Part of my current recovery plan involves drinking an Ensure Plus every day. I hated this idea. I felt guilty that they were so expensive. I felt guilty for drinking them. And I didn't particularly like the taste. The vanilla flavor was cloyingly sweet, my lips puckering with distaste as I drank. However much those animated commercials have tried to normalize the idea of drinking Ensure, every bottle I opened made me feel like a medical patient, that I was freakish and abnormal.
Except that I am a medical patient. I'm at home, but I'm still recovering from an actual illness.
I've learned that the Ensure Plus isn't all that bad. It's not all that good, but it's not bad. I tried different flavors- the strawberry and butter pecan taste much better than the vanilla (which is still gross to me). I worked with my dietitian to shift around my meal plan so that I could have an extra fruit along with my afternoon Ensure Plus, which my mom blends into a smoothie that almost lets me forget I'm having a supplement.
Logically, I know I need the extra calories. I'm having hot flashes from hell (hats off to all you menopausal women out there- you have my sympathy) because my metabolism has started to remember that my body will be fed regularly. I also know that with the amount I need to eat, having a supplement is much easier than eating the equivalent amount of food. It's also more convenient, considering life has been chaotic around here, to put it mildly.
I doubt I'll continue drinking the supplements even after I'm finished with weight restoration, largely because there are far tastier things I can think of to eat. But they're not that bad. And I know they're necessary. I can deal with that. It won't last forever and soon I will move on to bigger and better (tasting) things.
Except that I am a medical patient. I'm at home, but I'm still recovering from an actual illness.
I've learned that the Ensure Plus isn't all that bad. It's not all that good, but it's not bad. I tried different flavors- the strawberry and butter pecan taste much better than the vanilla (which is still gross to me). I worked with my dietitian to shift around my meal plan so that I could have an extra fruit along with my afternoon Ensure Plus, which my mom blends into a smoothie that almost lets me forget I'm having a supplement.
Logically, I know I need the extra calories. I'm having hot flashes from hell (hats off to all you menopausal women out there- you have my sympathy) because my metabolism has started to remember that my body will be fed regularly. I also know that with the amount I need to eat, having a supplement is much easier than eating the equivalent amount of food. It's also more convenient, considering life has been chaotic around here, to put it mildly.
I doubt I'll continue drinking the supplements even after I'm finished with weight restoration, largely because there are far tastier things I can think of to eat. But they're not that bad. And I know they're necessary. I can deal with that. It won't last forever and soon I will move on to bigger and better (tasting) things.