Grocery shopping for my old stomach
tcdouglas
Posts: 11 Member
So I am on my 3rd week post op and am on soft foods. I went to the grocery store the other day to get some tuna and shredded chicken and brought so much more stuff (stuff that I can eat) but I brought too much... Now all this stuff is just sitting in my fridge and pantry because I can't eat nearly what I used too (I know that's the point). I guess what I'm asking did anyone go through the eyes bigger than my stomach syndrome in the beginning? I know I have to make a more conscious effort to control it but I think it's still just taking my mind a little more time to catch up with my smaller stomach...
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I am 4 weeks and am definitely buying too much and cooking too much. I do have kids to feed but still, they can't eat that much turkey taco meat. I need to start automatically freezing half of our dinner for another night. Also, I've cooked things for myself, like mashed cauliflower, that there is just no way I will ever get to finish. I've found that the sleeve really cuts down on variety because one serving of something takes 4 days to eat, so I am getting pretty sick of eating the same things day after day. I'm learning as I go and I'm adjusting my dinners and my shopping list.0
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It's challenging to learn how to shop differently. It isn't always just about our eyes being bigger than our stomachs, but food is sold in big quantities! I tend to buy things I can freeze in portions and use as I need them, or I cook things I can freeze like chili, chicken, etc. I can't often buy fresh fruits and vegetables because they go bad before I can finish them so I buy more frozen , or if I do buy fresh produce, I share with my neighbor so that things don't go to waste. Today I wanted to buy some celery to have with my almond butter, but I knew I would only use a fraction of it, so I passed. It will take some getting used to but you will get the hang of it!0
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I was running into the same issue. I had to rethink what I was buying and making, and now I plan meals for the week on what I can use from leftovers from one meal to make a new meal the next day.0
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I threw away so much food the first 3 months. I learned to cut recipes waaaay down. Some things I am happy to eat on for a week like my lentil sambar or pot roast. Some things I just couldn't eat fast enough and they weren't good for freezing. But 90 days is not a bad learning curve. Those green bags are very helpful making my fresh veggies last 2 wks. I do buy less than before though.0
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Tcdouglas: I am 3.5 years out and still sometimes forget that buying in bulk is not always the best. When I do that, I do like others have suggested. I cook and freeze or share with the neighbour or make another new meal out of the old meal. It will take time, but your brain will catch up. Good luck.0
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OMG, YES! It does get better though as you re-learn how to cook and shop. I've learned to freeze what I can. I'll buy ingredients, prep 2 of my size recipes, freeze one and cook the other. Sometimes I cook it all and freeze half the leftovers immediately. Early on, I froze my meals in ice cube trays if it was conducive... soups, chili, etc. Pop them out when they're solid and dump in a freezer bag. 1-2 cubes would do me in the beginning! You will learn how to make it work!0
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Yep, I did this too. My freezer is well stocked. Thankfully my husband can share food with me but he doesn't always like everything I cook. I have way, way too much food.0
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Oh yes! I did in buying, preparing and even fixing a plate. It does take time to recalibrate your mind to what your new normal is. The other thing is, you are so new to this, you really don't have a new normal yet. That actually comes about 6 months out when you are healed and on solid food again. Cook and freeze as much as you can into your current portion size and then take inventory before your next shopping trip. You really need to relearn how to shop. My husband shops with me and he also had to relearn how much to buy so we weren't throwing out so much food. :-)
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Yep, I did it too. I'm much better now at over a year and a half out, but I still do it sometimes. I also still put too much food on my plate. I know better, but old habits die hard. I still need to really weigh and measure food to prevent overeating. I remember the first time I wanted to buy the gigantic bag of gigantic potatoes at costco - I realized it would take me a week to eat one of them!
One other thing - sometimes I go the other way. When I have a family gathering, I will sometimes put them on the bariatric plan. Very little to choose from, and not much of it! They never got that from me, before, lol!
I love the change, but it's hard to get used to!0 -
I am 4 weeks and am definitely buying too much and cooking too much. I do have kids to feed but still, they can't eat that much turkey taco meat. I need to start automatically freezing half of our dinner for another night. Also, I've cooked things for myself, like mashed cauliflower, that there is just no way I will ever get to finish. I've found that the sleeve really cuts down on variety because one serving of something takes 4 days to eat, so I am getting pretty sick of eating the same things day after day. I'm learning as I go and I'm adjusting my dinners and my shopping list.
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YES! I did this all the time. I ended up buying good rubbermade tupperware and storing the leftovers in pre-measured amounts to eat during the week, or freezing for later use. It is not a bad thing.
Since then, I've learned to buy less protein, and to limit fresh produce. Instead, I buy a lot more fresh frozen veggies that steam in the bag, as well as frozen rice that steams in the bag. Since I don't eat the rice, and get more protein than veggies these days, the proportions are about right. I can't even begin to tell you about the time-savings...0 -
My kids just left for college and my husband is dieting and its weird to see how little food is in the fridge, yet how adequate that is for us. I had to buy a new fridge because my old one died and I bought a smaller one. I told my husband "There's only two of us now and neither one of us eat."
Another upside - the house stays clean for days...0 -
I am three and a half months out and I definitely have this problem. Just yesterday, I bought some crackers and chips for myself and when I got home and set them on the counter, my husband laughed and said "what are you gonna do with those." Sometimes I just flat out forget that I had this surgery and I find myself in pain when my stomach is kind enough to remind me. I still pile things on my plate and then I have to put half of it back. It is actually frustrating. It has gotten easier than it was in the first couple of months so hopefully it will continue to get easier the longer out I get.0
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So I sort of came up with a solution for myself. Since I have to only worry about feeding myself (no husband or kids), I ordered some prepacked meats (they were on sale) that I can keep in the freezer and just pull out one at a time since they are individually wrapped. So for example the sausages are 3oz and like 18grams of protein so it's easy for me to measure, I'm not wasting food and I know the nutritional info...0
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I froze my meals in ice cube trays if it was conducive... soups, chili, etc. Pop them out when they're solid and dump in a freezer bag. 1-2 cubes would do me in the beginning! You will learn how to make it work!
This is a great idea, my mum used to do this with soup but never thought of doing it for anything else. I cook a lot of chilli and stews too. I'm going to stock up on ice trays when I see some going for cheap.0 -
Haha yes my all mainly gone, except my sons still come home most weekends from University. House stays clean all week. Weekends we always know they have been home. Miss them all but starting to enjoy the other side of life too. As for shopping, absolutely! So much wastage the first few months. Starting to get there but not perfected yet.My kids just left for college and my husband is dieting and its weird to see how little food is in the fridge, yet how adequate that is for us. I had to buy a new fridge because my old one died and I bought a smaller one. I told my husband "There's only two of us now and neither one of us eat."
Another upside - the house stays clean for days...0 -
I, too, am cooking for one tiny tummy - I'm always amused when I can't eat a whole "lean cuisine" product - never imagined a day when I'd be putting a left over frozen meal into tupperware!!
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Awesome NSV. 0
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I cook for a family- so I still buy a lot- but I also weigh and mesure everything for my plate- keeps me from mindless eating when I should be controlling my portions- even as my stomache now allows for a bit more food at almost 6months out.0
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3 years out and I still buy too much food, cook too much food, and put too much food on my plate.
My husband laughs at me when I serve myself something I really like. He'll laugh and say, "There's no way you can eat even half of that!"
I tell him, "I know, but I like to think about eating all of it!" Sometimes I miss eating all the food! LOL
I am pretty good at quitting when I hit the full-ish, but not-too-full point. My dogs are usually pretty happy after dinner.0 -
OMG, YES!!! I still buy using my old habits. I've been buying this way for 30 years so it's not an easy habit to break. I did have the epiphany of realizing 'Oh my word, why did I buy soooo much food. This has gotta stop!' LOL. I told hubby we weren't going back to the grocery store for at least 6 months.0
