some programs allow 6 small meals, some don't

My doc says 3 meals a day. No eating between meals.

I don't always listen to my doctor. If I choose to snack, I try to make it food that is nutritionally sound. Roasted chick peas, almonds, etc. If I plan it out and count it in my daily intake, I am ok with it.

If you aren't snacking on the wrong things, and your calories and protein are staying in the right range, and your weight isn't going up, or you are continuing to loose, you are doing fine.

I hate it when people without a pouch try to tell us how to manage our pouches.

Good Luck!

Laura

I agree with Laura. There is a huge difference between planned, healthy, portion-controlled snacks and mindless grazing. It is also a good idea to follow the no drinking thing with snacks and only eat sitting and doing nothing else to distract you (like watching tv or being on the computer).

My surgeon's plan was also 3 meals a day with no snacking, but she has changed her stance on snacking since I started.

JJ

I guess it depends how and when you are eating...since my surgery Jan. 2011 I have had a lot of difficulty surrounding eating...I had gastric sleeve for medical reasons. I have no appetite since the surgery, most things do not agree with me. My doc + nut. both encourage me to eat protein and drink....both are very hard for me to do. I eat when I feel like it, could be 2 AM....otherwise I would not be getting enough nutrition. Usually it will be a small piece of cheese.
The only other things I eat are small salads, sometimes a little bit of soup, usually with beans of some type in it. I drink water, lemonade, coffee. that is my diet. I take all my vitamens and I am doing well. Everyone so different. It sounds to me like you are doing a great job !! I have also lost 110 lbs. since surgery now almost 8 months out. Have already past my target goal weight, and have slowed down on the losing, but, I have an injury to my back which is keeping me out of the gym right now. Anyway, good luck to you !! : )

Hi! It seems you have done very well, and I too was very successful, should say am very successful. Then I started having a snack. At first it was good choices but this is a slippery slope. Your body is doing well but it is amazing how tenacious your mind and old habits are. I still think you can be OK with snacking but you are more likely to make this small change and then think oh, I am doing OK let me try this and then pretty soon you are sliding down. I speak from experience as I am 5+ years out and I have gained about 40 pounds beyond where I feel is my best weight. It is hard to close Pandora's box once you have opened it and grazing is just a step beyond snacking. I lost 150 pounds so I still am looking decent but I am really having a hard time getting it together and going back to all of the tools I was given and taught. Please be careful. We were given such a gift and it is scary to be where I am.

I do not agree with her at all. If you need to break up your meals,.. do it. My nutritionalists made me sick when I was newly out. I tried to eadhere to their idea of only three meals a day but I could not meat the protein requirements that what.. because I gould not get enough in at each meal. When I was diagnosed with diabetes a few years before the surgery, one of the best things I did for my health was go to 5 or six mini meals. When I did htat, I felt better. It was better for my metabolism. The nut doesn't have your pouch or your metabolism. I say go with the healthy snacks,. You are losint right? If you plateau, and want to reduce calories just eat less at each min meal or snack and as always... protein first.

forgive the typos.. i just got up and don't have on my contacts

Im just one year out this week, I also have had the issue of snacking, not sure if its stress or just old habits coming to the surface . But I have found drinking more water has helped me.

i have 6 equal meals 2-3 hrs apart. As long as your calories are not over your limit...this keeps me from getting hungry and bingeing...If I am hungry in between, I eat SF jello or have coffee with a little vanilla protein in it... {:>} rd

I try to pair complex carbs with protein vs fruit or other complex carb alone. rd

When I feel like snacking I snack but only healthy snacks sometimes I do cheat but not much I take a look at that old pictures and then refocus lol.....Also my nutritionist said to drink water because sometimes our bodies are only craving water not food or snacks....Good Luck

thanks all. I don't ever see myself has someone who never takes a snack, but I can much better than I've been doing.

WLS is a complete change in lifestyle when it comes to food. Everyone should know that.

1. Did snacking contribute to your weight that caused the need for surgery?

2. Is continuing to snack a change in your lifestyle?

If your snacks are healthy then there shouldn't be a problem. I get 2 snacks. They are usually some kind of protein.

Well, I'm sorry she went "bullistic" on you. Seems unnecessary. Then again, it's the JOB of the medical folks to keep it real with us, and we know it is easy to slip, give in to old habits, and maybe even get a little sloppy.

We all know when we could tighten things up a bit, as well as when we haven't been making the best choices, right? So, you accept that, adjust as best as you can, and put the rest in the "history" pile. Don't beat yourself up about it. We tend then, to almost allow ourselves to continue on (*a bad course*), until "tomorrow.:" Not ideal for any of us.

I would add to the other comments that if you figure in the snacks you may have with either calories counted (if your program suggests that), or just calculating proteins/carbs as mine does, you should be fine.

Further, if you have a trigger food you seem drawn to, or know you can't eat in small amounts, consider not having it around for a period of time...a month, couple months, and then maybe try again with a small serving. I have found a few things that I tend to over due, even at 2 1/2 years post op...s/f candy for one. So I usually choose to not have it...at all. You know those trigger foods for yourself, I'm sure.

Hang in there.
Cindy