How do I get off of SLIDER foods?

Hi there, Here is my status: weight loss of 109 pounds in 11.5 months.  I am off of all medications.  I do not exercise but know I should.  Recent lab work shows all of my nutrition levels are right where they should be including protein.  I have no appetite but know I must eat to live. Problem: I eat only yogurt, cottage cheese, and soup 99% of the time.  I do add soy isolate protein powder to the yogurt every day.  I can eat small pieces of raw veggies or cooked veggies.  I can eat soy nuts, peanuts, popcorn, pretzels.  I can eat oranges or once in a while an apple--canned fruit is okay too. BUT meat protein or eggs ALWAYS give me trouble: I have a hard time digesting them.  I get nauseous after only 1-2 ounces.  I have to use Tums or my RX phenargen after almost any dinner in which I try to eat meat.  Eggs--no matter how I prepare them--do the same thing.  I am VERY lactose intolerant and cannot use milk or cheese to boost protein.  The only "meat" that goes down well is in chili or soup--lots of liquid to ease it down. I am so bored with what I eat.  I am tired of getting sick every night.  It upsets my husband to see me get sick every night.   How do I get past these "slider" foods and progress to eating real meals without the nausea?  Any advice is helpful.  I am pleased with where I am but want to know that someday I can eat like a normal person.

Have you tried fruits and salads? Meat gives me trouble as well no matter how much I chew. I eat fruits and veggies most of the time.

Yes, I do eat salads.  Regular lunchmeat gives me trouble but I can eat tuna or shredded canned chicken on them.  Fruit is usually no problem--but that doesn't really get us off of slider foods, does it?

Hi Donna, I still have a problem with hard meats and eggs. I can eat very little of them and they stay in my pouch a long time. I think it will be helpful in the long run if I ever start to get hungry and eat too much. In the meantime, I learned to mix tuna (and other things) with green enchilada sauce to soften them up. I don't know if you have a favorite sauce, but for awahile I was flavoring everything with it. Eggs went down better too. I also found low fat Laughing Cow cheese. On Ak-mak or a Margaret's cracer, this is still on of my very favorite things. Then I found frozen chicken teriyaki sticks (Trader Joe's and Costco) which have very soft and tender chicken. These go down well too. Hope this helps a bit, nancy

Thanks Nancy.  Your picture is lovely! I guess it helps to know that I am not the only one this happens to.  I just get so tired of the same thing all of the time, you know?  I do sometimes add salsa to meat or eggs to help.  Sweeter sauces like Teriaki give me problems. I appreciate the feedback.

Eggs and chicken were suppose to be the best foods to start on - according to my nutritionist.  WRONG!  Eggs never did work for me and chicken is horrible because of how fiberous it is.  I'm 5 months out and I'm just now starting to do chicken if it's prepared certain ways (usually in casseroles).   Crock pot super tender pot roast works great for me.  After it cooks all day it comes out like shredded beef and is easy to eat.  Pretty much any meat that's cooked in the crock pot and left to cook all day is tender enough to eat easily.  Tuna salad and canned chicken made into chicken salad also work for me.   My nutritionist said that the longer I waited to introduce dense proteins the harder it would be to do it later.  So I'm afraid you've waited too long -- so now it's goign to be hard and you're going to have to really work at it to make it work for you.  Just try something new each day and really focus on your chewing and eating slowly.  Even if you can only do 1 ounce of dense food, it's better to try it and make it work.   Are you getting enough protein in your diet?  Or are you getting all that through shakes?  I know I'd never be able to get my 90g of protein per day if I wasn't eating dense protein foods.  I do 1 shake a day in the morning (because my pouch doesn't like solid food first thing in the morning) and all the rest of my protein comes from food.   Good luck Pam

Pam,

I cannot do the protein shakes: I am lactose intolerant and the whey protein they use in them makes me sick (has lactose).  I add soy isolate protein to my daily morning yogurt.  I try hard to get 60 grams of protein a day--that is about the best I can manage and at least I got it up from the 30 grams I was doing for the first six months.

I also have started chewing soy nuts several times throughout the day.  One quarter cup has 11 grams of protein so that helps a lot.

I seldom do crockpot cooking just because my husband won't eat leftovers and for just the two of us, it seems a waste of electricity.  If he would eat leftovers, maybe I could make it work but he won'--case closed I guess.  He also doesn't eat cassaroles of any kind: strictly a meat and potatoes man and meat must be grilled or fried.  It makes it very hard to cook for him because I can't eat the same things.  A lot of nights I just give up--make him burgers and fries and then eat a cup of cottage cheese for dinner.  If I try a burger, it has to be in a lettuce wrap, very moist which is hard with ground meat, no mayo, mustard or catsup because they upset my stomach too.

SIGH.

I'm single and live alone.  I eat all the leftovers by myself.  If I can't finish something I cooked, I'll freeze it and use it for days when I don't feel like cooking.   I'm concerned about how little protein you're getting.  What does your nutritionist say about it?  If you don't take in enough protein your body is going to compensate for that deficiency by leaching the stored protein in muscle.  This is called muscle wasting.  And remember that your heart is a muscle.   Although soy protein is fine - you shouldn't rely on it for your total protein needs.  It is not a "complete" form of protein that gives you all 9 essential amino acids your body needs.  So you'll need to make sure you get a good portion of your protein from meat sources.   As for the hubby --- maybe it's time for him to learn how to cook for himself if he's going to be so picky.  LOL!  Pam

I don't have anutritionist--just a primary care doctor.  My labs from two weeks ago showed my protein levels at 6.6.  Normal range is 6.3 to 8.3 so he said it was okay. I guess you are right about cooking for myself and just freezing things.  It just seems like so much work for just me.  Another part of the problem is that I have no appetite at all.  I could go all day without eating and be just fine.  I have to force myself to eat 3 times a day. Like I said, I do chomp down on the soy nuts and is about the best I can do.  I get sick on any cheese but cottage.  I think it is the fat content and low-fat cheese just plain sucks. I will never be able to get a lot of protein from meat--it just doesn't work because I get so nauseous from the taste, texture, density of it.  AND I used to LOVE BBQ ribs, steaks, chops, chicken, even liver!  Now just thinking about it makes me queasy. As for Bill--if I am sick and don't feel well, he would rather not eat at all than cook for himself.  That is when I send him to Burger King!  He only eats once a day but takes a cooler with soda, crackers, chips, candy, etc. to snack on while working his graveyard shift.  Just an overgrown child who I will never get to change!

You say that you can tolerate chili? I make my own turkey chili with ground breast-meat turkey, kidney beans (rinsed and drained), chili beans (undrained), diced tomatoes (undrained), rotel tomatoes (drained) and chili seasoning.  I make a double batch about once every 2 weeks and freeze it up in 1 cup containers.  That's what I do for lunch at work throughout the week. The beans and the turkey both have protein.  I have been doing this for months, and I haven't tired of it yet. I would really recommend, as someone else did, that you really focus on adding dense proteins into your diet.  It will be harder at this stage, but the longer you wait, the harder it will be.  Do an ounce at a time if that's all you can handle, but do it! Wendy