1 month out....trouble menu planning!

Hi all!  Im 1 month out and having a hard time menu planning.  Ive just introduced soft foods but I cant get in that much so I dont count the calories.  I want to stick to a menu with some variety that is going to be healthy for me.  Any suggestions out there?  I do have a diet to follow that consists of half sslice of toast or half cup of cereal with either 1 egg or peanut butter for Breakfast....but im just drinking a protein shake and then having a 0% yogurt around 10am.  Then some kind of protein at lunch etc etc.  Just need a little help here please

Hi Lisa,

I'm always shocked when someone's diet includes toast and cereal!  There is very little nourishment in either one considering that you have such little room and such a big need for protein.  I'll give you a few suggestions, that you could tweak to your own taste.  Personally I didn't have any white carbs until I got to goal and I attribute my success to that.  That's not to say no carbs, because I do love my veggies, but at a month out, there is not much room.  Again, these are a few suggestions and your centre can give you more ideas, but these would be typical days for me at a month out.

B      Yogurt (probably every breakfast for almost 6 months, lol)
S      Coffee (with milk and protein powder)  or a shake
L      Usually previous night's supper leftovers with a moist meat (fish or tender cooked beef or chicken with a little gravy or broth) and a vegetable (I tried to stick to green veggies mostly but did enjoy a spoonful or two of  mashed potatoes occasionally.)
S     Mini BabyBel Cheese, Cheese String,
D     A moist meat and veggies like a said for Lunch
S     A yogurt, or cottage cheese or cheese string 

I get plenty of protein now and don't usually have shakes and usually have veggies with a little dip every day as a snack, or a turkey pepperoni or cottage cheese or egg salad, ham salad or chicken salad.  I tend to have about 2 small meals and 4 snack size meals a day.

All of this plus 8 glasses of water per day.  Tweak it to your preferences, stage of the game and
quantities allowed and it should give you an idea.  Also, recording everything on myfitnesspal or something similar will let you know your overall totals.

I hope this helps!

ETA at a month out, I had no restrictions on what I could eat, you may have different instructions.

Follow the "what are you doing/eating today" posts for some ideas - I found this realy helpful early out.

Now I pretty much stick to a routine for breaskfast and lunch and mix things up for dinner with the family.

breakfast - small bagel or cheese and fruit (weekends I have eggs & toast)

lunch - cereal, yogurt, half an apple or pear

snack - half apple or pear, mini bell cheese, almonds

I get the highest protein things I can find. 

 You've gotten good suggestions from the other posts.  You need to eat your protein first, so even if you have a slice of toast on your plate, at a month out you have no room in your stomach for the toast after you've eaten your protein.

 At a month out my diet didn't have very much variety.  I ate mainly greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tuna/egg/chicken mixed with some low fat mayo, mashed beans with melted cheese, lentil soup, steamed veggies (sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot), ricotta cheese.   I find stews and crockpot dishes are still my best bet for adding variety but keeping things moist and easy to digest.

 I usually advise following what your clinic suggests.  I know that going through Guelph they do NOT advocate using protein supplements.  About 5 weeks out after starting solids I asked about adding more protein and possibly a supplement.  I was told yes only because I was tolerating the "real" food proteins well and getting my minimal 60g in daily.  I know Guelph are strong advocates that their patients remember Protein first but not to discount  the benefits of high fibre foods whi*****lude whole grains even if only in minimal quantities.  It's about finding the sweet spot for you where you balance your carb intake against your protein intake and still lose weight without having major bowel issues, cause believe me they are not fun at all.   And remember it gets easier the longer you are doing this.

Di