So I have been doing really well the past few months with eating properly. But the past week has been awful. I submitted to insurance a week and a half ago and ever since all these doubts have been creeping in.

Can I really get the Protein I need after surgery?

Will I really be able to just eat small meals and not always feel hungry?

Will I fail because I am having trouble now?

Does anyone have recommendations or have similar struggle? I have already contacts a group for overeating and emotional eating which I will join next week for there next session. But I still just feel lost.

@@AWD12368 you may struggle with the Protein a lot of us have at times, esp at first. I was lucky to so far not have any problems other than hydration.

I truly eat a small amount (1/4 to 1/2 cup) and I am generally done. we eat out a lot so hubby is cool with ordering a la carte to his meal and we split things like veggies. this weekend was Longhorns and I had a skewer of shrimp (4) a la carte and half of the broccoli and was full enough to have leftovers for lunch yesterday!

oops forgot to add that we all struggle and just because you are now doesn't mean you will later. I hated the liquid post-op diet but I survived it because I wanted to do what the doctors told me. Follow your doctors directions and when you need a sounding board get on-line here and fire off an email:)

Good luck!

It will be an adjustment pre and post-op, that is for sure. But with time, you will adapt. It might seem impossible now, but you will find a new "normal" post-op and you WILL be able to do it. Putting Protein first has been much easier for me than I thought it would be. I thought I would miss all the carbs, but I rarely do. It's crazy to me to think that pizza used to be my favorite food and now I wouldn't bother with it. If/when I eat pizza, I have to just eat the toppings and skip the crust. It just doesn't satisfy me the way it used to. There's nothing fulfilling about eating the cheese and toppings off of about two slices of pizza then feeling full and gross.

I do occasionally still sometimes have some chips or a muffin or something, but it's sooooo rare and it never satisfies me they way I'd want it to anyway. So it's pretty easy for me to stick to my protein-first diet. It will be hard to get your protein in in the early days, just because getting ANY food in will be challenging. But once you are back on solid foods and fully recovered, it's not too hard to reach your protein goals.

Here's a sample day for me so you can get an idea of how I get my 100 grams of protein in (some surgeons/nutritionists only want 60 or 65, but my nutritionist wanted me up to 100 as soon as I was able):

Breakfast: Protein Bar (21g)

Morning Snack: String Cheese (8g)

Lunch: Leftover meat from previous dinner (12-20g)

Afternoon Snack: Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt w/ 1/2 oz. of kashi Cereal or granola (15g)

Dinner: The meat from whatever meal my husband cooks for himself (12-20g)

Evening Snack: Protein Bar (21g)

Obviously I'm eating a lot more 9 months out than you will be able to handle for the first couple of months, but you can see that by eating protein-heavy meals and snack, six times a day, I get in about 90-100 grams of protein a day.