Not Eating Enough - what do you eat?!?

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup splenda
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp chia seeds (optional, but it helps since there's no gluten)

Mix and bake at 225 for about 12 minutes. The cookies will be a little crumbly because of the lack of gluten, but can get very crumbly when overcooked, so watch them closely.

How many cookies does this make?

It's a small batch, about a dozen

I still drink a protein shake every day. I have scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon most mornings. If i need added protein, I add protein powder to my coffee. Find something that fits your needs. The interest in food returns but this is the time to change habits. Good luck.

Thank you, I am trying to change habits which is why I want to use this time to eat consistently. Breakfast is my favorite meal so maybe I will get as much protein as I can then. Also seems like plenty of people rely on the shakes so I will continue that

"Basically, I don't have much of an appetite, and when I do- I'm yearning for something carby so I just end up not eating."

Sounds like head hunger to me. Are you doing anything to address this issue?

You appetite will come back, trust me. At two months post-op you should be aiming for 60 grams of protein a day. It's a gradual process. Slow add protein so that you add 30 grams each month so at 3 months post op you should aim for 90 grams of protein a day, ultimately settling around 120 grams per day.

Breakfast is easy to get protein - 6 extra large eggs plus a slice of cheese and a few slices of bacon add up to probably 20+ grams of protein. Lunch meat, cheese, yogurt (greek or Icelandic are high in protein), peanut butter, cottege cheese are all easy to eat and high in protein. Try fish or shrimp - also high in protein and relatively easy to eat.

I was focused on eliminating supplements but some people use protein supplements for life. It's a choice.

I absolutely love to cook (and eat). IMHO the first 6-12 months as a DSer are very hard. You have to learn how to live with your DS and once you figure it out, it will become second nature. It's a great tool that will be with you for life - it's learning how to use the tool that's the hard part.

Patience is usually something none of us have but are forced to learn.

That sounds familiar. During my first 6 months or so there were times I was so disinterested in food that it scared me a little wondering if it would last forever. I got through it by forcing myself to eat on a schedule so I could get all my protein in. Everything was scheduled and I considered some of the meals the same as I did vitamins. Just something I needed to stay healthy. It eventually passed but figure out a way for you to get in the protein, still important.

I found it easiest to do things like Wendy's chili, tuna salad, egg salad, Beef and cheese sticks ( look up Old Wisconsin on amazon) and optimum nutrition shakes. I think I went through about 20 different samples for protein powders seeing if anything really was interesting too me. Mostly I just learned I liked chocolate and that some needed to be avoided because they gave me gas. :)

Pete