Berry78

Dense meat is a whole other ballgame. I can eat 6-8 ounces of chili and things like that. Solid meat.. 3.5 ounces is my max. And that is only if I haven't eaten for a while. And if I eat that much meat, there isn't room for even a bite of veggies. So I eat them separately. Keep in mind I'm 5 months out. Solid meat shouldn't be on your agenda until around 8 weeks out. (And expect to get full on 1-2 ounces when you get there).

Bingo! Pretty sure this is exactly what's going on, for me at least. If we get to the point that I feel confident we can actually "do" something, then it might be a fake it 'till you make it situation.

We crossed on Friday at about 9:30am. There were only about 3 cars ahead of us. It took us a bit longer than normal because ... story time! Ok, so I'm in the elevator at the hotel, going down to meet my driver to go to the airport. There was a woman in the elevator that said she was also headed to the airport. She was planning on ordering an uber or something. We go to the lobby and my driver is there, ready to go. The lady asks if she can come along. There was room, so I didn't care. I asked the driver, and he didn't care. So we brought her along. We get to the crossing, and she doesn't have her passport in order! She just has a PICTURE of her passport! So the guard is opening our luggage, popping our hood and trunk, trying to figure out whether he should let this lady cross. After about 15 minutes, he waves us on and we all head on to the airport. I totally would have left her there at the border too. Dumbness.. "let's leave our passport in the safe deposit box at the bank while we drive into Mexico!" Here's hoping she isn't actually some international crime boss, disguised as a 60 year old air-head chatterbox.. and I got her across the border....

Sometimes our tummies decide to go vegetarian, at least for a while. That might be what has happened...

My hubby has been injured for about 4 years (different injuries, but one after the next). I think I could have a sex drive, but I've been "not able to" for so long that I don't even know where to start. I don't feel romantic, even if he's feeling up to it...

We used to go out to eat all the time, but that has diminished dramatically. Usually I just order a cup of soup. $3.00 Bam, done. One time, a restaurant didn't have soup, so I ordered a full size entree. I was kinda horrified to be presented with so much food. With that in mind, a buffet would likely be good since you can control how much food you put on your plate. (Downfall is feeling like you overpaid). Nice hearing others' experiences!

Just so you know.. smooth move tea can be found in some grocery stores. The tea works as a stimulant (same class as ex-lax and coffee). Stimulants can cause the bowel to become "lazy", requiring their use (i.e. "if I don't have my coffee, I get backed up"). If you try the tea, definitely start with 1 cup. I had 2 the first time, and oh man... did I sit there by the bathroom for 2 hours with the most horrible cramps!

Have you mentioned your restriction to your surgeon? Less than 2oz protein at 9 months out could signal a problem. Tell you what. Wipe this meal plan off the agenda for a little while (2 weeks). You can always go back to it. New plan: 2 protein shakes a day (30g protein each). (400? Calories) 4 servings of veggies (add your 2oz of nuts and plenty of fat). (600 calories) Drink enough milk to bring your calories up to desired level. (Probably 1- 2 cups..150-300cal) The point is to give veggies the best possible chance of helping you. If you eat 4 servings and are still constipated, then that isn't your solution, and you need to think about more carbs with fruit and beans.

Your diet has almost no fiber in it. Once you eat 3oz of dense protein, those veggies can't be more than an ounce or two. I doubt you even need the protein shake since you are getting plenty of protein from food. So, I recommend dropping the protein shake and replacing it and the after dinner snack with as much vegetable matter as you can fit in. Personally I do 4-6oz cooked spinach at a time (with a little oil and vinegar and garlic, yum!). But pretty much any nonstarchy veggie will work. That will add at least 8oz of colorful veggies to your day. The cottage cheese has more protein than the egg at breakfast. And if you really want that second serving of nuts, I'm sure you can find another place to squeeze it in.

What does your diet look like? (Other than nuts/red meat)?

Talk to your doc and/or pharmacist. They may be able to switch you to liquid, or some other solution.

Just try to increase your water. Tuesday is soon enough to see your Doc. (Unless of course you develop other symptoms).

You can eat that much? Looks about like 2-3 meals for me lol! Maybe the plate is smaller than it looks..

The prilosec should be good, but you could ask your surgeon if you could try a liquid antacid for when you feel hungry (immediate relief). If you still feel hungry after taking the liquid, then maybe it is actual hunger (or just the healing of your tummy).

5 hit die Ly'in squirrels

Limit your food to 2oz at a time for weeks 3 and 4. 3oz weeks 5-8. Then 4oz until 5-6 months.

If you find out anything, I would love to hear it. I'm 5 months postop, and I love love love how this surgery has taken away that constant need to eat. Sugar and flour don't taste good anymore.. and I'm sure those things were the source of much of my problem. It was funny. Every now and then, through my life, I would eat what felt like a "perfect" meal that was normal sized and I was satisfied. I never could figure out what was different about those meals. White rice must have been like poison to me. I could eat literally 3 pounds of the stuff and not be full (as a 16 year old).

Since you are transitioning to plant-based, I figured I would make sure you research the coorelation between Hashimotos and gluten sensitivity (and soy can be problematic too).

My body rarely gave me signals of satiety. By time I was 8, I weighed almost double a typical kid my age. The overeating had begun before that.. but why? Kids should naturally eat when they are hungry and stop when full. Didn't happen that way for me. (And no history of abuse, so can't pin it on emotional trauma). We never went out for McDonald's either.. homemade meals.. and everyone else was thin. I remember going to an all you can eat restaurant when I was 5 or 6. It was a special occasion. I ate so much I vomited all over the table. I didn't have an illness.. I just literally ate until I "burst". Why??????

Yes, I also prefer to use the term diet the same way as applies to wild animals. "The squirrel's diet consists of nuts and gazelles" etc. "Watching what you eat" also has various connotations, but basically if you are changing what you eat, rather than how much, it's still the same thing. Here is the litmus test: if you are presented with a food when you are hungry, and you say "no thank you" because the food doesn't fit into your view of what food you should eat.. then you are, in fact, "watching what you eat".

It gets better with more real food. Try drinking broth and milk for a day to give yourself a break from the shakes. May or may not help, but it's worth a shot.

Ok, so I love this question. Are you familiar with the recipe nutrition calculators on the internet? There are lots of different ones. Anyway, you can input a whole day's food to see how close to 100% of every nutrient you come. I've been working on this for years, and have had one heck of a time meeting 100% of everything with only 2000 calories (on the calculator, not in actual practice). I think the closest I came required I put in a cup of multigrain cheerios to meet the iron requirement (since those cheerios have vitamins and minerals added). I was trying to hit everything using whole, unprocessed foods, so the cheerios simply didn't belong. ANYWAY, my point is, if it is that hard to meet requirements with 2000 calories, how do we meet it with half the food? We can't. I'm eating about 1300 calories and only get 50% of my nutrients. So I need vitamins pills. But, since I am getting half my nutrition from food, I don't have to take so many vitamins.. after all, I only need to make up half. I should add that I never tried inputting a vegan diet, so don't know how that would stack up.

40 is Fabulous!! Amazing!

Yes, this cleared it up nicely! Thanks! How much weight did you lose between May 24th and August 7th?

So is it a change in the quantity, or just WHAT you can eat? Strictures make it so you can eat less food, or less dense of food. For example: last week I could eat 4oz of tuna salad, but this week I can only eat 2 oz of tuna salad. Or : last week I could eat solids, but now nothing works except liquids. If your ability to tolerate specific foods is changing, not sure what that means. Lunch meat doesn't taste good to me, but I can still eat regular meat. Is it the taste? Maybe describe more about what happens.