I feel better when I eat more protein, but I don't always get it, because sometimes it's just easier to make pasta for dinner.

Stock up on Greek yogurt! It's a great way to get some more protein in without filling you up too much. Look at the labels, though--some brands have more protein than others.

ETA: My dietician wants me to have 64 grams of protein a day, which I can't do with the three meals alone, so I'm supplementing with a protein shake at night, which gives me about 33 grams.

and so you know Kathy, here is how your journey is helping me.

I'm on a new drug for diabetes - Victoza. Part of what it does is slow my digestion down. This is good, because i can't eat like I used to eat. That sounds good, but it also weirds me out. I have always been able to eat whatever when ever. I can't do that anymore. You have adjusted to a new way of eating -- and that I find inspiring.

Timelies all!

Yay Kathy!

Spent most of my day off at the car dealership, waiting.(I brought the car in for the 90,000 mile tune-up and replaced the tires) I walked over to the nearby mall to browse and get lunch. Was very bored.

Thanks, beth and Steph, for those really sweet words. I hope things go for you both like you want them to!

I find it's easier to adjust when you don't really have a choice. I am already eating a bit more of soft/liquidy food than I was a month ago, so I have to be careful about that. Last month, when I tried to have the full six ounces of yogurt, I felt ill. Now, I can eat it all with no problem, as long as I take my time and eat it over thirty minutes.

Good work, Kathy!

sometimes it's just easier to make pasta for dinner.

Pasta is the only thing I've found myself craving since the surgery. Not ice cream, not chocolate, not even cake, but pasta. I saw this really good-sounding recipe for black pepper and parmesan pasta in the America's Test Kitchen magazine I picked up a few weeks ago, and I've been dreaming about that dish since then.

Oh, well, some things I have to forget about.

I cut out pasta (except on rare occasions) and find I don't really miss it. Used to be my goto meal. Of course, part of the reason I cut it out was it often made me feel ooky, so aversion therapy.

Speaking of which, I had one too many cups of coffee this morning. It makes me feel vaguely queasy. Just starting to feel less so.

That's the other thing I'm surprised that I'm not missing--caffeine, in the form of what was my twice-daily Diet Coke. I haven't had either carbonation or caffeine since the day before Thanksgiving.

I love pasta. I can live happily without meat (and have done so at certain points), but take away my pasta and I cry. See also: bread.

I find it incredibly easy to live without meat but i can't live without rice. Just a little bit turns steamed veggies and sauce from a side dish into a meal in my mind. The same way that some people don't feel it's a "meal" without meat: i require a starch for a meal. Sweet potatoes count. I can't begin to explain that rationale.