If you are asking about the post-surgery meltdown, your program will give you guidelines to follow. Basically, you are on liquids for two weeks PO, followed by soft foods at week three. Around ten days after that, you'll begin to add in solid foods, one food a day to see how you tolerate it.

I'm on maintenance. That means in my case 1200-1400 calories a day, to include a6 minimum 60 grams of protein. I have to watch out for carbs because they make me gain weight and just crave more carbs.

PO, about seventy percent of people are able to eat anything, wiithin reason. I'm one of them, so I have to be extra careful to avoid emotional eating, since my new configuration doesn't provide physical stops. However, the pouch remains quite small. I think my is about 6 ounces and can stretch to about 8-9 ounces of very well chewed food. But some days, my pouch is cranky and doesn't feel like stretching. I have to be attentive to my body's "soft cues" which tell me when my pouch is full. And then stop eating.

Probably the biggest change I've made PO is that I am now a mindful eater. No more unconscious nibbling.

I ope this helps. :)

Congrats on your surgery date!

At 4.5 years out, my daily diet changes each day. Also, some days I'm ravenous and can eat a cup of food in a meal, and other days, my nose starts to run, telling me I'm full, after just a few bites.

As long as I eat my proteins first, followed by veggies and then, if there's room, some fruit or low glycemic, high fiber carbs, I get and stay full and don't get into the snacking.

Like Farmgirl said, your program should give you the information for what to eat. My program has an online book that is available to the public. Portions are very small with RNY which works for me. With meat I can only eat a very small amount even at 5 years. Softer foods I can handle 1/2-1 cup, depending. With post op RNY many of us measure out 1/2 cup to start but at first you will be lucky to even get a quarter cup down. It's not so much about portion size as it is chewing everything to mush, eating slowly, and listening for the subtle signs that your new pouch is giving you. If you don't pay attention, your pouch can be very unhappy with so much as a single bite more than it can take. This is where eating with a baby spoon comes in handy. Small plates and small bowls too. Even at 5 years I still use small bowls and plates. Not a baby spoon now though :) This is where we learn to move past the clean your plate mentality that many of us were raised with. When we go out to eat I always come home with enough food to last for several meals so I always make sure I get food that reheats well or can be used to create a new meal.

I start everyday with my protein coffee although I couldn't have coffee for several months after surgery. I enjoy protein/fruit/veggie smoothies regularly. Shelley has wonderful Bariatric friendly recipes for everything at http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-favorite-protein-shake-recipes.html
I learned early that her Bento box style of eating works great. The container has several small sections for different foods. I take my Bento box or similar container to work every day. I take various protein, fruit, veggies, cheese, and nuts in various forms and configurations. Yesterday I had sliced turkey, red grapes, cheese, and a nut combo. This lasts me for lunch and my afternoon snack. And sometimes an evening snack. I always eat my protein first which fills me up fast. For dinner I will usually have some form of meat and if I have room maybe a few bites of veggies of some sort like steamed or salad. I cook simply without a lot of extras. I am also a fan of juicing and making smoothies to get more live plants into my diet. There is no way I can eat enough of them when I fill up on protein. Last week I tried a yummy new pumpkin protein smoothie that is for fat, sugar, and salt cravings. It worked! It was super thick and took me ALL evening to sip. I added ice as the evening progressed. I tried a new BLT spinach salad with avocado chive dressing this week that was to live for! I enjoy trying new things. Most of my snacks are something simple like protein pudding, a hard boiled egg, cottage cheese, nuts, cheese, veggies with humus dip or the like. I have a tendency to eat the same thing over and over until I get tried of it and then find some new yummy.

Yay Fred! So happy you will soon join the ranks of the RNY's! Wishing you all the best. Keep posting and asking questions. You may not always get the answer you want or expect...but we do out best to help each other.

I'm 5 1/2 years out and still start every day with a 2 scoop protein shake (water, 2 scoops of protein powder, creatine and L glutamine, and lots of ice).

Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: protein shake

Lunch: protein bar

handful of nuts in the afternoon

Dinner: about a cup of homemade chicken tortilla soup (without the tortillas), topped with cheddar cheese and sour cream

Evening snack: bowl of popcorn!!

...and lots of water!

JJ