Hi ENDGAME - What you eat and how much you eat definitely can impact your breathing. A good place to start for information is the "Nutrition and COPD" section under the "Learn More" link at the top of the page. Look under the subsection: "I am a Person with COPD". It can be found here: https://www.copdfoundation.org/Learn-More/I-am-a-P...

That is the great thing about this site, there is great information like Jean has suggested and great people like Jean herself to help you.

Big meals are a no no because when we fill that old belly all the way full there is less rooom in that space for the lungs to work. The lungs are probably enlarged because the body is trying to make of for their loss of effesiency.

I can no longer eat big meals, too. I am a normal weight for my height, so I don't have to worry about that (yet). So I figured out what I eat in a day, and divide it into 6-7 portions. For example, today was an early morning yogurt. Mid morning was a banana. Lunch was homemade soup. Mid afternoon was a homemade oatmeal cookie. Dinner was a small tuna steak, 1/2 baked potato, corn. (Discovered that's not something we need to do again.) Evening snack - cheese and crackers. What works for me is spacing my meals/snacks throughout the day.

This may not cover all the nutritional guidelines. I figure I'm old enough to just eat what I like - so if it's green, it's probably pistachio or mint-chocolate-chip. And if I need a carb, an oatmeal cookie works just as well as brown rice! I just cannot eat too much at one sitting.

A source of protein my D has decided works well for her are protein shakes. They contain 30 grams of protein in a 12 oz fluid drink. It has a twist top so you can drink it in parts over a period of time. I’ve tried it and found it tasty. I prefer to only drink 1/2 in a day, to see how your body responds to it.

I agree that eating many small meals is better for most of us.

Val's post made me think that I have a breakfast coffee that helps supply some protein in my diet. The coffee has 1tsp whey, 1tsp ensure powder and 1 tsp cocoa powder. These are heaping tsps and you have to stir briskly as you pour the coffee into this concoction. My doctor and I came up with this when I was trying to put on weight.

My D’s favorite flavor is latte which she says tastes like a frapachino. She also has tried the vanilla and chocolate shake.

I am not a coffee drinker but am glad D has found a palatable way to easily increase her protein intake. She says the key is having it very cold and shaking it.

Many years aho, I had to drink protein shakes while I was recovering from a really bad case of the flu. I loved the latte flavor. I stuck it in the freezer for a while, shook it up, and stuck a straw in it. It was foamy and pretty good! I also liked the butter pecan flavor.