PORTION SIZE ?

HELLO TO ALL OCT LADIES AND GENTS, DO WE REALLY HAVE ANY MEN ON THIS BOARD? I ONLY EVER REMEMBER ONE MAN ADDRESSING US AT THE BEGINING OF OUR JOURNEY AND HAVEN'T SEEN OR HEARD FROM HIM SINCE. AFTER READING AND RESPONDING TO TIFF'S POSTING I'M WONDERING ABOUT EVERY ONES PROTION SIZES. DO YOU FAITHFULLY MEASURE EVERYTHING OUT OR DO YOU "EYE" IT? IF YOU'RE A FAITHFULL MEASURE TYPE PERSON HOW MUCH ARE YOUR PROPORTIONS? DO YOU STILL EAT 1/4 - 1/2 CUP OF SOMETING OR HAVE YOU INCREASED IT TO 3/4 - 1 CUP? FOR INSTANCE, WHEN I HAVE ONE OF THOSE COTTAGE CHEESE DOUBLES, THEY'RE 1/2 CUP, I DON'T GET THAT FULL FEELING AFTERWARDS, SO I'VE TAKEN TO BUYING A LARGE CONTAINER OF COTTAGE CHEESE, 2% AND GENERALLY HAVE ABOUT 3/4 OF A CUP W/ MIXED BERRIES FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH OR AS A SNACK, WHICH EVER TIME THAT FOOD TYPE HITS ME. DO YOU HAVE DAYS WHERE YOU'RE EXTREMELY HUNGRY ALL THE TIME AND NOTHING SEEMS TO SATISFY YOU AND OTHER DAYS YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE EATING? I DO, YESTERDAY I COULD HAVE ATE EVERYTHING IN SITE, INCLUDING THE SOFA, AND TODAY, I'M ONLY SLIGHTLY HUNGRY. WHAT GIVES? DON'T SUGGEST IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH, I HAD A TAH/BSO (total abdomial hysterectomy) TWO YEARS AGO AND WAS POST MENAPAUSAL BEFORE THAT. SO, TELL ME YOU STORIES, YOUR SUCCESSES, YOUR FAILURES, YOU SUGGESTIONS ON HOW MUCH AND WHAT TO EAT. IT'S REALLY HARD GETTING IN THE SIX SMALL MEALS A DAY AND ALL THE FLUID WHEN I'M WORKING, WE'RE A VERY BUSY OB/GYN/L&D/NICU DEPT AND I'M LUCKY TO GET 32oz IN SOMETIMES. THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS AND ANSWERS. DONNA, SFY

Hi Donna and all the October sisters, I can hold about 3/4 cup of cottage cheese and berries too but no more than that. I have that almost every day for breakfast. I keep my measuring cup handy because I still don't trust my eyes for portion control. My eyes and mouth got me to be SMO and I don't want to get there again. Each day I struggle to get in enough protein. not that I can eat much else, just a struggle to get it all in. 3 small meals and 1 or 2 snacks are my routine. I try to have a protein and good carb for a snack. An apple and cheese or peanut butter is my norm. My meals are a protein, (any meat sits well) and a veggie. Cauliflower, broccolii, green beans are my favorites. On busy days it is harder to get in my water. Now I keep the Crystal Light, or store brand, packets to go in my car. That way I can make a quick stop, buy a bottle of water and drink. Better planning would help but some days I don't plan so well. I am soooo tired of other people telling me to EAT!! Non obese people who know nothing about my requirements. My temper is short and I'm not so nice to them. When the weight first started coming off, people seemed supportive. Now they bug me to eat. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. You asked for suggestions of what to eat? I eat the same basic meals as I described all the time. Meat, veggies, cottage cheese, some fruit, no extras. Once in a while I have yogurt with Kashi Go Lean for a meal. Does that help? this board got quiet for a while. Now I think we are understanding that the honeymoon is over. It is still hard to learn what to do or better yet what not to do. I'll try to check in more often. Annette

HEY ANNETTE, FIRST, I HAVE TO SAY I'M SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO RESPOND. IT'S BEEN SO BUSY AT WORK LATELY, WE'VE HAD MORE THAN OUR SHARE OF REALLY SICK BABIES LATELY THAT WHEN I FINALLY GET HOME I JUMP IN THE SHOWER THEN INTO BED, GET UP AT 5am AND REPEAT ALL THE CRAZINESS ALL OVER AGAIN. SECOND, I HAVE TO TELL YOU HOW FANTASTIC YOU LOOK. I WENT TO YOUR PROFILE AND AM AMAZED AT THE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT YOU'VE LOST. I'M SO JEALOUS, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT 173# FOR MONTHS NOW AND IT'S MAKING ME NUTS. I'VE LOST A TOTAL OF 140#'s BUT WANT TO LOSE ANOTHER 20#'s. HOW THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN I HAVEN'T GOT THE SLIGHTEST IDEA. I'D LOVE TO JOIN A GYM BUT MONEY IS REALLY TIGHT, HARDLY ANYTHING LEFT OVER AFTER PAYING THE MONTHLY BILLS. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY "I'M SO TIRED OF PEOPLE TELLING ME TO EAT." I'M TIRED OF PEOPLE SAYING YOU'RE GETTING SO SKINNY. SKINNY AT 173#'s ? ARE THEY CRAZY OR JUST BLIND? THANKS FOR THE EATING SUGGESTIONS, I'M JUST SO TIRED OF EATING THE SAME THINGS ON A DAILY BASIS. WHEN I'M AT WORK IT'S EITHER 1 SCRAMBLED EGG W/ A PIECE OF TURKEY BACON OR COTTAGE CHEESE AND FRUIT. FOR LUNCH IT'S CHICKEN, CHILLI, PORK LOIN, TOSSED SALAD W/ CHICKEN BREAST AND PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING FOR DINNER. I HAVE STARTED SNACKING IN BETWEEN MEALS, FOR INSTANCE, YESTERDAY I HAD ABOUT 6-8 SHRIMP, THEN SOME CHEESE, 2% BUT I FEEL LIKE A PIG EATTING CONSTANTLY. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT ANY OF US WOULD BE CARING HOW MUCH WE WERE EATING THIS TIME A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. NOT ME, THAT'S FOR SURE. THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS AND PLEASE KEEP ME UPDATED. DONNA, SFY

Hi Donna, Great question... That is just crazy.. I felt like I could eat everything and anything yesterday and everything was going down easy and no problems.. Today I feel like I could barley eat anything.. My Hot Ceral barley went down, when I ate the enire thing yesterday.. So.. yes, yes. I am the same.. I can eat about a 3/4 cup of cottage cheese with a few slices of tomatoes. I can eat an entire hard taco now. I usually dont measure. I just know how much will fit.. I am interested to see what everyone else says.. Luvs and Hugs! Tiff

HEY TIFF, THANKS FOR RESPONDING, IT'S SEEM LIKE WE'VE LOST SO MANY PEOPLE NOW THAT WE'RE OVER A YEAR OUT FROM SURGERY OR THAT ONLY CERTAIN PEOPLE GET MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE. SORRY IT'S TAKEN A WHILE TO RESPOND, IT'S BEEN NUTS AT WORK, I'VE BEEN LEAVING THE HOSP. EVERY NIGHT AROUND 8:30 - 9:00pm INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL TIME OF 7pm, THE BABIES WE'VE BEEN HAVING ARE HAVING REALLY COMPLEX PROBLEMS AND I HATE LEAVING THEM TILL THEY'RE MORE STABLE. I'VE GET TO BACK INTO THE MIND SET OF EATING HEALTHY. SINCE THE HOLIDAYS I'VE BEEN REALLY BAD, EATING COOKIES, CANDY, CHIPS, etc . . . YOU GET THE PICTURE. I STILL HAVE A PROBLEM W/ EYEING FOOD AMTS. SO I'M STILL MEASURING, THE EYES ARE STILL BIGGER THAN THE STOMACH. I THINK ONE OF MY BIGGEST PROBLEMS IS THAT THERE'S NO SUPPORT GROUP WHERE I LIVE AND THE NUT I HAD MY INITIAL INTERVIEW WITH PRIOR TO SURGERY IS LOCATED AT THE HOSP I HAD SURGERY IN, BUT THAT IS OVER 2 HOURS AWAY, AND THAT'S A ONE WAY DRIVE. SO I'VE BEEN BASICALLY ON MY OWN SINCE DAY ONE. SO ANY AND ALL SUGGESTIONS ARE VERY WELCOME THANKS FOR YOUR INSITE. DONNA, SFY

I don't measure anymore - I just eyeball the food... I'm continuing with three meals a day and an afternoon snack, always protein first. I can eat more if I eat simple CARBS -- so I try to keep away from them. If I eat my protein first, I'm rarely ravenous AND I rarely have room for anything else other than a vegetable. The holidays were hard for me, surrounded by all my favorite sweet treats. I gained two pounds, but have lost them now. This will take some work to keep at goal, but well worth it!

HI EVELYN, GLAD TO SEE YOU'VE LOST THE TWO POUNDS YOU GAINED OVER THE HOLIDAYS. WISH I COULD SAY THE SAME. I GAINED THREE POUNDS AND THOSE THREE POUNDS ARE STILL HERE. CAN'T THINK WHAT I'M DOING WRONG TO NOT HAVE LOST THEM YET. I WALK 2.5mi ON MY DAYS OFF, I WALK UP AND DOWN FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS AT WORK. I DON'T HOW EVER BELONG TO A GYM, CAN'T AFFORD IT AT THIS POINT. MONEY IS REALLY TIGHT SINCE MY MOM, WHO LIVED W/ MY SISTER AND I, AND WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THE HOUSE HOLD BUDGET PASSED AWAY IN MAY. WE'LL GET BY THOUGH W/ THE EXCEPTION OF MISSING HER TERRIBLEY. I TRIED EYEING MY FOOD BUT THE EYES ARE STILL BIGGER THAN THE STOMACH AND I HATE TROWING FOOD AWAY, BUT AFTER THE FIRST SITTING IT'S NOT USUALLY APPEALING ANYMORE. SO, TELL ME WHAT IS YOUR NORMAL DAY FOOD CONSUMPTION? WHAT DO YOU EAT FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER AND WHAT TYPE OF SNACKS DO YOU EAT? THANKS FOR RESPONDING AND YOU INFO. DONNA, SFY

Hi Donna! I eat on small plates now - my dessert or salad plates. That helps a lot, since it looks like more food on those smaller plates! I'm fooling my brain that way. I still do the "proteins first" rule for my eating. Breakfast is often a protein shake, or an egg, or some other protein source. (I have to work on getting in enough protein.) Lunch is often a small salad with protein toppings, or an open-faced sandwich on high fiber bread, or low-fat string cheese and some snack vegetables. Dinner is a lean protein and a vegetable. Sometimes a carb source if I have room after the protein. On occasion, I have a dessert or some refined carbs. I don't beat myself up over them. I've had a lifetime of making myself guilty. My surgery still has me pretty restricted, so I can't eat much -- and I'm trying hard not to stretch out my little stomach so I can keep it that way. I think we will all have challenges in the years to come, and I'm appreciating the support we can give each other as we face them together.

Good questions, Donna. I think I need to re-commit to portion sizes myself. For the longest time, of course, I couldn't eat that much, so didn't really worry about portion size. I concerned myself more with getting enough food in me! Now...I find I can eat more at times. Scary more at times. I'm on vacation next week and have already decided that I am not going to worry about food...other than not eating what could make me sick! Hell, I'll be in New Orleans - I'm gonna chow down on protein bars??? I'll be doing loads of walking too, so I'm not worried about it. When I return, I'm making up a shopping list with all the right things on it, and next payday, I am bringing in everything I need, cooking and portioning things up and freezing it, and getting back to basics. I'm having a hard time with liquids any more too. Sometimes, I just seem to forget, during the work day, which I know I can't do. I've currently lost my taste for water and every Crystal Lite flavor, unless they are frozen to slush consistency! I just need to be tougher with myself on this. We talked about this sort of thing at my last hospital support group meeting. Apparently, this is very common stuff for people to deal with at a year or so out. do you have a group you can go to? I find it's helpful. We all had a great laugh over things like...binging on Cheerios! It makes me feel less crazy! Good seeing you, Donna, and all. Lisa

HEY LISA, THANKS FOR REPLYING TO MY POST. AS I SIT HERE IT'S ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHERE I'M ALWAYS HUNGERY. NOTHING SEEMS TO FILL ME UP OR SATISFY ME. I CAN'T FIQURE IT OUT, MAKES ME . IT DOESN'T HELP THAT I'M OFF FOR FIVE DAYS ,AND THAT IT'S REALLY NASTY OUT; COLD AND DRIZZLY SO I'M NOT UP TO WALKING. I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM W/ THE COOKING PORTION OF OUR JOURNEY, IT'S THE LITTLE HEALTHY SNACKS WE'RE SUPPOSED TO EAT IN BETWEEN THAT'S GETTING TO ME. SOME DAYS I DO REALLY GOOD OTHER'S, NOT SO GOOD. FOR INSTANCE TODAY'S SNACKS? ARE YOU READY? DARK CHOCOLATE M&M's AND CHEDDAR WHOLE GRAIN SUN CHIPS. CAN YOU SAY SABATAGING MYSELF? I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M DOING THIS W/ THE EXCEPTION OF BORDEM. UNFORTUNETLY THERE'S NO SUPPORT GROUP AROUND HERE. THE NEAREST ONE IS ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY. ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HEALTHY SNACKS WOULD BE GREAT. HOPE YOU ENJOY THE BIG EASY AND LET US KNOW ALL ABOUT IT. DONNA, SFY