Am I able to eat too much at 6 1/2 months out?

Amanda M.
on 8/9/13 5:23 am
RNY on 01/18/13

For lunch, I just ate a ham sandwich. I had three slices of deli ham on two pieces of sandwich bread, with half a cup of lettuce. Now I am finishing it off with 6 baby carrots. This seems like I am eating too much. But I don't know if it is just me being scared to start eating a more normal amount of food. 

I just had my first stall end. It lasted 3 weeks. In fact, I had gained 5 pounds, and am now back down to where I was three weeks ago. So I don't know if that is considered a stall really. But whatever. My NUT and doctors do NOT want me to track my food. They believe it makes a person obsessive and less attentive to personal choices. But since I was having a hard time losing and had gained weight, I decided to track my food for a few days. I am eating about 800-1100 calories a day. Sometimes I feel like a bottomless pit. I have been under a lot of stress lately, and maybe that is why I feel like I can eat and eat and eat. But last night I had a chicken breast and green beans for supper and I still felt hungry afterward. Like, full on raging hunger. I ended up eating some cranberry trail mix, which really helped. But I feel like I am eating too much for being only 6 1/2 months out. 

Anyone have any input? 

          
chulbert
on 8/9/13 5:38 am - Rochester, NY
RNY on 01/21/13

For reference, that is lower than the calorie target  given by my surgeon for the six month mark.  He says 1000-1300 per day.

I think you're doing just fine and your food choices seem reasonable.

Karens62
on 8/9/13 5:50 am - NC
RNY on 02/26/13
I'm a few weeks behind you but have spent the last three losing an gaining the same 4 pounds. I couldn't increase my activity but tracked food closely and it looks like I might actually break the 90 pounds loss line which has been mocking me.

I dont eat as much quantity as you can but I do average 800-100 kcal/ day and 90gms protein. I can eat a maximum of a half cup at any meal but that's following my surgeons plan and you have to follow yours. I can't imagine anyone forbidding you to track your food. How do you know if you're getting enough protein daily? Are you at least allowed to journal your food so you can keep track? My appetite has returned over the last few weeks and if I wasn't writing everything down, I am afraid I would go really overboard.

HW - 319, SW - 303.5 

   

      

Amanda M.
on 8/9/13 7:22 am
RNY on 01/18/13

I know estimates of how much protein I am getting in. I know I need to eat a certain amount at every meal in order to get my minimum in. It's been that way for months, so for me to have to track that now would be silly. 

My NUT said it is fine to write down the food I eat, just on a piece of scratch paper, but no totals for fat, calories, etc. They have never given me ranges for anything. If I ask about how many calories I should be able to eat, they say to just worry about protein. If I ask for general amount of food (half cup, cup, etc) they tell me to just listen to my body. So I have a very lenient plan. It's hard to know if I am doing the right thing. 

          
LosingSarah
on 8/9/13 6:14 am, edited 8/9/13 6:15 am - Moorhead, MN
VSG on 10/16/13

I think the obsession of tracking depends on the person. I counted calories for years & it got me nowhere but up. It's like it worked against me. I figured out my "obsession" myself. That being said. My NUT suggested that post-op I track maybe once every couple months or so just to get an idea of what a normal day looks like & keep on top of things. This made sense to me.

It sounds like that is basically what you did. You wanted to see where you were at to make sure you are at a good place. It sounds like you are.

I am pre-op, but I've read a few times on here about stalls here and there. I'm sure that's all it is. Keep up the great work!

    
PetHairMagnet
on 8/9/13 6:21 am
RNY on 05/13/13

The calories are fine, IMO, but the type, not so much. Two pieces of regular sandwich bread is a lot of carbs and not much else value. Have you tried the 100 calorie whole wheat sandwich thins?

    

HW333--SW 289--GW of 160 5' 11" woman.  I only know the way I know & when you ask for input/advice, you'll get the way I've been successful through my surgeon & nutritionist. Please consult your surgeon & nutritionist for how to do it their way.  Biggest regret? Not doing this 10 years ago! Every day is better than the day before...and it was a pretty great day!

        

    

    

Amanda M.
on 8/9/13 7:23 am
RNY on 01/18/13

My doctor is cool with bread as long as it's not a regular occurrence and it doesn't make me sick. I have not tried the whole wheat sandwich thins, but I will definitely look for them now!

          
Cicerogirl, The PhD
Version

on 8/9/13 12:09 pm - OH

I never eat a sandwich with two slices of bread.  I am not sure I would have room for it, but have never tried (in 6 years!) so I don't know for sure.  Anyway,  I always make it with a single slice of bread cut in half.  I still use the same amount of meat and cheese that I would for a full sandwich; I just pile it up on a single slice of bread.

Lora

14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained

You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.

Ladyintheloop
on 8/9/13 7:21 am - TX
RNY on 07/08/13

I'd eat more veggies and less bread.  The amount is probably less than what you ate pre-op.  Choices are more important than size in the long run.

Good Luck!!

Louise1974
on 8/9/13 11:48 am

I used to worry all the time about eating too much or too little, too many carbs, not enough....  I can get really obsessive and tracking makes me insane.  the most helpful thing anyone has said to me is, "If what you are doing is getting you what you want, then it is working."  That was hugely helpful.  I am 11 months out and eating much much more than lots of people on here and sometimes I see the food logs and get all ansy and then I say, wait a minute, is it working?  and it is!  I am 100 lbs down.  There have been times when the weight loss slowed but I think that is normal.  If a month goes by and it is clear you are on the wrong track then you will know and you can re-evaluate.  I saw your ticker and you have done incredibly well.  It seems to be working.  It is true that when you lose the malabsorption element you may notice a slow down or even a gain in which case you can reevaluate.  But if two slices of bread aren't a huge trigger and don't send you running for the junk and you are still getting in your protein then what does it matter?  I know that not everyone feels that way but it has helped me immensely.  And if it makes you feel better, I remember eating a turkey sandwich , almost all of it, and some cucumber slices at 6 months out.  And it sounds like when you were so hungry you ate something small and then felt fine.  That doesn't sound unhealthy to me.  That sounds like listening to your body.  At 11 months out I have days when I eat really normal amounts of food and at first it totally freaked me out.  But I weigh in once a week and I continue to lose, and I feel great.  It is hard to trust yourself after all we go through as heavy people and then the surgery and all that.  BTW, I love that your NUT and surgeon are big on not tracking and listening to your body.  Love that.  Take care of yourself. 

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