can feel it in my stomach and it is not good. So, my bites now are definitely smaller than they were 2 years ago when a bite was as big as whatever utensil I was using could hold. A fork, spoon ... whatever, would be mounded.

Now, my bite would be about half to three quarters of that. Sometimes, though, depending on the food, even that will be too much. I hope this isn't TMI, but in those cases, I chew very well and will not swallow everything in my mouth. I would rather take two individual swallows and know it will all go down and sit in my stomach comfortably. Yes, the second swallow is a bit gross, but then my next bite is smaller and I learn.

I think the bottom line is to start by taking bites smaller than we used to, chew it well and don't rush to take the next bite. Evaluate how you are feeling after each bite and join in the conversation at the table. There was 20 people at my table yesterday and only a couple knew I had surgery. Everyone else didn't even notice my eating and I didn't give it a second thought.

Another reason for my post was to give hope that this is not a permanent thing, this pureed food and restrictions. Everyone will be able to enjoy their holidays and be able to eat food again. Myself ... I felt like I was never going to eat anywhere near "normal" again, but that was just my self-sabotaging mind attempting to hijack my happiness.

Crazy people are like that ...

Well Said!

[Willow216 91]

One thing is puzzling me: this saying of a two or three "bites" of this or that. What constitutes a BITE. Are you no longer weighing/measuring food just eyeballing? A bite can be very small or VERY large. Just want to understand everyone's "quantity' when they are saying, "bite".

Only a few posts acutally talk about the portion of food they ate, which makes sense to me not a "bite of this or that".

I never measured my food, I'm not that dilligent, I have never been that strict with myself because then it would be work not a lifestyle change, also I didn't want to make this journey nit picking every thing I ate. My bites are measured about a teaspoonful or a little less or a little more depending on what I am eating. Usually by the 3rd bite I get that tight feeling and I stop that is my warning signal. The only rule I have about eating is Protein first, through shakes or meat/eggs, then some veggies, and once in a while a treat here and there, and to be honest since the surgery I don't even crave too much sweets anymore so I don't feel like I am denying myself. I got this surgery so I can eat what I want just not alot of it and it has been working fantasticly!