My revelation

[fezik23 240]

I'm over 5 weeks post op. I was eating some Light & Fit vanilla Greek yogurt, when I had one of those forehead slapper moments.

If I can only eat a cup or two of food per day, I am not going to waste it on anything I don't enjoy. Ever again. The yogurt went into the trash. So will most of the Protein powders and shakes taking up room in my kitchen. No more EGG BEATERS, nasty stuff. I want to savor my food and not just get my protein grams. I've spent much of my life eating things because they were supposed to be better for me. No more.

So...now what? I'm gonna have to put some thought into this. I go grocery shopping on Saturdays. We shall see.

[Jersrose43 837]

Amen to that!!

Totally agree with you.

I am now able to have fruit so I do cottage cheese and fruit. Always a favorite

[WhoKnows 288]

It's time to fall in love with Beans, lentils, quinoa and other healthy grains! Do a search for a nice quinoa black bean salad. Healthy, pretty high in Protein, and totally packed with flavor!

[fezik23 240]

I am a huge fan of Beans but eat them a lot less than I would like due to the carbs.

[Cody's mom 247]

Yes but what if you hate, and I mean hate lentils, quinoa and other healthy grains? I can't even eat brown bread. I guess I'm somewhat lucky in the sense that I hate lentils and quinoa so much that I'd rather starve than eat them, so if it's between eating them and nothing, I'd choose nothing, and oh I have tried. Like the other post said, I'd rather eat something that I enjoy for my small meal than something that I totally loath, and sadly I loath yogurt as well (unless it's the whipped chocolate type). Is there a magic way to start enjoying things that I should eat as opposed to those that taste good. I don't even like chicken and fish!

[fezik23 240]

I hat mDe a list of things I really like that are high in Protein and low in carbs. Some I can't eat yet until I start real foods. But my list is SHORT. A lot of fish and veggies. Occasional chicken. Rarely, fruit because it has to be exactly ripe and perfect! Of course I love grains and breads but they're not on my list. No sweets. So yes, it's a little limiting but at least I'll enjoy my meals.

[fezik23 240]

I had made. Sorry

[WhoKnows 288]

Whoa, whoa. All I meant was if you're looking for yummy things, that are healthy, that aren't going to waste your precious food space, those are good options. Obviously if you don't like them, then this is a moot point. I just wanted to offer a different option than the usually meat, dairy, meat, dairy stuff we tend to get around here.

[Cody's mom 247]

But is there a way to learn to like them? I have always hated everything that was good for me. Sadly. I would rather not eat something I don't like, than eat it because it's healthy, but there has to be a way to turn that around (aside from lathering it with a sauce). I would never choose fruit over chocolate or Desserts, I don't even like Desserts if it has fruit in it.. So is there a way to like this stuff or even be able to tolerate it? Even eating chicken is going to be hard for me, and again, it's just a filler, no enjoyment what so ever.. Sadly that's one of the things I'm struggling over with this surgery. Does having this surgery mean that eating will no longer be enjoyable and only something required for life. I love to cook, and love to eat, is this part of my life going to be over once I get sleeved? Will a decent steak or prime rib be only a fond memory?

[WhoKnows 288]

I think there's something to be said for trying new cooking methods and new flavors, especially those from a different sorts of cuisines. It can put old ingredients into a new light.

For example, I was vegan for a long time* (right now I'm vegetarian, and when I hit goal, I'd like to cut eggs and dairy back out, but we'll see). Before I became vegan, there were sooo many things I didn't like. It's not that vegans are so limited in what they can eat (it's way less limiting than people think), but it terms of the Standard American Diet, yes, it can be a bit limited. So I started trying things I never would have imagined (quinoa, peppers), and started trying things I thought I hadn't liked (like tofu, lentils and mushrooms) in different recipes. For starters, I had some really good cookbooks that helped. Looking at vegan food blogs helped a lot too. I just learned a lot about flavors and textures I'd never considered before. And the funny thing is, I a much wider variety of foods now than I ever did when I still ate meat. It forced me to be creative.

So if you decide you want to learn to like, for example, lentils, I'd spend some time looking at different lentil recipes, and then trying different kinds of lentils (seriously, there are so many!). You might find you don't like lentils when they're more firm, but that you like them when they're cooked so much they sort of dissolve into a puree. Or maybe you'd like them when they're in a patty with a yogurt/mint sauce or something. The only way to find out is experiment with new recipes. Consider it an adventure!

*Not why I was/am overweight, just for the record. Much more to do with lack of exercise and inability to control portions than because the food I was eating was unhealthy.

[JeanZ_RN 378]

"Will a decent steak or prime rib be only a fond memory?" No!

I eat filet almost every day without any problems. I enjoy it a lot. There's a Beck's Prime restaurant near where I work, so I order to go from there - several meals at a time, once or twice every week. They have very good chicken and hamburger dishes that come with cheese and sautee'd onions, and I love their filet.

I'm keeping my carbs as low as humanly possible, so I eat almost 100% meat - bacon for Breakfast, and chicken, fish or beef for my other three meals every day. I have an ounce of Vermont cheddar cheese with the meat at almost every meal, for flavor. The only other thing I eat is my Quest bars.

[Cody's mom 247]

I'm over weight for the same reason, lack of exercise and over eating, that is why I'm hoping this surgery will help me to once again control portions. I can't even exercise right now as my feet hurt, I try but pay for it in the middle of the night on my bathroom run. I would love to learn to eat properly, but even my pre op diet I'm looking at going yikes. I've tried four or five protien shakes and can't even stomach those, so how am I going to get threw this? We had a big pot luck dinner recently, and a friend brought over a quinoa salad, everyone raved endless about it, when I tried it I might as well been eating saw dust, and it was about as easy to get down as saw dust would have been (a few big gulps of Water helped). So how can I start getting these things down, I know it sounds stupid, but I'm serious!!!

[McButterpants 2,846]

I agree.

I carefully choose my foods - I savor my food. I enjoy my food. I purchase high quality goods. I don't bother with zero fat foods - I don't eat enough cheese for it to make a difference.

I didn't have this surgery to be on yet another diet - this is my new lifestyle!

Enjoy!

[Cody's mom 247]

Oh thank you..

"Will a decent steak or prime rib be only a fond memory?" No!

I eat filet almost every day without any problems. I enjoy it a lot. There's a Beck's Prime restaurant near where I work, so I order to go from there - several meals at a time, once or twice every week. They have very good chicken and hamburger dishes that come with cheese and sautee'd onions, and I love their filet.

I'm keeping my carbs as low as humanly possible, so I eat almost 100% meat - bacon for Breakfast, and chicken, fish or beef for my other three meals every day. I have an ounce of Vermont cheddar cheese with the meat at almost every meal, for flavor. The only other thing I eat is my Quest bars.

[WhoKnows 288]

@@Cody's mom your tastebuds might be so used to processed foods that "whole foods" just don't taste like much. Having the surgery will force you to detox and this should help.

Even though I ate pretty healthy before surgery, I still ate a lot of white sugar. For the last three months, not a bit of it has passed my lips. At four weeks post-op I started eating fruit. I'd always like fruit, but it's not like it was amazing or anything. Now, after not having eating white sugar for so long, fruit is my crack! That sh*t is amazing!

Just give your body a chance to forget all the processed crap (it's engineered in labs to get us practically addicted, after all) and then try adding in these things you don't care for now again. You might find they have more flavor than you think. But even so, don't forget to add spices! Spices are the best. I'd never make a quinoa salad without plenty of cumin, paprika, lime juice, black pepper, and a little sea salt. I also cook the quinoa in low sodium veggie broth.

And even if quinoa isn't your thing, there are plenty of other whole foods to discover!