How often is it okay to eat?

[theother_onefoot 122]

I'm 24 days out and I've already talked to my surgeon and the NUT about how I can get most of my Water in a day or I can get most of my Protein in a day, but I can't get both right now and they agree that's fine.

But as I'm working to increase both of those, I find I'm getting hungry about every two hours or so, and I'm not sure if that's too frequent? I have the Bariatric Timer app on my phone and use it to remind me when to drink Water after I eat, and it has a preset timer for every two hours that will actually say "you need to eat!" if I let the app keep running, so it makes me think that maybe every couple of hours is pretty standard to have the next meal or snack of Protein, but I'm honestly not sure.

Since I'm still not technically getting enough of the protein I'm supposed to be eating in a day, I don't feel like I'm grazing since I'm not eating anything that isn't benefiting my body...but at the same time, I'm not used to being hungry so often even if it only takes a quarter cup of refried Beans, for example, to hold me over for the next two hours.

ETA: I saw a post about eating frequency in the Band forums but not the Sleeve, and it just isn't quite the same info base!

Edited September 10, 2015 by theother_onefoot

[_Kate_ 2,224]

Are you still having Protein drinks at this stage?

I was very happy having them early on as its both Protein and fluid! Double whammy

[Folly 308]

Just a few weeks out it's pretty normal to take little sips throughout the day and 2 or 3 bites of something several times a day. As you heal your stomach will relax a little bit and you'll be eating more substantial foods. You'll be spacing things out to 3 or 4 hours but the tiny meals 4 or 5 times a day are a fact of life for quite a while.

[jane13 2,256]

@@theother_onefoot - I was told to only eat when hungry once I got a month post. Until then I was eating still pretty much only when hungry but I was drinking a lot: Protein Shakes, Water, smoothies

[Sharon1964 2,530]

My surgeon says eat three times a day, no Snacks. If you're doing heavy exercise, you can have one Protein snack.< /p>

The rest of the time it's fluids.

[AngelaWilliamsMD 290]

If you are truly hungry, then it is okay to eat. Early on, I could only eat a few bites at a time and would find myself hungry every 2-3 hours.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

If you can get most of your Water (64 oz) but not your Protein, why not? If you can consume 64 oz of Fluid then at least 33 oz could be Premier Protein which would give you 90 grams of Protein. If you include protein in most of your fluids it should actually be easier to meet your protein goal than your Fluid goal.

If you aren't meeting your protein goal then by all means eat every 2-3 hours.

As others have said, early out you will be eating or sipping something pretty much all day to get everything in.

[Niki15 198]

I eat 3 times a day with 2 protien drinks in between ..I am almost 5 weeks out

[theother_onefoot 122]

@@_Kate_ - I'm still allowed to drink Protein drinks, yes, though the NUT does want me weaned off of them when I'm able to eat actual food since she explained drinking the shakes despite their high Protein won't actually continue to register in your brain that you've eaten. Actually being able to still get through a shake without feeling nauseous is a totally different matter.. And I've also been told the premier shakes don't count towards my fluids because they aren't a clear liquid. As opposed to trying one of the Isopure drinks.< /p>

@@Folly - So as I'm able to eat more, I'll be able to go longer without getting hungry. Makes sense! Thanks!

@ - My body feels like it's physically starting to reject the Protein Shakes and smoothies I make... I can't drink them without feeling ill now. So I drink my Water and stick to soft foods and yogurt.

@@Sharon1964 - I could understand doing it this way when I can eat more, but I've figured out my body's difference between head and real hunger and right now I'm feeling real hunger every two hours. Though I do hope to get to this eating pattern when I'm able. Thank you!

@@AngelaWilliamsMD - I'm glad I'm not alone in this. I'm still eating less than 500 calories a day even with high protein micro-meals, and I know I'm at that phase where my body may be going through a stall and/or is readjusting to actually getting real food instead of straight up liquids.

@@Inner Surfer Girl - Like I mentioned earlier, my NUT told me the shakes don't count towards the Fluid goal anymore since they aren't a clear liquid.. As it is, I can get about 40oz of Water in and up to about 40~50g of protein altogether in a good day. Sans the Protein Shakes. Do you think that's still okay?

@@Niki15 - I was trying to do something like this, but now that it takes me SO long to get through a Protein Shake because they don't make me feel well, I believe that's why I've supplemented with the high protein micro-meals every few hours instead (varying by class schedule during the week).

Thanks for all of the replies so far!

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

My doctor told me only three meals a day. Many people believe they can eat every two hours but my doctors says they are fooling themselves into trying to consume as many calories as they want. I eat three small meals a day, no drink until about 30 minutes after I eat, and then focus on the time in between meals for drinking liquids.

[AngelaWilliamsMD 290]

Eating a full meal three times a day is much different than eating a few bites six times a day, IMO.

[theother_onefoot 122]

@@Proud2BMe - I'm not trying to eat as many calories as I want... I eat as much as I'm able to eat when I'm hungry. Yesterday my dinner ended up being only half of the quarter cup of Beans I was going to eat. That's not enough to sustain a person as an actual meal no matter how small their stomach is. Yes it's filling, but for only those couple of hours. If I only had three meals like that a day I wouldn't even be up to 100 calories and I'd probably pass out... How far out are you? How many grams of Protein are you getting a day? How many ounces of food are you eating per meal? How many calories are you getting in a day with your three meals?

I have to agree with @@AngelaWilliamsMD - if I were able to eat full meals that satisfied all of my Protein needs, that would be one thing, compared to trying to eat six whole meals a day verses a couple spoonfuls of a protein-rich food six times a day.

[Christine99 69]

I eat 3 meals...3 Snacks (usually 2) and 2-3 Protein shakes a day

plus my Water

Edited September 11, 2015 by Christine99

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

When I was newly sleeved I couldn't eat much as well. I needed to eat every 2 hours. I'm one of those people who actually does get full on liquids. I started combining things in to meet my Fluid and Protein goals. I mixed plain greek yogurt in my Protein drinks which upped the Protein. I thin would serve them over lots of ice which helped increase my Fluid intake. By adding a quarter cup of yogurt (13 gm protein) to my Protein Drink (26 gm protein) by 1 pm I was more than 2/3 of the way to meeting the minimum of 60 gms protein. I would then sip Water until it close to dinner. If I got hungry again, I had a small Protein shake or some kefir. I was able to meet minimum protein and fluid goals by week 2. Things got easier once I moved onto purees. Even then I still planned for 3 meals and 2 Snacks. However I always started the day with that Protein Drink.< /p>

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

@@Proud2BMe - I'm not trying to eat as many calories as I want... I eat as much as I'm able to eat when I'm hungry. Yesterday my dinner ended up being only half of the quarter cup of Beans I was going to eat. That's not enough to sustain a person as an actual meal no matter how small their stomach is. Yes it's filling, but for only those couple of hours. If I only had three meals like that a day I wouldn't even be up to 100 calories and I'd probably pass out... How far out are you? How many grams of Protein are you getting a day? How many ounces of food are you eating per meal? How many calories are you getting in a day with your three meals?

I have to agree with @@AngelaWilliamsMD - if I were able to eat full meals that satisfied all of my Protein needs, that would be one thing, compared to trying to eat six whole meals a day verses a couple spoonfuls of a protein-rich food six times a day.

I didn't say you were trying to eat as many calories as you want. I said my doctor told that to me, that when people try to eat every couple of hours that they are trying to sneak in as many calories as possible and their weight loss is usually very slow.

I get about 70 grams of protein in a day, the norm, from drinking 2 Protein shakes a day (Breakfast and lunch). Then I have one small meal for dinner and focus on my protein first and then low carb vegetables. I do not eat high carb foods, fruit or sweets. In between foods I focus on getting in enough liquid.

I'm four months out tomorrow and have lost 112 lbs so far. I estimate my daily calorie intake between 800-1000 calories day, what it should be. I still have no hunger.

Edited September 11, 2015 by Proud2BMe