We were visiting with the in-laws at their house last night and everyone else was having pizza so I brought the fixings for my new favorite treat: refried Beans with melted cheese, topped with cottage cheese. I am clearly having trouble getting used to how much I can eat. I mixed up a batch -- maybe a half-cup of the beans, two slices of American cheese, and a couple of spoonfulls of cottage cheese -- and I was only able to eat about one-fourth of it! I had to throw the rest away since it wouldn't have been any good reheating with the cottage cheese on top.

I didn't feel physically full and I didn't feel uncomfortable. I just felt finished. I ate it pretty slowly so I'm sure that helped and I haven't been drinking while I eat. It's an interesting situation, one that I'm watching carefully to make sure I learn new habits.

I don't know when my appetite is going to come back but it is sure nice not to obsess about food all day. And it didn't bother me a bit that everyone around me was eating pizza and drinking wine. I wouldn't have minded the wine but I've decided to allow myself a little on Thanksgiving so it didn't bother me to wait.

How have your encounters with food and/or socializing going?

Great job Longhorn. I love refried beans so I'm sure I'll be eating them quite often. I am anxious to get the surgery behind me and heal.

That is my meal tonight for supper......I started the mushies today and so far so good. Yes I have had social situations since surgery. Have been out to lunch four times with family since my surgery. I had no issues at all. I ate my liquids that I brought with me. That was fine with me and didn't see to bother anyone else either.

I made supper for my husband yesterday, meatloaf and potatoes and greenbeans with almonds.

He enjoyed it very much and I did not even want any, I was not hungry at all. It still amazes me that I am not at all hungry. I know this can't last forever....Can It?....LOL

Longhorn - I'm new to the southern thing - do you use refried Beans from a can? That sounds soooo good!!

I don't know what you guys are doing that you're not hungry! LOL. I'm quite hungry a lot - and, yes, it is real hunger, not head hunger - my tummy is rumbling as we speak - but I can't complain - the weight is actually coming off for once.

When my parents were down they wanted to take us out but I just didn't feel like it. I think I'll feel more like going out when I can eat solids. One time we had pizza in and I had some of the cheese and veggies off of it, but that's about it.

Longhorn - I'm new to the southern thing - do you use refried Beans from a can? That sounds soooo good!!

I don't know what you guys are doing that you're not hungry! LOL. I'm quite hungry a lot - and, yes, it is real hunger, not head hunger - my tummy is rumbling as we speak - but I can't complain - the weight is actually coming off for once.

When my parents were down they wanted to take us out but I just didn't feel like it. I think I'll feel more like going out when I can eat solids. One time we had pizza in and I had some of the cheese and veggies off of it, but that's about it.

Yes, down here, we have all varieties at the store. I got fat-free refried beans. I wouldn't know how to make them from scratch.

thanks for the recipe. I've been surviving on canned Soups and slimfast.

I've also went to the chinese place and ordered wonton Soup with no wontons. A friend of mine dubbed it "nonton soup".

That is my meal tonight for supper......I started the mushies today and so far so good. Yes I have had social situations since surgery. Have been out to lunch four times with family since my surgery. I had no issues at all. I ate my liquids that I brought with me. That was fine with me and didn't see to bother anyone else either.

I made supper for my husband yesterday, meatloaf and potatoes and greenbeans with almonds.

He enjoyed it very much and I did not even want any, I was not hungry at all. It still amazes me that I am not at all hungry. I know this can't last forever....Can It?....LOL

Hi Kristin!!!! So glad to see you're feeling so good. I'm finally at the "feeling good" phase. I had a rough 1st week post-op only because of my shoulder pain, but that's pretty much 98% gone. Whew!

Ya' know, the whole "I'm just not hungry" feeling stuck with me for about 5 days or so. Then my husband came home with McDonald's for my son and himself (argh!!). That's when I felt hungry for the first time. By the weekend, I decided I needed to feed my hunger so I took some of the beef stew I made and blended up a bit of it in the food processor. I poured that over mashed potatoes and it was AWESOME!! I only had about a half cup but it was MORE than enough! So weird. I don't have any restriction yet, except for whatever bit of swelling there might still be and I feel full after having such a small amount. It's just a trip!! I've already lost 10 lbs since the 9th. Now I just need to be careful about eating ENOUGH! I'm finding that I just don't have the interest in food that I used to have. Especially now being back at work, food is less "available" than when I'm home so it's even harder to remember to eat those 5-6 times per day.

What kind of "creative eating" are you doing?