Pamela F.

I never did the shakes, I have to admit. They made me gag alot and they were sickeningly sweet. I got most of my Protein through my diet and it took alot of effort. Some days I could get it all in while others I did not and I did lose a fair bit of hair doing it this way, but vomiting and gaging everyday was not an option for me. I basically ate my five meals a day and at five meals a day if I had 10 grams of Protein then I was lucky....that gave me 50 grams, not quite enough but better than nothing. I ate things like scrambled eggs with cheese, refried Beans with cheese (all fat free cheese at that point) tuna with fat free/low fat mayo on protein bread. I never did the no carb thing because it just made me feel like I was missing out on something then i would binge later on those things feel guilty and start the cycle. That's why I don't believe in cutting anything out, because this is supposed to be about changing your relationship with food and I'm sorry but the foods i like are not going to be the black sheep in my family. If those things make me gain weight and we can't get along I do with them like I do with relatives I love but can't get on with....I take them in small doses! That being said. I eat like a normal person, I watch my intake, I used to write everything down religiously but don't do it anymore as I am almost a year out. I make sure I'm not over eating and I maintain my tummy by doing the 5 day pouch test every few months to get myself back on track, detox and shrink my tummy down. Here are some food ideas for you
refried Beans with cheese, quac, salsa and plain greek yogurt
meat balls with a quarter of a baby bello cheese placed in the center and baked (not friend) in the oven
beef jerkey (chewed chewed chewed)
look up my recipe for turkey meatloaf and stuffed mushrooms (yum yum yum) it's on the recipe forum.
I ate and still eat tons of hummus, lentils, pistachios, almonds (not the naked kind either the roasted tasty ones) and I eat two tons of sunflower seeds....I should be a bird by now. Instead of potato chips and Snacks high in carbs these items give me my snacky go tos instead of taking in tons of carbs...
I also eat tons of popcorn. I know they say no no no but as far as I can see, popcorn is FULL of Fiber, low in calories and if not loaded with butter low in calories as well. It helps me go to the bathroom because as time goes on and with the amount of protein you will take in moving your bowels becomes a challenge. SO I have to force myself to take in enough liquids that's my BIGGEST challenge. For me Water is not something I reach for so I will usually reach for my diet Decaf ice tea mix by liptons which I swear by....that's how I do it. I try to be realistic about this because living this kind of lifestyle is a big big challenge and for all of us who are living this life KUDOS to us, its very very hard:DDDD
BUT WE ARE DOING IT!!!!!

I'm on my way to a master's degree in applied psychology. I would like to use this toward counseling people with food addictions/eating disorders. I'm thinking of this from a psychological aspect. I don't believe that setting yourself up for perfection is psychologically healthy, nor is encouraging anyone else to. In my experience the more you tell someone not to do something they will do it (Bobby, the stove is hot don't touch...what does bobby do? He touches the stove!)
I don't think a cheeto now and again is going to kill you, especially when you take in far nastier "crud" just by breathing in deeply. I didn't tell her to eat the stuff, I reassure her that her life is not going to change unless she wants to make that change. It is all up to us, what we want to do, how we want to manage. The first few months are the toughest, most challenging time both physiologically and psychologically, the worst thing to tell someone is that they can't do this or they can't do that and they should eat this or they shouldn't eat that. The most important aspect of this surgery is to have a healthy attitude toward food. I agree that taking in good things is very important from a healthy perspective; however you also have to allow room for being human, making mistakes, having a treat now and then and not beating the hell out of yourself for doing so. Food is not our enemy; it can be our friend if we allow it to be. So, instead of lecturing people on chemicals and garbage and what not it's better to encourage people with positivity (not empty positivity) but actual positivity to where they are able to be in a positive frame of mind, therefore when they become emotional food is no longer their go to, which is where the problem stems, not eating a few cheetos once a month. However, thanks for your feedback it was enlightening.

The first few times I went out after surgery I was very afraid of what I could eat, and how I would look to my friends.
I met some friends at a pizza/sub shop. Got there early and looked over the menu.
The place had a lot of Italian food.
" Bingo". Meatballs! I asked how big each meatball was and they showed me. I figured that 2 meatballs would be the right quantity.
I told the person at the counter when my friends came in I would order 2 meatballs in a bowl---- basically a meatball sub---- no bread.< /p>
Worked grea! Except the cook took pity on me and must have thought--- " I big guy like that won't be happy with just 2 meatballs "-- so he gave me 3.
In sub shops I order what is basically a sub without the bread:
tuna salad
chicken salad
Egg salad
Lobster/ seafood salad
Hotdog- eat the dog out of the roll
Hamburger- no bun
In one of the finer restaurants I go to they have a Kobe meatball appetizer.
$12.00 for 2 HUGE Kobe beef meatballs. Eat one. Take one home for another lunch.
You Cannot eat that well at McDonalds for $6.000/ day
In nicer places: shrimp cocktail. Or oysters on the half shell.
Shrimp are sold in categories. 15- 20 means 15-20 shrimp per pound.
Each shrimp is 1 ounce. 4 shrimp = 4 ounce of Protein.
I hope this helps.
I'm happy to give other tips.
I eat out a lot.
Poke salad yesterday!

I've been eating healthy (and a lot less) for 13.5 months now (have lost 90 pounds and am below goal). These eat-all-the-crap-you-can-gobble restaurant offerings now make me ill to even contemplate!
I certainly wasn't a binger pre-op, but I ate so much more than I can now because (of course) I had a bigger stomach that held more, but also because I ate so much faster and chewed my food so much less than I do now.
Completely aside from my new stomach's restriction, eating for 13.5 months the way we all should eat has helped me build a lot of strong, new habits.
Hubby feels the same way -- we both eat far less than we did prior to my having WLS. All chain restaurant potion sizes are just too large for normal people. I'm old enough to remember what restaurant portion sizes in the 1950s and 1960s were -- MUCH smaller than they are today.

Looking forward to cheese with Jello, Popsicles, sf carnation instant Breakfast , Protein Shakes, anything salty sounds good right now. Wouldn't it be nice if I have my fill of sweet by the time I'm in on puréed foods?

So it sounds like you are on full liquids now? During my full liquids phase I was allowed strained creamed Soups, drinkable yogurt, and, most importantly, Protein Shakes. I would usually get in two ready-to-drink shakes a day, some of one pouch of drinkable yogurt, and maybe a half cup of Soup at lunch and dinner? I tried pretty much every single kind of cream soup my grocery store sold for variety.