say you're having a hard time taking in the recommended amount of calories during the day, which is better?
1) trying to force yourself to eat despite your not being hungry
2) just ignoring it

i'm not too sure what i should do. im still unable to eat solid foods (dental surgery) and im having a hard time eating enough. im also afraid that im eating too many carbs (various fruit juices)...has anyone ever had protein shakes? how are those? i was thinking of picking a canister up at trader joe's, but i didnt want to waste the money if i didnt like it.

but anyways, i want to, need to, eat more and it's difficult. any ideas? thanks so much.

Don't ignore it. Your body could end up in starvation mode.. which is my problem! I am never hungry!!! So I never ate. But I kept getting fatter and fatter! I am now eating 6 meals (meals and snacks) a day!! I feel better in each day now! Have you checked out The 3 Hour Diet by Jorge Cruise? It is very interesting and makes since!

Dental surgery... be careful. Don't push yourself to soon. Let your mouth heal and then eat right.

Protien shakes... we liked the premade ones in a can... the powdered stuff was blah. It was ALL to costly though.

All you need to do is eat a proper well balanced diet. Eat from ALL of the food groups... yes even your carbs!! Eatr portion sizes. Eat several smaller meals a day. You should do great.

I loooooooove protein shakes! I have one every day. I use EAS whey protein shakes. You can buy a big tub of powder to make your own (I add a banana, milk, and ice), or you can buy the little ready-to-drink containers. I get the powder at my gym and the ready-made at my supermarket. They come in lots of flavors, but I like the chocolate best.

Jeez, if you just had dental surgery, no wonder you're not very hungry. especially if you're still on painkiller meds.

About the starvation mode theory...I've written my thoughts on that before. I think 'starvation mode' is talked about more than it actually occurs. Using WLS patients as an example - for 6-12 months following surgery, they are limited to less than 1000 calories a day for the most part, and told to exercise at least 5 times a week (from what I've read). If the 'starvation mode' theory was correct, these WLS patients would stop losing weight within a short period of time. (I'm not mandating going on a very low calorie diet - most WLS patients are medically monitored on a regular basis - there are very dangerous reprecussions to doing a VLCD on your own - any 'starvation mode' you might theoretically throw yourself into is the least of it, IMO).

Let's face it - in life there are going to be days that you will eat FEWER calories than you feel you 'should' as well as MORE calories than you planned. To me, the 'calories per day' should be used as a guideline - averaging out over a period of a few days or a week or two, KWIM? When I was recovering from surgery, I doubt if I ate 500 calories for the first few days (of course I was on several different painkillers and antibiotics... ).

I don't think it's a good idea to force yourself to eat if you're truly not hungry. As far as protein shakes go - it's really a crap shoot. What one person says tastes great, another person will think tastes like ca-ca. I haven't been to a GNC store in ages, but they used to sell individual packets of protein powders - that way you could try different ones before you settle on a favorite. (I used to do shakes once or twice a day pretty regularly, until I burned out on them...I prefer 'real' food these days.)

Have you asked your dentist about what you can and can't eat? he or she must have some recommendations. Maybe try soft-boiled or scrambled egg? oatmeal? or mix together light yogurt and cottage cheese (sounds icky, but it's actually quite good...).

I agree about the fruit juices. They're basically sugar water - eating the actual fruit is much healthier, with less calories and far more satisfying!

The whey powder from TJ's is quite good. I prefer Vanilla; the strawbery tastes like strawbs, and the choc is a little weird with the fruit. You can make yummy smoothies:
- one (or two for extra calories) scoops protein powder
- 1 cup frozen fruit (rasp, mang, peach etc)
- half cup water
- and half cup yoghurt.

If you use fresh fruit, replace the water with ice cubes. Put it in the blender and it should expand and thicken nicely. Make sure the fruit is completely blended in. Drink it thru a big straw. I have a smoothie almost every day for bfast. Bon appétit!

yeah, my doctor has given me a list, but most of the foods aren't vegan-friendly...jello, eggs, cottage cheese, ice cream, custard, pudding, fish...so, i cant eat them. i mostly eat oatmeal and butternut squash soup. i got really tired of soy yogurt. i also try to drink some v-8. it's just that i go through all this food so quickly, despite my avg daily caloric intake being between 800-1200 (today it was 800...ran out of food), and i feel bad asking my mom to buy me food every 3 days or so. if i was to get about 1300 calories a day, i would have to eat 4 packs of oatmeal, 3 cans of soup, and ugh, i feel sick even counting. i cant possibly eat that much bc all of it is sooo ridiculously filling.

although i feel bad, im going to ask my mom to bring me to trader joe's or whole foods tomorrow (none of the regular supermarkets in my area have vegan-friendly things) im going to pick up some protein shakes or that TJ whey powder, maybe some avocados (but theyre so fatty!!) and of course, more soup, more broth, more veggie juice, and more oatmeal. oy vey, it's been a week and i still can't chew. i read on an online message board that someone who had the same surgery as me (wisdom teeth) couldn't eat solids for 3 weeks...i CANT do this for 3 weeks...

im thinking of ideas now...maybe i could sautee some spinach or something (i'm going through serious veggie withdrawal despite the veggie juice) i could also pick up some crackers that could soften up in the soup or something...hmm, things are looking better, i think?

thanks everyone for replying. i think im just going to take it step by step. i have an appt with my dentist tomorrow morning. hopefully, he'll have some ideas or give me an estimate as to when i'll be able to actually eat bc eating is fun, and i miss it. when i say able to eat, i dont just mean the whole solid food thing but also my appetite...it's pretty much gone, due to the antibiotics, im guessing...oh well. day by day...

Since you'Ve had surgery I'd say treat yourself as if you were sick for a week or so...
I like whey protein shakes, vanilla because it tastes better with fruits ... I make mine with water or soy milk and frozen fruits strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries the frozen fruits are good because I don't have to use ice and the shakes are nice and thick...I sometimes mix it with coco powder if I have a craving for chocolate. I've also blended fruits, oatmeal, whey powder and milk or water for a really filling and complete meal in a rush...

Gee if I wasn't eating because of a surgery, I'd take advantage of the time off food and enjoy not eating and just go to bed, that may not be a possibility though in your case, but that's just me...

If you're able to eat oatmeal, have you tried lentil soup? I think it would have a similar consistency, and would get you some protein and iron, which should help the healing. Or you could run it through a blender, if the lentils are still too chunky.

You could also try some mashed veggies - I would think if you cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, or cauliflower really well, you could mash them enough to eat them.

Advocados are full of GOOD FAT! That really WON'T clog up your arteries or do anything bad. You need the good fat that's in advocados to help dissolve vitamins, keep your hair shiney, your skin looking good etc etc!

Hooray for Advocados!

I'm also an advocate of protein powders - but I was looking last night and my whey protein powder has BOVINE PROTEIN in it!! So I guess you might wanna check the label!

If I'm not hungry, I don't worry about it. That may be something that was reinforced to me through a book called "Thin from Within". I can find the author if you'd like.
But back to what I was saying ... I worry more about averages. Some days I eat too much and some days I eat too little. Some days I exercise alot and some days I don't.
Especially if you've been sick or had surgery (like you) you need to learn to listen to your body.

I don't mean to be a party pooper however, there IS such a thing as starvation mode and it can make you gain weight! Not only did I learn that from many different diet/lifestyle changes books/groups but also from my doctor!!! I have went most of my life with ONLY eating dinner and a snack later after that while watching tv. Which is much less then 1000 calories in a day! And I am pretty much as round as a tomatoe!

I don't think JB was saying that there is no such thing as starvation mode, she was just saying that it is used as an excuse sometimes, or people fear it, more than is actually necessary.

***YES, aphil posted while I was writing this. I'm glad she understood where I was coming from ***



Read it again, honey--I never said it doesn't exist. I just think a lot of people tend to jump to the conclusion that they are in starvation mode when they are not. As you said, you spent "most of [your] life with ONLY eating dinner and a snack later after that while watching tv. Which is much less then 1000 calories in a day." That only goes to prove my point that it takes TIME for it to happen to your body (not that it took your whole life, but that it takes more than just a couple of days). I'm only trying to debunk the idea that slipping below 1200 calories for a few days will kick your body into this starvation mode because most of the time, that is untrue. Our bodies are very efficient and can function normally with limited caloric intake for days (and sometimes weeks) at a time without actually starving.

I, too, have read every book and listened to every doctor--I've been obese my whole life (lots of good those books and doctors did me, huh? ), so yes, I know starvation mode does exist. I never said it didn't. I still don't understand how one can gain weight, though. Perhaps it depends on your body and personal metabolism. After all, those with under-eating disorders (and I have dealt with people very close to me in my life who had these illnesses and took in a wide range of calories daily) do not normally gain weight. Again, though, simply because I don't understand it doesn't mean it doesn't happen (Lord knows there's plenty of things going on in the world that I don't understand!), and all I ever said was that I couldn't fathom how it happens, not that it NEVER happens

Not to knock myself out (my mamma always told me to keep my mouth shut about politics and religion but this works lol) the Bible talks about and shows us feasts and famines. Our bodies are made to handle this type of thing... most of the time! It all depends on health issues and so forth.

I am not sure what is better... being an over-eater or an under-eater!!! Most diets and stuff talk about over-eaters! Not to many of them talk about under-eaters! And if they do... they don't talk about it to much!

I was always a healthy weight as a kid and teenager!!! Then I had my kids. Since my kids I have not been able to lose the weight. Most of my life I was between 110 and 120, then the kids, and I stay around what I am now. My highest weight I think was 198 (while not pregnant!!). And most lowest recent weight was 156. Now quitting smoking sure is NOT helping me lose weight! Sometimes I want that cigerette just so I can have a week of weight loss! But I won't.

Anyway, I am off topic now. So I will shut up.