I get they can eat what I make that is good for me, but that's not always going to be the case. I cannot expect them to be on the same eating plan as me (not portion sizes). I don't want to cook 2 separate meals to accommodate my family. What does this look like for you and your family?

I'm about 16 months out and I never make 2 meals. That wasn't the case when I was immediately post-op and could only eat mush, of course, but after about 8 weeks when I had been cleared for a "normal" diet, things were pretty status quo. If I make pasta, I use Banza and then serve myself more meat/sauce/veggies and very little pasta (if any at all). If I make burgers, I eat them on lettuce. If I make a casserole, I might eat it as-is, depending on what's in it, or I might just pull out a scoop of the meat/veggies and forgo the carb addition. If I make a pot roast, I might have a portion of the meat and a small salad and skip the potatoes. All in all, its pretty normal for us. I adjust for myself as needed, but its very minimal.

Only you can decide what the right approach is for your family. But if they currently live off of nachos and ice cream, something will absolutely have to change for you to be successful. And if you are the primary cook for the family, it may fall to you to make those changes. Or, you'll be faced with making 2 meals, which is really impractical (and may very well lead to resentment).

I don't think I did much of anything the first 6 weeks, but I ate the protein and veggie my spouse ate (usually restaurant take out) except I had a much smaller portion and it was pureed. Everyone else were asked to stay away during this period to allow me to rest and heal.

After that I resumed family cooking which consisted of me, my spouse, my mom, and any grown kids that showed up to eat which was frequent.

I was a plan nazi for the first 18 or so months which means I followed my plan to a tee. I never cooked two meals. I ate the same protein and same vegetable as I prepared for everyone. I abstained from anything else such as pasta or other side dishes and deserts (which we rarely did anyhow).

After the 18 or so months nothing really changed except my plan had become my new normal so I didn't even have to think about food choices or volume, it all just happened. Except on occasion I took a bite of the pasta or side dishes if I did particularly well.

Nothing much has changed over the remaining 18 or so years, except it's down to me and my spouse, everyone else has either moved away or moved on. My plan is still the same, our routine is still the same.

Good luck,

Tek

Edited January 25, 20233 yr by The Greater Fool

Luckily we have always cooked our food from scratch, so fast food is not ever been part of our families diet. Mostly we eat the same food and I mostly omit the carbs. as I have no room for them yet. So we eat roasts, casseroles, stews and curries. I have learned to up the protein in my foods using beans and lentils, my family haven't noticed the difference. It really works well for us

I only cook one meal and adapt my eating habits to fit that. I cook rice, pasta, root vegetables every other day but will never eat it. I remove the carbs from most meals, cook low sodium, everyone is welcome to add after it is done, and I bulk up their meals if it's just protein and veggies. Granted it is easier for me since I mainly eat the protein and maybe a few bites of veggies due to restriction, but I find that doing 2 meals in the past lead to failures.

Great ideas. Thanks!