When will I ever learn?

 I use it everyday, myfitnesspal that is.  it says 3 chicken strips from hardees is 260 calories and 25 grams of protein 13 carbs and 13 fat.  I'm not sure how that could be 5 oz since it was no bigger then a deck of cards that I ate.  I cant even eat 5 oz anyway.  If those 3 little things were 5 oz then maybe that is what made me get the foamies but it sure didnt seem like very much food looking at it.  They were pretty small strips.  I'm still learning what I can handle and what I can't or how much food 3 oz is etc.

But in any case, I try to stay away from fast food but I'm on the go a lot and sometimes have to eat out.  One reason I chose the sleeve was because it didnt take away all the foods you love so much but just limit how much you could eat.  Seemed like the best of both worlds when I decided to have this done.  I've had chicken tenders before and was fine, I just ate them too quick not paying attention while I was watching t.v.    I'm loosing weight pretty steady .. 45 lbs in 6 weeks, so I'm not sure I'm doing anything horribly wrong.  But I do admit I need to slow down.  I feel 10 times better when I eat my meals very slow.

 Here is the thing, when you past that Hardee's, how many supermarkets did you pass too? If you plan better you will not need fast food at all, I went from a four/five day a week habit to maybe once a week (and that is only now that I am pretty much at goal and in maintenance and it is planned the day before, and the rest of my food is tailored to accommodate what I plan to eat that night for dinner). 

Here are things that are quick, easy and perfect to keep around, tuna packets, cheese sticks, deli meats, already cooked and marinated chicken breasts (you can get these in the meat section, I think they are Purdue, you can heat and eat them and they are pretty good). Pepperoni, laughing cow cheese, protein shakes and beef jerky. Any of those could be bought just as quick and easy as the junk from Hardees (and probably cost you less for more meals!). The time to get into that habit is now, before you are thrust back into your crazy busy work and regular life. Habits are as hard to create as they are to break, but not impossible. 

You have a time in this journey where you sleeve it at its smallest and your hunger is going to be at its lowest, you need to take every advantage of that that you can to get as much weight gone during that time as you can because it gets harder the farther out you are and the more capacity you have. 

You need to change your mindset about WHY you had this surgery, you didn't have it JUST to have smaller quantities of the things that made you fat in the first place, you had it to change your life and become a healthier you, and that won't happen unless you change your relationship with food. I know I can sound harsh and (dare I say LOL) like a ***** sometimes, but I really do care about what happens to you and I have BEEN where you are, I see a lot of myself in your comments and struggles. At first my relationship to food didn't change and I struggled hard, it's not easy every day, but I know I got this and I want the same sense of "got it" for you. 

I am glad you are getting a food scale, I think you are going to be shocked at what 3 ozs really looks like in different shapes and sizes. If we are not already friends on MFP shoot me a friends request (same screen name), and I will hook you up with some amazing OHers who have been instrumental in getting me to goal (and beyond). 

 OH those are some great suggestions. I'll pick up some of those things from the store!

Thanks for the help .. I do appreciate it.  This is not as easy as I thought it would be.

Even if its a seriously low rent little grocery store, a 60 cent packet of Buddig lunchmeat, sodium laden as it is, is a filling alternative.

And 60 cent!

THIS RIGHT HERE. . .

I'm over 2.5 years out, and can not eat 3 chicken tenders without wanting to puke. I eat 2 and then I know I'm done. I have no idea how you managed to get 3 down at a month out.

Eating too fast is the hardest habit to break, but I honestly think you are putting stuff in your mouth that your stomach just isn't ready for at this point. Your body is telling you "HEY, that's too much, too fast." And you're repeating the behaviors. I realize it's NOT easy, no one said it would be easy, and if they told you it was, they are LIARS. You just have to stop rationalizing and justifying the behaviors/choices that you are making. 

Your stomach's primary function is to mush down, mechanically grind food so it can be passed through the pyloric valve and into the intestines for absorption. With all the trauma your stomach endured just 4.5-5 weeks ago, it can in no way function at 100%. Meaning, you're forcing foods in there that just can't get mushed down and eating them too fast isn't helping that amputated organ do it's job.

I understand eating out, social time, and incovenient situations that effect your eating. I eat out 3-4 days a week and have since being around 4 months post-op. I have a hectic social life, and volunteer schedule that sometimes doesn't offer an opportunity to always make the "best choice". The big difference between you and me is that I'm way further out, my stomach is healed, matured, and is used to accepting normal, solid foods. Take all the advice, and really listen to what your body is telling you.

Some visuals to help you "gauge" portion size when you are out.
1 ounce is about the size of a matchbox
3 ounces is about the size of a deck of cards
When you can't measure, when you're in a pinch, err on the side of caution and go with the smaller portion. Remember, just because you CAN, doesn't mean you SHOULD.

Thanks for your reply.  I bought a digital food scale from amazon.  It should be here any day.  Hopefuly this will help me figure out what 3 oz looks like.

If my stomach is not healed yet though, then why did they tell me I could switch to solid foods after week 4?  

Don't do 3 oz, do 2 oz.

Maybe "healed" is a bad word. Does recovered make more sense? I'm not being snarky at all. I know you can not read my tone or voice inflection, but like my previous post, your stomach has been traumatized, doesn't and can not fully function like it did before to mush down that food effectively especially if you're eating fast. It needs to recover from the trauma/surgery/being amputated.

Analogy: If you had your foot amputated, and even though all the external sutures have been removed, scars are visible, but no open wounds would you try to walk on the stump?? Nope, you wouldn't. It would still hurt, be swollen from the trauma. 85% of your stomach has been amputated.

And, I was released for solids at 6-7 weeks. Want to know when I could comfortably eat more than 1.5 ounces of solid meat??? 4 months post-op and even then I ate barely 2ounces of meat. I was on mushy/purees/super soft solids until I was 3.5 months out, and I still usually only ate 1-2 meals per day of solid protein.  Just because they say we can doesn't mean our bodies are going to like it. Scrambled eggs were my "first" suggested food, I was in so much pain that I couldn't breathe and to this very day at over 2.5 years out, I can not comfortably eat scrambled eggs. I don't know why, others have zero issues with scrambled eggs, but my stomach does NOT like them so I don't eat them. It's NOT a horrible thing to stay on mushy/soft solids longer, it's easier to get in your protein and be satisfied, does it take a little more effort? Yes, but it's worth it to be able to eat with puking, foamies or sliming.

Heyyy so I was right with my eyes guestimate! I said I wouldn't eat more than 1 1/2 and that's 2.25 ounces (128g=4.5 oz). Damn I'm good! 

 Yeah, once you have see the amounts a couple hundred times you get pretty good at it LOL I can literally cut a piece off a chicken breast or cheese and toss it on the scale and it's 2 ozs on the dot almost every time, but at the start I always overestimated.