Food Portion Question- 5 weeks out

Hello all,

so I'm five weeks out and 25 lbs down. Still trying to figure out how many meals ai should be eating and how much. My job is crazy there are some days I'm in an office, some days I'm driving around in my car to appointments and some days I'm traveling around  the country. Some days I'm so busy I forget to eat or drink enough so I've tried putting alarms on my phone to help me with this but some days I feel like I haven't gotten enough protein etc and I'm fatigued or feel hungry a lot.

what is the right amount for this far out? How many meals, how many ounces should I be eating per meal? Most importantly how much protein should I be having this much out.

What does your doctors plan call for?  Each surgeon is different.

Mine, for example, says to aim for 600-800 calories during the first few months focusing on protein first with a protein goal of 60-80 grams per day, then if there is room have an ounce or so of veggies, and if there is room after that to have a small serving of fruit.  He says I should be eating every two hours (three meals plus two or three snacks depending on how long I'm up).

Considering your busy & irregular schedule careful planning would be a good idea.  Good luck!

I think everyone needs to figure this out for themselves.  For me, I went with 5 small meals a day.  I didn't want to try and stuff all the food I'd need in a day into 3 meals because it was just too much for my new tiny stomach.  I eat every 3 hours and it keeps me from getting too hungry all day long.

I eat 2 oz of lean protein per meal.  That seems to be plenty for me, and doesn't leave me feeling over full.  I've also found I need to eat it slowly or it can cause me problems....I start to sneeze or I feel like it doesn't all want to go down.

Most people will stress protein, and I was eating 100 grams a day right from the start.  However, I had lab tests that showed that I was having kidney problems that was being caused by too much protein.  I cut my protein in half and my tests went back to normal.  I would suggest at least 50 grams of protein per day. 

Fluids are extremely important in this process.  I get in at a minimum of 100 oz of liquids a day.  More if I can.  My weight loss tends to stay steady the more I drink.

This is what I do, and something else might work for you.  I really think each person has to find what works for them.

Jane

Wow.  I bet its hard to work your program with such a variable schedule.  At 5 weeks out, my sleeve could only hold about an ounce to ounce and a half at a meal.  So I stuck to dense protein, with maybe a taste of veggies.  If your tummy can hold more, I think it would be ok to eat 2 to 3 ounces of protein and a little veggie.

My program discouraged snacks, so I stick to 3 meals a day, but a lot of people do add good quality snacks and that works too.  You could check out the "whatcha eating today VSGer's post every day to get some ideas on what people eat.

best wishes,
Carol