How many times a day should you eat?

[juneau 4]

My nutritionist recommends only eating 2-3 times a day with purposeful fasting in between, but it seems like I am seeing several people say they eat Snacks / several small meals a day. I'm 4 weeks post op, but I still feel hunger between meals. I know some people don't feel as hunger, but I guess I'm still dealing with head hunger and trying to get stomach acid in check. I do know when I drink more Water and take the antacid it is easier to ignore. I'm just curious if other people's nutritionists recommend more than 2-3 meals a day.

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[cindyw41 761]

My dr told me to eat every couple of hours. I go by a schedule because I can only eat very small amounts at a time(still at 7 months out) If I only ate 2-3 times a day I would never eat Enough calories/protein.

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[Veronivt 10]

My plan is 3 meals a day plus a Protein shake. I was told to space my meals apart every 4 hours. I do sometimes have to add a snack to get in all my Protein, but that doesnt happen often. This works for me! And I've been getting my 80-90g of protein in everyday.

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[JamieLogical 8,697]

I don't see how you could possibly get enough calories in if you are only eating 2-3 times a day. With my restriction, I think the absolute MOST I could possibly eat in one sitting, assuming I went for calorie-dense foods, is 300-400 calories. Usually it's closer to 250. You would starve or completely wreck your metabolisim on that few calories over the long term.

I personally now eat 7-8 times a day! I'm training for a marathon and burning 2500-3000 calories a day. I have to eat as much as I can as often as I can to not keep losing weight.

But even before I was training and back when I was still losing weight, I was eating 5-6 times a day... usually around 1400 calories a day.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Initially, while I was still healing, I sipped something all day in order to get in all my 100 grams of Protein.

As I healed, I could eat more purposeful protein-focused meals and Snacks

I still have to eat more than three times a day to get 100 grams of Protein.< /p>

[juneau 4]

I'm relieved to hear this. I was beating myself up for needing a snack between meals. She also doesn't want us to get "Protein obsessed" and says 60 grams a day is fine. I feel like this is so different from what other people are going through. After eating a little but of an egg for Breakfast i am now sipping on a premier Protein shake and feeling less guilty after hearing what you guys are saying. I exercised quite a bit yesterday and I'm also in the 3 week plateau (which I am trying to embrace, but I'm wondering if not getting enough protein/calories is contributing to it)

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[juneau 4]

Sorry for all my typos! And thank you for all the input

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[juneau 4]

One more question - do you wait an hour to drink Water after a Protein shake? I feel like there is so little time you can drink if you eat more than 3 times/day

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[Christinamo7 4,042]

my practice recommends 3 small meals and Snacks in between if hungry or to meet goals.

at six months out sometimes I need a Protein rich snack sometimes not.

they do not want us having shakes past the first month on a regular basis, or relying on Protein Bars, but to get our nutrition from whole foods as much as possible.

on work days, especially if I am the "late person" I end up packing my measured food for the WHOLE day, and just eating on it as I can since I do not really have control of when my meal and breaks will be. I know by bedtime, if I've eating/drank what I brought that I have met my goals within the calories as appropriate.

[KristenLe 5,979]

@@juneau My plan suggests 5-6 small meals - 3 hours in between. They emphasized how important it was to eat shortly after getting up to kick start your metabolism. At 4 weeks I'm supposed to eat 4-5 small amounts of purees but then drink Protein Shakes in between as my Fluid.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

One more question - do you wait an hour to drink Water after a Protein shake? I feel like there is so little time you can drink if you eat more than 3 times/day

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No, I don't wait after Protein shakes because they are liquid.

Being Protein "obsessed" is what works for me and it what I have learned from my awesome surgeon. Protein is critical for healing and weight loss.

I would be curious to know how your NUT's patients are doing over time with both their recovery and progress. Has she been doing this a long time? Does she work primarily with bariatric/WLS patients?

[juneau 4]

Yes! She is party of the team at my surgeon's office. I'm not sure how long she has been doing it though. I researched my surgeon and he is well respected and had good reviews with the lowest rates of complications but I'm not as impressed with his team, especially now. I looked back in the booklets they gave me to make sure I was not mistaken, but it is there in black and white. I have a post op appointment in a few weeks and plan to meet with her to ask for more explanation.

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[suzzzzz 1,005]

I am 2 mths out and right now I have 2 Protein Shakes and 2 meals a day. No room for anything else. My plan says my ultimate goal will be 3 meals a day and one Protein Shake if i need it to meet Protein goal of 60 -70 grms a day. My surgeon discourages Snacks as it can become grazing.

[juneau 4]

Yes, that is what my surgeon's office says as well.

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[Bufflehead 6,358]

My team's plan is 3 meals per day and no Snacks other than Protein Shakes. They discourage snacking as it leads to mindless grazing and taking in more calories than you need. It is okay to be hungry between meals -- you will not starve to death.

I lost 200 lbs following this plan and was perfectly healthy throughout. It's a good thing to follow the guidance your bariatric team provides for you.