How much can you eat in a sitting?

Hi all,   I'm a month out from surgery and finding that I'm having a hard time eating much. Yeah, a feeling of restriction is great, but it makes it very hard to get enough food in-- I'm averaging about 350 cal/day, and I'm coming WAY short on protein, even with shakes/isopure and protein powder in everything (about 45g/day the past few days).   Usually, I can do 1.5oz in one sitting over ~30min before hitting that pressure of "oh gawd one more bite and I'm going to ralph" stage. Doesn't matter if it's dense protein like ground chicken, or something softer like mashed cauliflower or SF pudding with protein in it.   So my question to you folks is, how much were you able to eat at one time at this point? Obviously I'll be calling my surgeon for suggestions, but it's always good to hear the voice of experience. TIA!

I had my surgery on September 16.  I can eat a breast of chicken and about a half a cup of coleslaw.  My signal is that I burp once and I'm done. But I get hungry. Very hungry. I'm not one of the lucky ones who never gets hungry.  At one month I was still on liquids and mushies and couldn't eat much. I was able to drink my Premier protein shakes just fine.  I never had a problem with drinking liquids at all except maybe the first week or two.  

At one month out, I was about where you are - 1.5 - 2 oz max, around 300-400 calories/day, and struggling to meet protein and H2O goals. It was (and still is) a daily struggle, but I seemed to turn a bit of a corner around week 6. I am at week 8 today and able to eat a little more at one time, and my calories are now around 500 daily. Chicken seems to be the most filling, and I can't do more than 2oz of chicken. Eggs are great, and I can eat a whole egg now, scrambled or over easy. I can eat 3.5oz of greek yogurt. Mornings seem to be a little more difficult with regard to the restriction, so I try to do easy breakfasts.

I would make sure you're logging everything and go over it with your nutritionist, and I would focus on the protein and water goals over the volume of food at one time. It's hard to wrap your head around surviving on so few calories, and I was definitely tired (whether from surgery, which took a huge toll on my energy level, or from low calories, I do not know), but my nutritionist assured me I would be just fine on such low calories for awhile so long as I was meeting other nutrition goals (vitamins, protein, water). 

It gets better in month 2!

Good luck - 

Amanda 

I am nearing three months out and when it comes to protein am only eating 1.5-2 oz of protein when it's softer like ground meat, certain seafood, beans or dairy I can eat about 2 oz. I only eat solid beef in the form of really tender steak, or boneless chops that have been slow cooked in broth or cream soup all day to make them tender, and boneless/skinless chicken thigh. I cannot handle things like chicken breast, or roasts even when falling apart tender. A couple small bites and I'm full to the max and feel sick.

How many grams of protein do your shakes have? I have at least one shake a day at 30 grams each, and this is the only way I can get enough in to make my goals. Honestly, I'm ok with the small capacity. The more I can lose during the honeymoon period the happier I am :)

It gets easier with time. Good luck!

Edited to Add: My calorie intake is higher that yours, but between the shakes & my choices that could be making a difference. I am usually between 600-800 cals.

I was drinking smaller shakes with ~18g, but I just tried the Pure Protein 35g and they aren't too bad, so I think I'll be switching over to those. Thanks!

I found that walking would help relieved the over full sensation. Sip sip walk walk , I really had to do for at least 8 weeks. I would eat  half of a greek yogurt . protein pudding about  3 oz  walk for  15 mins and then come back and finish the other 3 oz . as for fluids I just keep a water bottle next to me at all time and sip all day

 

Good luck

I could only eat an ounce to 1.5 ounces at 1 month out.  It didn't get better until the 7th week when the swelling went down and my capacity increased.  My NP was a bit concerned at one month, but she did predict that it would improve on its own by 2 months.  She was right.  So do check with your surgeon, but with any luck, it'll be better soon. 

Just hang in there, and enjoy the weight loss.  Its not always as easy as it is at 1 month!

Carol

1.5 - 2oz of protein in a sitting.  Tried to supplement with protein shakes.  It is a struggle but it will get better.  Just make sure you are not eating anything but protein.  If you are eating pudding, cauliflower, etc you are taking up valuable space for protein.  Protein and water(non caloric drinks)  are your only real friends at this point.  Once you can get all of your protein in each day on a consistent basis then you can add other foods but while you are in weight loss mode you should really cut back on anything else.  The goals that doctors ususally want you to get to is that you get all of your protein from your food and not from shakes but in a lot of cases, it is physically impossible to eat enough dense protein to get it in the beginning, you have to supplement.

The pudding is just a vehicle for more protein powder, honestly, I got some vanilla that doesn't mix well with milk but goes OK in thin pudding. :)

1.5-2 oz.  I got my protein through protein shakes, which also count towards my fluid goals.  Food was usually a few teaspoons of something mushy.

It gets better!