I had surgery on Aug. 1st. I am down 88lbs. Eating sometimes can be difficult or boring. One thing I noticed is I cannot snack. If I eat a little here and a little there I stay full to long and have no room when I need to get in my 20g of protein or water. My nutritionist wants us to eat at leat 60 grams of protein a day in three to four meals. She said we could replace one of our meals with a protein shake. Three ounces of meat is generally 20 grams of protein. We were told at three to four months we should be able to eat 3 ounces of protein. You have to think at the beginning of the day about what you want to eat for that day. I have a water and a shake for breakfast because I've never been a breakfast eater but at least I can drink the 8oz. drink pretty fast and get in my first 20g for the day. Then water drinking until lunch. Maybe for lunch I'll have some tuna - and I do use quit a bit of mayo to be moist - I even throw in 2-3 crackers sometimes, chew, chew, chew, eat slow, smaller bites! 19 g of protein in the one serving pouch of tuna and it's 3oz. So now I'm up to 39g and it's only 1PM. I wait an hour and a half and start on the water until dinner. For dinner I might have some shredded beef (chuck roast) I make in the pressure cooker. You can also make it in the crock pot. It is pretty moist and eaiser to chew. I do use ketchup you can also use gravy. My nutritionist said with the amount of food you eat using gravy does not add much additional calories. I started out eating close to 3oz. (you have to work your way up to it) now I can eat 4oz. I container up the left overs and eat it for a couple of days. Yes it may get boring but you don't eat that much. Now I've eaten 59g of protien and I only ate solid food two times. Again remember chew, chew, chew, eat slow, smaller bites. Your pouch doesn't break down food anymore like your stomach did- it's mainly a holding chamber - that's why you must really chew your food or it will get stuck and you will not feel like eating. The snack comes after the protein. To me snack is anything other than a 15-20g protein meal. Vegetables, string cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt - these are all things I consider "snacks". These I eat last. Some other things I eat are chili made with a lot of ground beef, shrimp ****tail with the sauce 8jumbo is 20g, bacon wrapped scallops 4 is 19g (sold at Sam's Club), pressure cooked chicken thigh 20g - chicken breast is too dry and gets stuck. I have a protein counter book and use it all the time. You just have to try to experiment with different things. I would stay away from the pasta and heavy carb items. Always have water to drink inbetween meals with you. Get a water bottle and carry it with you everywhere. Make a goal that you'll finish one in a car trip. You only need to drink about four of the 16.9 oz bottles a day and you can subtract 8oz for your protein shake. Rember food life as we knew it changed when we signed up for this. You have to take food off the entertainment portion of your life. You no longer live to eat. You eat to live and if you think about it you should find it will come eaiser to make the right choices to get in your required protein. Just try that's all you can do. If you can't eat it all don't. Try next time. You will have your good days and your bad. Good luck! Lori

Almost 4 months out now and holding down foods much better..Introducing new foods slowly to the new pouch. How is everyone doing with exercise??? I just cant get going with a good program, any incentives???or a good videos out on exercise?...Thanks.

Aloha Pam.....I had a couple of weeks of misery myself, and just had to do something about it. I tried Benefiber in my shakes...nadda. Then I tried colace stool softeners...helped, but didn't fix it. Then I tried taking two magnesium citrate tablets a day, PLUS 3 colace capsules (get them at Costco), and now I am very regular, and even with all that help, the stools are still very firm and would have been killer painful without the magnesium and colace. I guess it's from all the protein we are eating and the low amount of veggies, fruit, etc. Good luck...I hope this helps. Aloha nui loa, KarenS

Oh Pam, Do I feel your pain! I had bad bad constipation issues!!! All due to my low water/fluid intake. I have since turned around...no idea how it happened but it feels good to go "naturally" again. I was told to increase my fiber intake....I used Benefiber, started adding more low carb vegetables...and also increased my exercise. I also drink two glasses on hot tea everyday and I usually "go" right after that...smile! Good Luck! Traci

I am three months and a week out, and I don't eat a great deal either... I do eat cheese the lowfat stringcheese, and I drink at least one sometimes two protein shakes a day... I love my protein shakes... I really don't eat meat... I eat eggs several tiems a week... I munch on soy crisps and I did buy Kashi Chewy Granola bars. lowfat , low sugar, and low carb with flax seed oil in them... They have almonds in them too.. Nuts are a weakness for me... I really really enjoy them and while high in fat, I have them occasionally... If I eat meat, it's tuna or Salmon... chicken,pork and turkey make me sick and cause me great pain....