SCARED TO EAT!

[Susan58 10]

I will be 3 weeks post op tomorrow and I can start eating soft foods, but after all I've read about food getting stuck and all the pain and nausea, I am so scared to eat. for the last 3 weeks I have been eating thinned down mashed potatoes, sugar free pudding, etc, now tomorrow I can start on tuna, green Beans, eggs, and thinned sliced deli meat. how will I know how much to eat? the paperwork says 4 oz at a time but that really doesn't give me much info, especially the deli meat. can anyone give me any advise. thanks.

[Corridor72 518]

Take things slow and measure and/or weigh everything until you get used to what those portion sizes look like. You will do fine.

[drae 5]

I just started soft solids Friday. Believe me, you'll know! All of the sudden I get a feeling like it didn't go down, like I have to sit up straight and wait for it to go down. That's when I stop.

[gowalking 10,790]

If this helps at all, once I was eating regular foods, I'd eat for lunch and dinner, 3 oz. Protein, 1/2 cup veggies, and 1/4 cup carbs. Breakfast is often oatmeal or cream of wheat. I weigh my food, even now and used myfitnesspal (no need anymore). I stayed around 1,100 calories a day making sure I got around 60 grams of Protein. I also take a protein supplement because I needed the extra 21 grams to battle hair loss.

Hope that helps some.

[Susan58 10]

thanks so much everyone for your input. this makes me feel a lot better. i have always had a horrible fear of choking so i was a little nervous about the stuck feeling. today some real food!!!!

[Jack 855]

"how will I know how much to eat?"

along with all the measurements, anxiety and unknown elements we all face at some point in our journey, the one that helped me the most was the sudden realization that the sensation of "hunger" vs "NOT hunger" was the basic sensation I had never experienced.

Measured volumes are a tool to help give the awareness we somehow missed along the way.

I was actually in graduate school before I ever came across the concept of "SATIETY"....as I had never experienced it.

Like many Bandsters I had been raised with the notion of 'eat till you're full' or 'eat till it's gone' or 'eat so I won't have this little bit left' etc.

You have the moment approaching in your postOp experience, of learning that most important concept. For me that became the question: " If you aren't hungry why are you eating".

Measured volumes are a tool just as the Band is as well. It gives the Rational Brain a chance to wrestle Eating Behavior away from the influence our erroneous habits.

Good luck and cheers on your journey.