Soft foods question...

So, I started on soft foods Thursday night, yaaay. I'm curious though. Dr. said just a few bites of food per meal - like a piece of deli meat could be a good meal.

I've got that down, but how did you gauge things that were "scoopable" - like cottage cheese, (I have a particularly good batch of 3 bean casserole, protein gallore and tastes great!) etc. I'm a little bit worried about it, because I can eat two tablespoons, and it takes me a half hour to eat, but I'm wondering if I'm eating too much. I'm not getting sick or uncomfortable, just potentially eating more than I may need to, if that makes sense. I guess the "couple bites" remark threw me off, because I'm not sure if he meant "human" bites or the bites I'm taking right now! :)

1-2T sounds about right...  Listen to your body and try to figure out what sign you get that it's full.  Some folks hiccup; some burp or sigh  :)  My nose runs  lol

Start with a tablespoon of something (regular tablespoon) and see where it gets you...

Good luck and welcome to the loser's club!

*hugs*

Your body will tell you when you've had enough.  For us new post-ops, it is very commong to wonder if we're eating too much.  I *still* get very insecure about it at times.  There are some things that I can eat more than 1/2 cup of (like cottage cheese), there are other things that I can eat 1-2 bites (or tablespoons of like chicken breast or beef without some kind of gravy), and days where I can eat different amounts of foods (some days 1oz. string cheese will be too much, on other days it will barely tide me over until my next meal).

One thing I've learned, and I mean this as *no* offense to anyone else, but I listen to people very, very closely when they talk about their eating habits.  Someone that was 3 months post-op was talking to me the other day and telling me that he could eat no more than 2 tbsp. of food at any sitting.  Later in our conversation he mentioned that he goes to a restaurant with his wife and they split an 8oz. burger and he eats about 2/3 of his half without the top part of the bun.  I mean no disrespect to him or anyone else that does that, but that is more than 2 tbsp. of food.  I think that our perceptions get off because we're eating so much less than we used to that in conversation some of us might underestimate the amount of food that we eat. 

In any case, we're all different, we all can eat different amounts of food and we all lose weight at our own pace.  Now if I could only learn to listen to my own advice every day!  Good luck to you.  I think that one slice of deli meat is just about the right size.  Enjoy your transition to soft foods.