3 tablespoons per meal?

[Joan Sando 0]

Hi everyone,

I'm pretty new to this board, but I have to get some help. I am about a month out and I am physically hungry a lot of the times. I try to eat 3 tablespoons per meal, but 2-3 hours later I am hungry!! I am drinking Water, having a Protein shake, but nothing helps! Yes, I am keeping busy. I work, do chores, have hobbies, and I am taking 2 acid reflux pills a day. Is it just me or is it unrealistic to think 3 tbls of food will fill you up? I'm so confused, I want to cry.

[Tssiemer1 549]

Aren't you supposed to eat every 3 or so hours anyway? That's what my surgeon told me.

[Babbs 14,681]

I agree with @Tssiemer1...then EAT every 2-3 hours. I did, and pretty much eat every 3 hours even now at 16 months out. I know early out I was eating every 2.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I agree. If you are hungry after 2-3 hours then eat something. Just make sure it's on your plan. Also, make sure you stay hydrated.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Did someone tell you that you should eat only 3 tablespoons at each meal?

If so, that's cray.

Early on, your new stomach is swollen (while it's healing) that 3 tablespoons could well be all you could eat.

But eventually, your stomach will heal, easing the restriction a bit. By 3 months post-op I was eating half a cup of food at each meal. Today (at nearly 16 months post-op) I can usually eat about a cup at each meal.

By a few months post-op I was also eating a couple of Snacks a day -- my go-to Snacks were (early on) Greek yogurt or cheese.

Months later, as restriction continued to ease I added fruit to the yogurt.

Just be careful not turn your high-Protein snacks into nibbling on slider foods, e.g., pretzels, crackers, crap, all day long. Those are not snacks! That's what they call "grazing," and it's the road to perdition.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I eat every 2-3 hours, usually 1/2 cup or so at a time. I'm 2.5 years out and my restriction is great. Because I eat so little, I eat often so I have to make sure to make great choices or I have no doubt the weight will come back.

It took me almost a year to get past 3-4 tablespoons at a sitting, but that was the point of surgery.

[Sharon1964 2,530]

I'm four months out and my plan calls for 1/3 cup food at each of 3 meals per day, no Snacks.

There are 16 tablespoons in a cup, so I am eating about 5 tablespoons or so at each meal. It sounds like you are eating at most 1/4 cup, which doesn't sound like enough.

Also, are you taking a PPI? It reduces stomach acid and may help you not feel hungry. I have no hunger now (although not everyone is that lucky); I eat by the clock. Also, I am drinking a lot between meals.