Gag reflex?

First off, I should say that I'm a non-op, so my problem is entirely psychosomatic in nature. =)

That having been said, I think regardless of the how or why, there must be lots of people on this board who struggle with gag-reflexing on good, protein rich foods. Mine has become a huge problem and a big part of why I've been stuck at a plateau for the last two years. I was wondering if anybody who's been there has any advice they can offer me.

If I've been eating a particular healthy food (usually eggs or chicken - but anything that becomes a staple of my healthy-living diet :\) more than 7 times per week, after 2-6 weeks I develop a gag reflex every time I try to eat that food. The smell, the taste, even just the texture can set it off and it becomes impossible to get the food down. I've tried practical approaches like varying my meals, cooking/spicing them differently, etc, but the problem persists as long as the meat part of the dish is the same.

I was wondering if anybody has any ideas for "tricking" my mind into giving up this weird gag reflex thing, like the mental exercises I've seen around the boards to deal with "head hunger." I'm pretty sure this gag thing is related to my head hungers. I just haven't managed to beat it yet.

Thanks in advance,
Somayeh

First of all, congrats on your success thus far. It is awesome!

Your situation reminds me of my reaction after 4 weeks of Jenny Craig (my last non op attempt before I sought WLS). I just looked into one of those entrees that, trust me, tastes really good: And I just could NOT eat it. I began to shake in nausea. I was totally ill from the thought of eating another one of those dinners.

I think the problem is the routine of it all. This culture is not designed to eat the same food over and over. We have become programmed to variety.

Find other entrees. Chili with beans instead of meat, perhaps? Other legumes for protein, maybe? Stir fry with tofu. Cheese sandwich with a salad. Buffalo burger patty (walmart frozen meat section). Just stay away from the chicken and eggs for a while.

We WLSers have similar situations with our protein supplements. What was glorious decadent before is now food for the garbage disposal. In time, the taste comes back.

My two cents, your mileage may vary.