Portion sizes

Thanks for the response, carbs are the devil! Since surgery I don't have a sweet tooth but crave salty things, it's cazy. That burger sounds awesome and bravo for passing on the fries!

It sounds frustrating.  Hopefully you can get it sorted out!

I had my six month appointment a few weeks ago. I eat 4-5 ounces of dense protein a meal (meat, 1/2 cup by volume so sometimes it weighs more or less) and nothing else, usually.  If it's soup that has liquid sometimes it's 8 ounces; 4 ounces of liquid and 4 of solids.  I will sip the liquid first and then eat the solids after, which is what I was advised to do.  I usually do add a tablespoon or two of broth to very lean meats because the tummy doesn't like them as much if they are too dry.  Note that "soup" for me is basically just chicken or beef and broth with very few veggies and absolutely no starch which I make myself.  I now sound like I have a super boring diet, heh.

Chicken salad and chili can be really carby.  I don't eat chicken or tuna salad unless I make it because they often have hidden sugars when pre-made.  Also, chili in restaurants tends to meet calorie requirements, but is always lower protein and often has too many beans.  When I make it at home I had 1/2 as many beans and make sure it's lean protein heavy.  Carbs also trigger appetite and protein and fat suppress it--insulin stimulates appetite, and while protein can raise insulin, carbs raise it far more.  I try to make protein the dominant source of calories followed by fat and then by carbohydrate.  

We also stop losing as fast when we get under 180 pounds.  I'm expecting to lose pretty decently for the next 100 pounds, but then we will rejigger things around then.  So, that might also be why weight loss has slowed.  I don't know if I can ever get under 180 or so myself due to my highest weight being so ridiculous, but we'll see :)

I sometimes experience the irrational fear that I have a gigantic sleeve or panic I stretched it (somehow), since I could probably easily fit in eight ounces or so.  I haven't eaten to restriction frequently, and I'm trying hard not to start falling down that trap of a road.

You'll be able to get under 180 if you want it. I got down to 180 before I lost my mind and started gaining. But otherwise it wouldn't have been too difficult and our HW are close. 

Thanks for the reply and you will get below 180!!!! I appreciate you sharing the details, the one thing I have going for me is I don't eat out. I'm going to take some of your meal suggestions, I may have to cut even healthy carbs and stick to solid carbs. Great idea on drinking the broth first, that might work!

My surgeon's plan says that I should be able to eat 5oz of food by volume at 6 months out. I've found that most dense protein weighs roughly half it's volume, so that would be 2.5oz by weight. (The V=1/2W thing isn't a hard and fast rule, it's just what I've found when weighing the limited amounts of things I have so far.)

The dietitians at my surgeon's office are real sticklers about measuring my food by volume, but MyFitnessPal seems to do meat measures by weight, so what I do is put a 4oz cup (all I'm supposed to be eating at this point) on the scale, then fill it with meat, subtract the weight of the cup and then record that amount into MFP.

Good luck!

Measuring by volume is fine early out, when your concern is to avoid stuffing too much into a new sleeve. But measuring by volume is a horrible, horrible way to figure calories. Not much better than eyeballing.

In the long term, calories are what keeps us losing or maintaining. It's easy to go way over on calories using volume. You can pack a ton of calories into a small space.

Thanks, sorry to hijack your response but what would be a good calorie range? I guss it would depend on age activity level and weight, I am just so scared to stretch my sleeve and try to undereat my sleeve but find myself hungry, I do lift heavy weights 5-6 days a week. I made an appointment with my nut also.

Thanks for the response! 5oz by volume  2.5 by weight would be tough i'm hungry now lol! I am thinking my sleeve is big, it is funny how different surgeons plans are! 

Hi Michele,

Isn't being free of the band wonderful!?  I am so glad mine is gone.  I like having the sleeve.  I don't get anxiety when it's time to eat (because it always got stuck) and the cravings I had for sweets is gone completely.  

I just finished month 2 and I measure 3 ounces of food on my scale. Sometimes can eat it all and maybe more but I don't...sometimes can't fini**** at all.  I have on my sheets from my nutritionist no more than 2 ounces of meat per meal.  I've been trying to do that if I am having vegetables with it.  If not (like yesterday I ate some cold cooked shrimp and weighed 3 ounces because I had no vegetables).

I'm still trying to figure out the magic that promotes weight loss.  I was a turtle loser with the band and feel like it's following me with the sleeve.  I lost great the 1st month but this 2nd month I'm only down 7 lbs.  Not impressive.  I feel like it's a what/how much I'm eating ratio.  I also exercise every day and lift weights 2-3 days a week.  I noticed when I started exercising daily and lifting again my weight loss has slowed to a creep.

I hope you figure it out!

What??? Miss having to jump up and down like a crazy woman or spitting out saliva so it won't build up to get rid of the feeling that I am going to vomit because something stuck heck no LOL!!!! How about the alien bump sticking out of my belly that "pulled" every time I tried to do some ab work or just use my ab muscles or how one day I could eat a horse and the other not even choke a bite down if my nose was stuffed up or it was TIM, oh and the heartburn just from drinking water.....go**** was terrible compared to the sleeve.......the sleeve is how I thought the band was going to work.

Even though I am struggling now this was the best decision I ever made, I remember waking up in the hospital feeling so much better and never regretted it from day 1. I am not going to eat more, it is evident that a total of 4 ounces is going to be it.....I think I am going to up my protein to 3 ounces and make only 1 oz veggies and very little carbs and only stick to starchy veggies for carbs. Maybe I'll also try cardio for a week rather than weights and cardio........I will find the magic to get this last 10-15 pounds off.

I was a turtle with the band also, I lost 40 in 4 months since the sleeve and have been stuck for over 2. Trust me you won't mind how slow it takes to get there once you get there. I think that is the problem also, I am back in all my pretty smaller clothes (I only have one pair of pants smaller), feeling and looking great and the last time this was when self sabotage set in.......so yes I am for sure going to get help and talk with someone about my obvious eating/body disorder.

Thanks for the reply, I think there are a lot of slow sleeve losers out there, and to be honest I am just glad to be off the bandwagon and on the sleeve wagon (if there is such a think lol).