You say, ..."I may need to give greater thought to it all, expecially the dairy. ANY THOUGHTS to share,"
Here are my thoughts -
What we need to consider as individuals with Bronchiectasis and/or MAC is where we fall in terms of having a healthy body mass. We have all been brainwashed to believe "the thinner the better." And thin can be healthy IF it is deliberate, is accompanied by a healthy diet, our blood chemistry is all good, and our body has sufficient reserves. BUT when weight loss is beyond voluntary, and we begin to look gaunt and are losing muscle mass...it can be time for action.

We have also been told, at various times, dairy is bad for us, red meat is bad, carbs are bad...the list is endless depending on the celebrity "experts" and diets du jour. Over 40 years ago, my grandmother's doctor told my mother and me "Keep some meat on your bones, you need it when you get sick like Ruby is now" and although my weight was always appropriate for my height and body type, I never stressed over whether I weighed 115 pounds or 125, I just continued to eat a healthy diet and stay active.

Over the past 20 years, I have had quite a few major surgeries and health complications including heavy metal poisoning, Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism), Bronchiectasis and MAC; during those times my weight often fell alarmingly, to below 100 pounds.

Using the dieticians' advice from the NJH videos, in 2018 I put myself on a regimen that included healthy, high-density foods, including dairy, meat, beans, oils and nuts. At times when food was unappealing to me, I forced myself to eat one small portion every hour - a piece of aged cheese, full-fat yogurt with fruit, a hard-boiled egg, an ounce of cashews, 4-6 ounces of a high-protein smoothie. Plus at least 2 regular meals each day. Over two years after stopping antibiotic therapy, I finally got back to 120 pounds, and have stayed near it for over a year now.

Now in my 70's, I eat a 50-50 mix of the "American diet" - meat and potatoes, pizza, etc, and a "cleaner" diet. For example today instead of dinner, we will have shrimp with cocktail sauce, cheese and maybe hard sausage, healthy crackers with dips (both bean & sour cream choices), a fruit plate, raw veggies, chips, and probably some sweets, at our football party. Tomorrow's dinner will be (real) Mexican food, which includes salad, beans or bean soup, fresh salsa & avocado with a few chips, a little lean meat and a few corn tortillas. Wednesday will be a vegetable soup or stir-fry with chicken and maybe some wild rice. Our daytime food is yogurt with fruit, healthy granola or seeds, cheese or peanut butter with crackers and fruit, raw veggies or veggie juices, nuts, toast with peanut butter, protein shakes, wholegrain snack bars, homemade trail mix. Our indulgence is one or 2 pieces of good dark chocolate. or very occasionally a dish of good ice cream.