When could you eat a standard portion?

[LoveLearning 0]

At what point post op were you able to eat a normal size meal (i.e. sandwich) in one sitting?

[The Greater Fool 2,011]

I'm 21 years post-op. A sandwich that I could easily eat pre-op is 4 meals now.

The thing is, my concept of 'standard' has changed completely. For this thing to work long term it had to*. In the years pre-op I could do any crash diet that came along with 100% compliance for months. I can do anything for a short time knowing the short time would end eventually. That's not change, that's will power, which most of us have in abundance.

WLS is forever*.

The early "honeymoon" period shouldn't be about losing weight as fast as you can*. It should be about changing "normal" and getting weight loss as a positive reinforcement for compliance*.

Compliance + positive reinforcement + time = new normal*.

My plan was to eat the way I would after I lost all the weight. Basically, I started my "maintenance" plan the day after surgery. I eat now pretty much as I have since about 3 months post-op, though now I complete more meals than I did at 3 months. There is no "after." This is my normal, the way I eat without thinking.

WLS is forever is my opinion. Plenty of folks have done the draconian post-op diet and lost all their weight and even maintained it for years. Many track every morsel they eat forever. For me, that's no way to live. This is not how my surgeon wanted me to live.

Good luck,

Tek

* Personal opinion.