I started seeing a new nutritionist in May and she has really been wonderful and supportive. She makes sure we schedule extra time to discuss things, all about health and food, beyond the regular appointment stuff. She has helped me figure out that I eat due to stress, which I have a lot of. She has also encouraged me to eat what I enjoy by making it a little healthier. One of the things she had me try this week, was staying away from senconds.. when something is really good its very hard for me to stop,, I love food and always have.. If life is tough I can't stop myself, until now.. She said to eat my correct portion size and then tell myself that if I really want it, then I can have more,, just later, at least one hour. She even went so far as to tell me to put the "more" in a container in the fridge.. It really had a strange effect on me. I knew it was there with my name on it, and I never went back for it.. I will have it for lunch today, it was potatoe salad, on a bed of lettuce.. I did the same thing with a whole wheat Pasta chop suey (made with ground turkey and fat free cottage cheese)

The other advice was to buy a smaller plate just for myself, I put it on top of my regular dinner plate for the psychological effect. I will see how it works in two weeks at my next appt.

It was great advice so I wanted to share. I would love to hear any other words of wisdom from your dietician or nutritionist.

Edited July 25, 200818 yr by wickedme
addition

Sounds great, also use a baby spoon or fork to help you eat smaller portions and to eat slower.

Here's an idea for something that you can eat a week or so after surgery. I asked my doctor's bariatric nurse and she said it was o.k. as long as I had no problems with the strawberries. Ask your dietician, just to make sure..... I make a Protein shake in a blender like this:

1/2 cup of milk (enough to cover the bottom of the blades)

2 scoops of vanilla Protein powder

3 pkts of Splenda

Abt. 1 cup of sugar-free berry Jello

Blend for one minute

Throw in about 5 to 7 frozen strawberries (whole, unsweetened)

Blend for about 2 minutes, or until the strawberries are totally gone.

This makes a strawberry mousse that is filling because it sets up like a pudding. It is a great way to get your protein in. The protein I use is Premium Protein made by EAS (purchased at costco for $39.95 for a 6 pound bag (72 servings, which makes it $.55 a serving, which is way cheaper than most servings of protein drinks). It has 27 grams of protein per serving (2 scoops), plus the milk that I add (1/2 c. = 4 g.) which gives me 31 g. of protein per shake. Total calories is only 200, and you are really satisfied for hours. I can only eat 1/2 a shake at a meal, but the remainder stays good in the frig for later.

WOW! What great advice. I'm going to have to try that. I'm like you and LOVE food. I have problems with portion sizes (eating too much) and that's a great idea. I'm definitely going to have to try that. Thanks for posting!

The shake sounds great! Question on the Protein. Is it something you can add to Soups or whatever or is it one you have to add to milk and drink as a shake? I'm looking for one that I can add to anything to get extra protein. Thanks.

Baby spoon and fork are great ideas too. Someone once said that chopsticks will slow you down as well. I can use chopsticks pretty well so don't know if that would help me or not but could be helpful to someone.

Wickedme, are you going to Augusta or Portland?? I have my first consult with a surgeon in Augusta on Tuesday...Kimberly

I am going to Portland, called yesterday because I hadn't heard from them and wanted to make sure they had everything they needed.. they did, I just haven't been assigned any appointments yet,, arghhh

Does anyone know who else besides Cosco sells the EAS Protein mix?? I had heard of it before but don't recall seeing it,, we only have wally world,, no cosco

I have seen them at Sams club in Portland. I have also heard some Walmarts carry it.

Thanks kfgates, I will check it out!!

I bought some carnation ones to try and my kids ended up drinking them all.. they substituted them for their usual bagel so I didn't complain, and think I will get them some when school starts. My daughter is entering puberty and has been on a junk food craze lately and I'm trying to keep it out of the house!! We are going to revamp some old recipes this week using applesauce in place of most of oil or butter, and try some things with whole wheat flour.. I tried making Cookies with splenda but most didn't taste very good and were thrown away after a week..

I did well again yesterday with saying no to seconds, my hubby was even amazed.. I didn't even have a snack, and when I started to get the urge it was 10 pm so I went to bed and read.. Hopefully the weekend will go well.. Hope yours is grand!

Wickedme,

Try using 1/2 Splenda, 1/2 Sugar, that should work better for you. You can also try hedging a little more spenda than sugar and see what happens. Don't know if you could go as far as 2/3 to 1/3 but you might be able to. Also depending on the recipe, you can usually only substitute about 1/2 the oil or fat for applesauce. After that it changes the texture too much. You'll have to play with it. Some recipes you can go as high as 2/3rds applesauce to 1/3 of the fat. Learned this in a nutrition class. Have fun!!

The Augusta center has requirements that no other center does, i.e., the $500 cash for exercise trainer - actually they charge that so that patients who have MaineCare (Medicaid) won't be able to go through their program - people who live with food stamps are less likely to be able to maintain the healthy eating that is required therefore the center would have less positive results and not achieve their Center of Excellence they are striving for. I opted out of their program because of what I perceive is discrimination. Good luck. I would recommend the Portland or Lewiston (CMMC) group.

I found the EAS whey on Amazon.com for about $42. They carry an unflavored EAS Protein that runs around $37 for 5 or 6 pounds. They also have a great selection of DaVinci's sugar free syrups.:embaressed_smile: They deliver quickly, also.

I also found daVinci's sugar free syrups at bodybuilding.com - and it was like $1 cheaper per bottle. They also carry a protein named BSB (?) Dessert that cost around $15. I bought the chocolate coconut and use it as a treat once or twice a week. It is really tasty. Next month I will buy two more flavors.:cursing: These guys deliver even faster than Amazon.com. I got my box 4 days after giving the order, with regular shipping.

mindwing:shades_smile: