Surgeon told me...

[AllisonKara 46]

Real sorry to say, it is true that you will have to be eating real show so that you are able to sustain whatever you eat.You will need a lot of practice for that.It will help you not to overeat and maintain a measured amount.Do take care of what all you will be eating and follow your surgeons advice so that you stay out of trouble.

[par1959 470]

The surgeon is clueless. Yes, you do not want to eat to fast but sandwiches with bread arent on the menu. It takes me about 20 to 30 minutes to eat a meal. However, I have stuffed meals down only to regret it. I work with an idiot physicians assistant that spouts the 1/4 cup BS. It realy depends on what food your eating and how long you have had your sleeve. In defense, I would say a 1/4 is a good place to start while learning your stopping point. AT 8 weeks I can eat about 1/2 cup of protien with veggys, but yogurt goes down in large quantities I I want it too. The trick for me is tracking what I eat. I eat one seving of dairy a day, but if at the end of the day I am below my caroly goal I might have more yogurt and some fruit. Also keep in mind everyone is different and hopefully your surgeon doesnt make your sleeve to small. There are acid reflux issues with a too samll sleeve. 40 french seems to be what conventional wisdom / stats are saying.

[natalie_christin 61]

Well, I think that they told you that to get you in the practice of eating more slowly but, it's not realistic by any means. I can honestly tell you that at 10 months postop, if I'm hungry – which I'm not most of the time but if I am hungry or I am eating, my body will shut me down and I will have to stop eating. I don't know about everyone else but I just get this point where I know that I cannot take one bite more-if I do, I will get sick… I know that sounds like I eat an awful lot, it's not… I'm talking three bites maybe…four. There are times where I will put my food aside for a few hours and go back and heat it up and try to eat a little bit more. Again, this is typically not because I'm hungry but because I need the Protein or the nutrients. Eating slow especially right after surgery is extremely important because your body has to adjust to it's new flow. Everything will be a transition and your taste buds will change your appetite will change and obviously what you'll be able to eat and not eat will change. And after you go from your Clear Liquids to your Protein Shakes to fully liquid… Once you're able to start eating sauced up, that'll take adjustment too. It's important to chew a lot and eat slowly.

At 3 to 4 weeks postop, I had a great deal of problems keeping anything down and it's due to other medical issues, I was stuck out several days straight without Protein Drinks or my norm post op food I had to unexpectedly be in the hospital with somebody…... I had to take some very strong pain medicine for other medical conditions and so I ended up "cheating" a bit and had scrambled eggs once and then shredded some turkey very small and have died at one point too. My blood sugar had completely dropped as well and I was trying to take care of somebody in the hospital and I felt like I was going to pass out myself – I felt like I didn't have any option but to eat. I lovingly got chewed out by some people here who tried to warn me about the risks of eating on the stomach that hadn't healed yet… I know that this is more information when you were asking for but it's just a bit of experience I thought I would share. The point of that story though was… Be prepared

Good luck… Just remember, just take your time and realize there's going to be adjustments that you have to make that you can't necessarily plan for. Our bodies work in mysterious ways and adjusting ways we don't necessarily expect or understand either. For example, I used to be able to eat spicy stuff just fine but now my taste buds just can't even take the slightest spicy... Everything just taste completely different to me at least…

[natalie_christin 61]

… I know this is a little bit off-topic but I thought I would share because this was the hardest and still is the hardest thing for me to adjust to – no drinking fluids/water after eating… I was told and hour. I'm so used to drinking water… More like gulping Water while I'm heating and it just makes the food go through your body without getting the nutrients from it – or so I was told by the nutritionists

[natalie_christin 61]

Lol...I don't eat bread

[BigTink2LilTink 723]

I take about 1.5 to 2 minutes per bite. And yeah for me being almost 8 months post op, it takes me about 30 minutes to eat about a 1/2 cup of food. So some of it is true and some isn't. I know for me it did take a while to get use to and every now and then I do tend to eat faster than that and I'll feel it and slow myself down. But you will get fuller quicker and find yourself no where near as hungry as you use to be prior to the surgery.

[BigTink2LilTink 723]

Yup I was told to wait 20-30 minutes after eating before drinking anything. Yesterday I didn't do that and wound up puking most of my lunch up. Today I've waited and my food didn't come back up. So yeah I definitely wait a bit to drink right after eating something.

… I know this is a little bit off-topic but I thought I would share because this was the hardest and still is the hardest thing for me to adjust to – no drinking fluids/water after eating… I was told and hour. I'm so used to drinking water… More like gulping Water while I'm heating and it just makes the food go through your body without getting the nutrients from it – or so I was told by the nutritionists

[MzB 297]

I am 8 weeks out and taking up to 30+ mins to eat my very small meals is a challenge. I just can't imagine a full 1 or 2 minutes between bites. I think I am usually taking about 15 mins for lunch and 20 for dinner (Breakfast is a shake). I do listen to my stomach and if I get that feeling of being at my limit I do stop. I worry that I am eating too fast, but I don't seem to have any side effects from it. I have never been nauseous, even when I ate too quickly once. If I am sticking to the right ounces and chewing well, what is the down side to eating a bit more quickly? The great fear is stretching the sleeve, but if I am sticking to 2-3 ounces I can't see how that would be an issue.