Thanks Melody. That sounds good. Do you have Trader Joes by you?They have salmon burgers that are in a patty you could make a sandwich with. I also take grilled salmon with some teriyaki sauce glazed on it. Add this to a salad with a little bit of walnuts,gorgonzola,and you could add some light dressing. I had a really good fish sandwich at this restaurant but the fish was cod but I had it grilled instead of fried.
As for kids today and eating habits. I feel we live in extremes. Even when I was growing up kids were not having the sit down family dinners. Now that both parents work I think the rush for quick is on and health often goes out the window. Plus have you looked in the supermarket. There are a million kinds of different treats. How many ways can hostess make a cupcake? I have so many friends one in general who eat like crap. They don't think about years from now. My one friend eats a meatball parm sub and puts Doritos in the sandwich. When your young you think your invinsible until something happens. I do wonder 20 years from now what the food industry will be like and what people will look like and how the health industry will be.

Yes, thanks Melody for going in so much detail & explaining it so well, much appreciated.
Brian

with interest. Thing is, what to do? Well, there are a whole slew of approaches, as you have gathered. I too deal with the weight, but its my meds that are the ultimate culprit, and I know it! The fact that I just had a WHOLE molar extracted and had to live on 'liquids' for the past five days is proof of that....Finding nutritious, FILLING and tolerable food-like substance has been a challenge to say the least. Hey, eating less and gaining more?
My own spouse is a type 2 diabetic, managed thru pills, exercise and diet. He recently received some diabetic counseling which was interesting in that it clearly pointed out the types and sizes of 'exchange portions' of the real life application kind. I have tried and tried to grasp this stuff, in a way I can relate to and all I can get out of it all is: Keep the bad stuff out of the house as much as possible, Keep simply fresh or frozen vegies to chomp on available. Plain cereals and breads and ideally, fresh or frozen meats, chicken and fish.
I can't tolerate fish well [long and boring stories], I also have one huge chest freezer in which I keep frozen veggies and fruits that I get from the farmer's markets and chill ASAp and bag for future use. Same with meats and poultry. I call these 'gems' my bags of sunshine during the winter months. Every bag I open, thaw and use is something that brings a bit of happiness as it is simple, good stuff and not at all 'processed' other than by me.
Anyone who lives in any type of 'urban' situation cannot avoid some or many 'processed' foods. Key is to eat sensibly and simply. I am finding that when I am out for lunch [rarely] I tend to order a soup and salad rather than the stuff I really want? I prefer salad bars so I won't have to 'get' stuff I do not want with my 'roughage'. [With tooth hole-rite now I would/could really use some of that roughage, but....] Due to this tooth aspect I am learning whole new dimensions to the concept of FASTING!
The whole thing to me is summed up into two words? PORTION CONTROL...we need lots less than we think we do. That and the 'convenience drive-thru foods' are and should be just that...Convenience. Make it a 'treat' say, once a month? I don't know about all of you, but such places were a 'treat' when I was a kid. I am trying not to make that treat a norm. Keeping things simple, using herbs or spices for flavor and steaming,stir frying, lite sauteing or roasting is really the best way to go.
Everyone is right about all they have learned...the trick to me is tweaking things to the degree that works right for you!
Small feedings at regular intervals? - j

Oh poor Dahlek:

You had a tooth pulled. Hope you are healing.

Once it heals, you can have a nice bowl of chicken soup. Filled with all good stuff. That's what we italians do when we feel under the weather. Chicken soup is good for what ails anyone. Got a cold? Chicken Soup!! Got a fever..Chicken Soup!!! Boyfriend dumps you...Chicken Soup. You dump the boyfriend ... go out and eat a bag of fries!!!! lol

I have a friend who is 63 and overweight. She is type 2, and although she tries, she can't lose weight. Her husband (and I don't think this is fair, and neither does she), well, he's 65 years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 195, and can eat anything he wants. And I mean anything.

He eats cupcakes for breakfast, he eats all day. IF he doesn't eat, he loses weight. He once complained. Oh, I had a bad stomach last week, and couldn't eat too much and I lost 6 lbs."

I almost stangled him. He eats a pint of ice cream every night. How the heck can this man eat a pint of ice cream, (and candy too). every night?

When I'm on the phone with her, she goes "oh there he goes again, he's looking for something to eat". And he finds it.

I will never understand how some people can't eat anything, and this guy stuffs his face, and weighs 195. He lift weights also. BUT HE EATS!!!!\

She told me the funniest story. She married him when she was 24 and he was in construction and he was one of those guys who held that thing that breaks up cement. I don't know what you call them, (oh, I think they are called a Jackhammer), but these guys wear these huge gloves, and they are holding this machine and the machine vibrates a gazillon times minute, and it breaks the cement on the flloor (in the street). When her husband was 26 he looked like Arnold Schwartznegger. He had this upper body (I saw the photos from their earlier years together), and I said 'oh my goodness, Joe, you look like Arnold Schwartzenegger," and we all laughed.

Well, when they went on their honeymoon and they went to a restaurant he ate like a truck driver. She said "I never saw a person eat like that in my life", "never", And he's been eating like that for over 37 years." I got hysterical.

She would yell at him saying "I have to lose weight, you have to stop eating". He just ate and she got fat.

There is no justice in this world. This guy can eat anybody under the table.

Amazing.

Not fair.

has read and answered,it is hard like our K. to go on liquid diets well(ensure
would just be terrible...Bob gets food and ensure shakes for his very lean body...Bob does not take meds but those 6 girls may be wearing him out.
Not to mention today is Med. day,why my Neuro could not be found,she
teaches and has clinic,only 2 days a week...My meds from her you must pick up the pres. walk it into the Drugstore...No give me a couple until tommorow..
Spams ,pain,well let's say out of sorts I am...Yes there will another day
tommmorow I will track her down... Bob came up and rubbed more parts then legal...Than said Sue get in the shower,wear your hair just brushed dry,WHY
I'm dangerous with a curling iron...Than out to dinner we spit a meal,they let you,when Bob's smiles they let you..I can reamember when they use to say
well no!!!! It's been a very hard day,it rained,oh it was warm,but a very classy man (78) helped...Thank you Mama ,Thank you....For you who do
not know Mama left me Bob in her will..

Now my dr. friend called,can he write a script,nooo can he come over noo
because Bob and his girlfriend are watching funny movies,on my little
bit bigger TV...Listening to them laugh helps,,,Oh music on watching them dance better...Hugs to all Sue

Suggestion: if you can tolerate veggies, can you do veggie juice or make smoothies until your mouth has healed? You could also puree veggies and blend them into reduced fat cheese, or make soup. And if you're taking anti-biotics following the extraction, plain nonfat yogurt would probably be helpful.

Liquid diet is indeed the pits. I have to drink Boost every day due to the gastroparesis. But I usually limit myself to one per day and eat other stuff during the day that doesn't have corn syrup in it like lowfat cottage cheese, gluten free soup, cream of rice, eggs.

I have a hubby who is too thin. He's 6ft tall, and when I met him in 1995, he only weighed 143 pounds! He has "filled out" since then and is a more healthy 160 pounds or so, but he'll lose weight if he doesn't eat high-cal stuff at least once a day.

I agree that the small, frequent, well-balanced meals are reasonable and desirable for most people. Keeps your energy level stable as well as your glucose levels. And if you're prone to cravings, it takes the edge off those too.

fanfaire

Hi - was thinking more about weight - before I got PN I ate constantly and stayed thin always - but as you mentioned - acitivity was key.... I never stopped running around - walked instead of drove as much a possible - rode my bike everywhere - to release stress at work would dissapear into the stairwells and just take a couple of runs up and down them (sometimes 21 floors), or just take a walk around the neighborhood (in high heels!) - I hated working out at the gym and wasted money on two gym memberships I used only a few times each - dumb.... also just was always active around the house etc... basically always on the move... I know with PN with are all limited - and I dont know how much so you are.... but eating healthy combined with as much moving around as you can really seems to help (and also sometimes not so healthy! give a million bucks to be able to eat a Cheetoh again or pizza!)....

The one issue I had pre-pn was high cholesterol and my doc couldnt figure it out cause he knew how active I was etc... then I discovered on real long days at work I often wouldnt get home until almost 11ish, and I'd grab a frozen dinner - he told me to start watching the fat content in them.... I found that many of the traditional ones had 30 to 40 grams of fat - ridiculous! So even though I looked very heathly, the stuff was getting me... (and found frozen dinners for long days that had less then 10 grams usually)... also discovered that eating something like just fruit in the morning was silly - I was hungry half an hour later - so would eat stuff that would "stick to my guts" for a few hours - oatmeal, cereal with lots of grains, eggs, etc... waffles, or even muffins (which usually have lots of fat but seemed to be necessary in the AM to be able to function)....

Just some thoughts.... the most important thing I think is being in shape - which is so hard when we are sick - gotta find that balance!

I used to do the same thing when i worked,now i'm the one who is
reading all labals oh I pass things when people grumble...But once
in awhile someone will say WHAT are you looking for..This is a good
thing,I guess. Sue

I think people make a huge mistake when thin. They focus on that so eat junk but don't realize the damage its causing inside. Before this I was more focused on weight then health if that makes sense. I know they go hand in hand sometimes but on others they don't. Like I said my dad has always been a bean poll and so ate junk and now is facing health issues where he has to make diet changes. Why wait though till something goes wrong?
Dahlek I'm on an exchange plan like your talking about for my recovery and have just stuck to it even after weight restoration though it was changed to fit my needs. Its to help practice with portion sizes and to set out a road map for choices and times to eat. That way there balanced. Its like when you go to a bagel shop some of those bagel can equal 5 slices of bread which people don't realize and just think oh its a bagel. Our portion sizes are out of control.
I would love to know more from people who have changes there diet and it helped with there pain level.That is my motivator but when bad pain hits its a downer.

Hi -just to clarify - I didnt exercise to stay thin - I just always was... I ate tons and was very active cause I enjoyed it.. now being thin is awful because I'm very unhealthy but unfortunately, as metioned in thread - can only drink liquid supplment so every pound is precious -

My doctors say I should be happy cause many people would love to be like me - but I'm not happy because I've lost my muscle tone, am weak, and again, its due now to the disease - not enjoying life...

Life is too short to not enjoy what you can!