Loss of appetite - vet question

Looking for advice.  I am around 4.5 months out and I am just not hungry.  I might want one meal a day and that is it.  I am eating 3 but can barely finish anything, I have to force myself when I do.  I am barely hitting 60 grams of protein which is my doctor's minimum.  I usually put 3 oz of meat on my plate and force myself to eat 2 - 2.5 just because I am trying to get the protein in.  I am not wanting a snack and so I have been skipping them.  I plan to eat more food each day and put in myfitnesspal but I am not actually getting it all ate.  I have also been trying to eat a lot slower so that is why I may be not eating as much also.  For a while at night I was eating some popcorn (measured & planned) and usually stay under the 40 carbs, I haven't wanted to do that very much either now so my carbs have been closer to 20 on those days.  (I know popcorn has no nutritional value other than I get some energy from the carbs and the fiber helps - it my only vice, no sweets, no chocolate, no peanut butter, etc)  I still stay under 800 calories and lately it is in the 500 range. 

Is is normal to have my capacity go down for a while?  I am getting tired and I am sure it is because I am not eating enough but not quite sure how to handle it.  The thought of eating more food turns my stomach.  My surgeon's office is only concerned with getting 60 grams of protein and they have no other advice.  I am walking on the treadmill (getting heartrate up) 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes.  No NUT to talk to either.  Do I need to start supplementing with protein drinks for a while until my appetite/capacity comes back up?

EDIT:  The problem is that prior to this, I would want to eat and even though I wasn't extremely hungry I would be able to eat 3 oz.  Now I am starting to feel physically sick if I try and eat that much or to try and even fit a snack in.  I guess that is why I am asking if others have found that there capacity goes down instead of up?  If it did go down was it just a temporary thing?  I will try and supplement with an additional protein drink or some greek yogurt or cottage cheese.

Currently, I find the simplest  way to meet my protein goals is to supplement with a protein shake a day.  That is a pretty low calorie, high protein solution.  I usually do it at breakfast and mix chocolate truffle with coffee.  Or sometimes I'll do it early evening and make a cold shake, but only if I'm under 60 or so grams, since I don't want to eat within 2-3 hours of bedtime because of reflux.

Ditto what Muttlover said...  my NUT ( whom I dont bother listening to anymore) wants most if not all of protein coming from food sources, not liquids, HOWEVER I am hardly ever hungry...   believe it or not I was like this before surgery... Most of my calories came from drinks ( albeit sugary not good for me sugary drinks)....   so now the only way for me to get my protein in is to have drinks...  I have one for breakfast and usually another in the evening after working out... 

I think this is very normal at this stage. I would just plan on two protein shakes, make with less liquid if you don't want to drink as much. The other two meals mainly protein with a bit of veggie. Some protein may be harder to eat, I am over 2 yrs out and still get very quickly full on chicken. Don't eat any simple carbs like popcorn, not enough nutritional value, so if you met protein goals have some veggies. I used to have to remind myself to eat on a regular schedule or I would forget. Not anymore! Good luck!

Same thing with me. I work out intensly 4x/week, getting near goal weight so cut out pretty much everything but protein and complex carbs. But trying to get 1000-1200 calories is difficult. I'm not hungry much of the time either, and like you I put 3 oz on my plate but only get down 2-2.5. So I've decided to go back to having one or two protein drinks a day. I don't do it first thing in the morning though...I wait and eat whatever protein and veg and fruit I can during the day, then do MFP and see how much protein/cals I still need and get a protein drink if I need it. Figured it won't kill me in the long run, and I'm getting my protein and calories. It's tough...and funny huh? We can't eat enough. Who'd have ever thought we'd be saying THAT?

Not a long time vet but I know I don't have any appetite either.  I do know nutrition though and 500 calories is too low. You don't want to totally starve yourself. All sorts of bad things will happen after a while. You will start to develop an appetite when your body does it's work around solutions and will produce some hunger hormone eventually. I've heard 12 - 18 months, but you will never be hungry like you were.

Nothing wrong with a shake to get your calories and protein up. Of course they want you to get it from solid food, but if you can't right now then you just can't.

There isn't any advantage to getting nutrients in one form or another. If you drank 4 or 5 shakes a day, and they had enough fiber (25 grams a day) and you took enough supplements to hit your blood work numbers, it's not the end of the world. 

This isn't drastically different than what others have said - but a bit of a different twist. I absolutely detest the protein shakes, so early out I got off of them. I am almost 8 months out and most days have little hunger - sometimes very disinterested in eating. Well, I would be interested in brownies, but that's another story.

I eat between 500 - 600 cal per day...usually closer to 500. I struggle to get my protein in - a lot because I don't want that much food or can't force feed myself dense protein.

However, I find that things like cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are much easier to eat. So, I guess my substitute for shakes are "soft proteins". I eat dense protein, but also the softer ones to get food in..

Best to you - A.

Jackie, I'm not a vet- in fact, I'm not very far in front of you- , but about two weeks ago it seemed like my restriction got tighter, and the amount I was able to eat at one time lessened. I was getting that too full feeling. I aim for 80-90 G protein each day. Approximately 50 of that comes from shakes and soft proteins (cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc). Another 10 comes from soft solid meat - tuna, Talipia or string cheese. I figure the protein and veggies are important and how I get them right now is any way I can. The super solid, heavy stuff will work its way in in due time and when my tummy is ready for it. Your're doing great, by the way and I enjoy following your progress and comments on the board. Take care.

Supplement with liquid protein if you need to and enjoy it.
Remember the better you eat the less hunger you will have, especially later.
You're doing great!

Yes, this is normal but most likely will not last.  Take advantage of it it and keep your calories as low as you can while still getting your minimum protein in.  You will miss this time, I guarantee it.  :)