Begging for someone to tell me it gets better......
Gina,
The transistion from stage to stage goes different for each of us and as others have already told you, sometimes it takes longer to get there, but I would say ham and chicken might be tough at this point, you might want to try things like ground meat and make sure it is made in a moist, maybe a chili or something. . . there were things I could not tolerate and some things I can't tolerate still, but you'll get the hang of it, unfortunately some it will be through trial and error and lastly be sure you chew very well,
good luck
Laureen
The transistion from stage to stage goes different for each of us and as others have already told you, sometimes it takes longer to get there, but I would say ham and chicken might be tough at this point, you might want to try things like ground meat and make sure it is made in a moist, maybe a chili or something. . . there were things I could not tolerate and some things I can't tolerate still, but you'll get the hang of it, unfortunately some it will be through trial and error and lastly be sure you chew very well,
good luck
Laureen
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
Gina,
You're getting some good advice from folks, and I do hope you've called your doctor as well. But I have a couple of things to add.
1. REALLY slow down your eating and take the tiniest possible bites. For most of us at the beginning, the opening that everything has to fit through is no bigger than an M&M. So judge by that in terms of the size of a "bite."
2. MEASURE everything... you can't judge your portion sizes reliably yet after a lifetime of distorted portions. A tablespoon or a quarter-cup can easily morph into something larger - even 2 years+ out, I find that I have to discipline myself to measure at least one day per week to keep my "eye" calibrated. And I measured and weighed everything for the first year and a half.
3. You mention having a foul taste in your mouth. There are two things that can cause that. First, you are likely in ketosis, when your body is first adjusting to a protein-based diet. That will eventually go away as your metabolism adjusts. But the other thing that it can be is thrush (a mouth-based fungal infection). Look at your tongue - if it has a whitish or grayish film on it, that's a definite call to your doctor.
4. Tastes do change for most of us after surgery. Things that used to be your favorites may be completely unappealing, and things that you were never really attracted to before may become new favorites. For most of us, the taste changes occur continually over the first nearly a year - so if something doesn't appeal this week, try again in a week or two.
Hope this helps and that you feel better soon! It does get better.
Hugs.
Karen
You're getting some good advice from folks, and I do hope you've called your doctor as well. But I have a couple of things to add.
1. REALLY slow down your eating and take the tiniest possible bites. For most of us at the beginning, the opening that everything has to fit through is no bigger than an M&M. So judge by that in terms of the size of a "bite."
2. MEASURE everything... you can't judge your portion sizes reliably yet after a lifetime of distorted portions. A tablespoon or a quarter-cup can easily morph into something larger - even 2 years+ out, I find that I have to discipline myself to measure at least one day per week to keep my "eye" calibrated. And I measured and weighed everything for the first year and a half.
3. You mention having a foul taste in your mouth. There are two things that can cause that. First, you are likely in ketosis, when your body is first adjusting to a protein-based diet. That will eventually go away as your metabolism adjusts. But the other thing that it can be is thrush (a mouth-based fungal infection). Look at your tongue - if it has a whitish or grayish film on it, that's a definite call to your doctor.
4. Tastes do change for most of us after surgery. Things that used to be your favorites may be completely unappealing, and things that you were never really attracted to before may become new favorites. For most of us, the taste changes occur continually over the first nearly a year - so if something doesn't appeal this week, try again in a week or two.
Hope this helps and that you feel better soon! It does get better.
Hugs.
Karen