How much can you eat?

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@Dabearo

Almost everything he eats could be easily portable. Lots of people eat all day at their desks anyway. We just don't notice it as much because they are having chips, donuts, candy bars.

I couldn't eat like @blizair09 I'm just not that into food or have the attention span he does. Also I have more capacity than he does. I don't bother with 2 or 3 ounces of Protein, I always eat 4 at a time. I also, don't bother with things like Cottage cheese. Since I just basically eat dense protein, it takes me at least 2 hours for that feel like it has passed through my stomach and small intestine. If I didn't eat dense protein, he eats a lot of soft protein, I could probably eat more often. The way he is eating is good though for getting plenty of protein in with real food and also, eating all day so you are never hungry and are never tempted. I was eating 6 times a day when I was at his point but I have always been a dense protein person. I'm just too lazy to eat 8 times a day, LOL

As far as the person that asked about fluids. By the time I was a year out I could chug about 8 ounces of Water without taking a breath. Now as soon as I wake up I chug 16 ounces of water. I walk the dog and drink another 16 ounces of water while I make my morning coffee. I drink 16 ounces of coffee. then another 16 ounces of water while I make my 2nd round of coffee. So that is over 64 ounces of Fluid before 11 am. I don't even start eating until Noon and I still get 120 gram of protein in a day.

[blizair09 3,250]

2 minutes ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

The way he is eating is good though for getting plenty of Protein in with real food and also, eating all day so you are never hungry and are never tempted. I was eating 6 times a day when I was at his point but I have always been a dense protein person. I'm just too lazy to eat 8 times a day, LOL

This is really a key to why I have chosen this route for eating each day. I have a huge food and carb addiction, and just because I have lost over 200 pounds doesn't mean that addiction is cured. Yes, I think about food all the time. This surgery and this journey isn't going to change that for me. By eating in this regularity, I have established a routine that I can embrace long term that helps to battle these issues each day. (And it helps that I am a mathematician, a former teacher, a type A personality, and incredibly anal...)

[Dabearo 118]

On 6/5/2017 at 10:59 AM, blizair09 said:

At 8 months post-op, this is what I eat each day:

Meal #1: 1 scrambled egg with 2 oz chicken breast

Meal #2: 4 oz cottage cheese with 1 T sugar-free strawberry preserves

Meal #3: 3 oz chicken breast, 1 string cheese, and 10 ParmCrisps

Meal #4: 3 oz salmon with 1 oz green Beans, and 5 ParmCrisps

Meal #5: 2 oz hamburger steak (93% lean) with 1 oz green Beans, and 5 ParmCrisps

Meal #6: 3 oz chicken breast with 1 oz green beans, and 5 ParmCrisps

Meal #7: 3 oz chicken breast, 1 string cheese, and 10 ParmCrisps

Meal #8: 4 oz cottage cheese with 1 T sugar-free strawberry preserves

I never get "full." I haven't let myself get there ever since the surgery, really. I have always focused on a set amount of food and gradually increased it over time. I could easily eat more at every meal; I just don't. (As an example, I could probably eat double the cottage cheese I eat, but I just won't do it.)

I'm up to 1500 calories now and I'll probably stay there for half the summer and then move to 1600. I'm gradually trying to inch my calories up as I am only 15 pounds away from maintenance. But I do that by adding an extra meal, not adding volume to existing meals.

Good luck!

How did you do anything else but eat? Really, I'm thinking about my work scheduled and that would be impossible for me.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@blizair09

I totally agree. When I ate smaller more frequent meals early on it helped me realize I was not being deprived and my next meal was just around the corner, it didn't matter that I could only eat 3 ounces at a time.

Once I was past 6 months and could eat steak, steak sits in my stomach a lot longer so it isn't as necessary to eat as often. I think a lot of people that are food addicts could benefit from small frequent meals, but so many programs are 3 meals a day with no snacks...

[blizair09 3,250]

5 minutes ago, Dabearo said:

How did you do anything else but eat? Really, I'm thinking about my work scheduled and that would be impossible for me.

I work remotely, so that helps. But even when I travel for work (which is frequent), I pretty much adhere to the same schedule (except that I may substitute a Protein Shake for 1 meal). It takes a lot of planning, but after a while, it just becomes routine.

[Dabearo 118]

I think the way your doing it is incredible and I totally get it. Gives me plenty to think about.

@blizair09"(And it helps that I am a mathematician, a former teacher, a type A personality, and incredibly anal...)"

yes I bet that helps!

[blizair09 3,250]

5 minutes ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

@blizair09

I totally agree. When I ate smaller more frequent meals early on it helped me realize I was not being deprived and my next meal was just around the corner, it didn't matter that I could only eat 3 ounces at a time.

Once I was past 6 months and could eat steak, steak sits in my stomach a lot longer so it isn't as necessary to eat as often. I think a lot of people that are food addicts could benefit from small frequent meals, but so many programs are 3 meals a day with no snacks...

When I find myself busy, sometimes I'll only eat 6 or 7 times, but it is 8 times 90% of the time. But on those days, I just end up with less calories. I don't trust myself to up portion sizes right now. Maybe in time that will happen. I'm getting closer and closer to goal, so I am going to have to chart out a maintenance plan anyway. (Which scares me in a lot of ways. As crazy as it sounds, I have been on this journey for nearly 15 months, and the prospect of hitting my goal and having to think about maintaining rather than losing is intimidating...)

[Dabearo 118]

@blizair09 I bet you set a timer to eat?

[blizair09 3,250]

Just now, Dabearo said:

@blizair09 I bet you set a timer to eat?

I keep a consumption log in a word doc every day. I did have to set alarms in the beginning, but now I just know what is the next time to eat or drink and do it as needed. (But I have been eating this way for nearly 9 months now. And I couldn't do it without writing down the times.)

This is a log from an average day:

10:27am: Scrambled Egg/Chicken (22.5 g of protein)

10:35am: Dry Period

11:05am: Drink Period (32 oz water)

11:50am: Dry Period

12:20pm: Cottage cheese (13 g of protein)

12:28pm: Dry Period

12:58pm: Drink Period (32 oz water)

1:25pm: Dry Period

2:24pm: Chicken/String Cheese/ParmCrisps (31 g of protein)

2:33pm: Dry Period

3:03pm: Drink Period (16 oz water)

3:40pm: Dry Period

4:20pm: Salmon/Green Beans/ParmCrisps (26 g of protein)

4:27pm: Dry Period

5:08pm: Drink Period (16 oz Powerade Zero fruit Punch)

5:19pm: Dry Period

6:18pm: Chicken/Green Beans/ParmCrisps (27 g of protein)

6:24pm: Dry Period

7:47pm: Hamburger/Green Beans/ParmCrisps (22.5 g of protein)

7:55pm: Dry Period

8:25pm: Drink Period (8 oz PowerAde Zero Fruit Punch/8 oz water)

8:41pm: Dry Period

9:20pm: Chicken/String Cheese/ParmCrisps (31 g of protein)

9:30pm: Dry Period

10:45pm: Cottage Cheese (13 g of protein)

10:53pm: Dry Period

11:23pm: Drink Period (8 oz PowerAde Zero Fruit Punch/8 oz water)

Like I said, this kind of specificity fits my personality. I realize that everyone couldn't (or wouldn't) do this. But it has helped me in my journey tremendously.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

4 minutes ago, blizair09 said:

When I find myself busy, sometimes I'll only eat 6 or 7 times, but it is 8 times 90% of the time. But on those days, I just end up with less calories. I don't trust myself to up portion sizes right now. Maybe in time that will happen. I'm getting closer and closer to goal, so I am going to have to chart out a maintenance plan anyway. (Which scares me in a lot of ways. As crazy as it sounds, I have been on this journey for nearly 15 months, and the prospect of hitting my goal and having to think about maintaining rather than losing is intimidating...)

If you switched the cottage cheese for meat, you wouldn't be able to eat or need to eat as much. When you get to 12 months, you might notice a difference with restriction. I did every 3 months the first first year, but the difference between 12 months and now is the same. If you find that you suddenly have more room (and I am talking about an ounce, 1.5 ounces) you might need to switch to more dense Protein. I don't see that cottage cheese working out long term unless you just love it.

[blizair09 3,250]

Just now, OutsideMatchInside said:

If you switched the cottage cheese for meat, you wouldn't be able to eat or need to eat as much. When you get to 12 months, you might notice a difference with restriction. I did every 3 months the first first year, but the difference between 12 months and now is the same. If you find that you suddenly have more room (and I am talking about an ounce, 1.5 ounces) you might need to switch to more dense Protein. I don't see that cottage cheese working out long term unless you just love it.

I really do love it; that's why I keep it around. It is the only "sweet" thing that I have in my diet, so it fills that hole for me. (I was never a huge sweets person anyway, but I did like something sweet every now and then.)

I have noticed the restriction is a little less now than before. I switched to a jumbo egg in the morning from a large egg about a month ago. (I still can't eat 2 large eggs, but the 1 large egg meal was starting to not be enough.) I could probably do 4 ounces of chicken if I left out the ParmCrisps, but, like the cottage cheese, I like them, so I leave them in for now.

If I am ever forced back into an office-everyday situation, I'm sure I'd have to reorganize a bit, but I don't really see that happening. My company has really embraced remote working, so I don't see that happening any time soon...

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

9 minutes ago, blizair09 said:

I have noticed the restriction is a little less now than before.

I was surprised at 9 months when it was a little different. I thought when I was "fully healed" at 6 months that would be it. Then at 12 months it was really a big difference, almost shocking. Not so much a large increase in capacity but it was like a switch flipped and things were more normalized. I'm not sure if it was physical or mental (just used to post-op life), but it was at that point I was able to chug bottles of Water again, which thrilled me to no end.

I just wanted to make you aware, because I don't recall anyone talking about different feelings. They just usually say they are hungry all the time. There is definitely a restriction adjustment.

[Apple1 2,572]

5 minutes ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

I was surprised at 9 months when it was a little different. I thought when I was "fully healed" at 6 months that would be it. Then at 12 months it was really a big difference, almost shocking. Not so much a large increase in capacity but it was like a switch flipped and things were more normalized. I'm not sure if it was physical or mental (just used to post-op life), but it was at that point I was able to chug bottles of Water again, which thrilled me to no end.

I just wanted to make you aware, because I don't recall anyone talking about different feelings. They just usually say they are hungry all the time. There is definitely a restriction adjustment.

This information is very helpful for those of us early on in our journeys. I don't think I have read a post that describes these feelings/stages this well. 😊 thank you.

[blizair09 3,250]

11 minutes ago, OutsideMatchInside said:

I just wanted to make you aware, because I don't recall anyone talking about different feelings. They just usually say they are hungry all the time. There is definitely a restriction adjustment.

Thanks. And this has been the best thread (for me) in ages. It is really nice to talk about something relevant to where I am in this journey as opposed to 99% of what is on here each day. I really do respect the hard work you have put in to your journey and your opinion about mine.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

24 minutes ago, blizair09 said:

Thanks. And this has been the best thread (for me) in ages. It is really nice to talk about something relevant to where I am in this journey as opposed to 99% of what is on here each day. I really do respect the hard work you have put in to your journey and your opinion about mine.

Yeah, WLS boards basically have nothing to offer people that are over 6 months from surgery and not failing. 85% of the board is pre-op and the newly sleeved, 14% are the random re-gainers that post asking for help, that never respond or provide logs of what they are eating, and the remaining 1% people doing well.

I'm excited to see you hit your goal. I wish I was 6 feet tall so I could stop at 180,