Does this sound okay to eat?

I think I'm going to go over my (self) allotted calories today, but I feel like I've done a great job eating. It's a conundrum. Does this sound like a healthy day to you?

B: Protein shake (180 calories, 11g protein - my indulgence for the day)

S: Yogurt with granola (280 calories, but over 20 grams of protein)

L: peas, hummus, cheese stick, black bean crisps from Kashi (325 calories! 14 g protein total)

S&D: Not sure yet - probably some chili and then the healthier bits of whatever my mother-in-law is cooking for dinner. 

I guess in hindsight, I should have leaft out the blackbean crisps, but I had very little prepared this morning, so I was just grabbing things. Everything else I thought was a good choice, but I'll be over 900 calories before dinner. 

What other choices should I have made differently?

I am almost 6 years out and I probably would not eat as many carbs ..but that is me.. 

Hi Averybyrd,

I am by no means a vet..I am eight weeks out today and down 48.6 lbs.  I post a daily "What's on your menu today" post on this RNY board, and usually get a ton of great replies and ideas and inspiration from that, for me personally, so check it out :)

At first glance, a couple of things stand out.  Again, I am NOT an expert.  But I am always trying to maximize my calories per protein gram.  I would rather drink a Premier Protein shake that is 160 calories and 30 g of protein, than a shake that is 180 calories with 11 g of protein.  See how you are getting way less bang for your buck?  I do this all the time - for example, I think to myself "should I have a hard-boiled egg for 70 calories and 6 g of protein or 2 oz of guacamole for 80 calories and less than 2 g of protein?"  Or should I just have half of a shake so I get 15 g of protein for 80 calories.  I mean, sometimes I just want some dense protein and a shake isn't at all appealing, but it's a constant rationing of eating this vs that.

People have different feelings about carbs, but I have set a personal goal of 20 g of carbs per day or less.  I know others go with up to 50, still others up to 120, and then others don't count them.  I know for me, for my body, for my cravings...I have to steer clear of carbs.  When I eat carbs, I want more carbs.  I would not be eating granola or black bean crisps, just for me personally.  And I love me some carbs!  When I need crunch, I eat cheese crisps.  Kitchen Table Bakery is a tasty brand, or you can make your own by baking a small pile of light cheese.

So my advice is find a shake with higher amount of protein, use unsweetending almond milk instead of skim or another kind, and try going low-carb for a week or two and see how that works for you :)

Again, perhaps this current diet has worked for you since you are a good 6 or 7 months out.  I am two months out, but my choices are working for me so far.  I am about 700 calories total per day.  (there are other people who survive on 500 calories a day but I am just not able!).  Everything I read calls the first 6-12 months the true honeymoon phase so I am trying to lose whatever I can in the first year, knowing it will just get harder and harder and harder...

Good luck!

These would not be my choices. I had a 153 calorie shake with 33g of protein for breakfast and covers me for 4 hours. The granola would be a no for me, but if it is on your plan, then go for it. The lunch is way below my minimum for a meal. My snacks are 10-15g of protein, I aim for 25g at a meal. 

I think at six months out, 1000 calories or even 1200 are OK, especially if you're exercising much.

That said, granola tends to be pretty high in calories.  So it's a food I would call a "sometimes" food.  I try to look at foods as being every day foods, sometimes foods, or just once in a while foods.  Like, Greek yogurt is an every day food for me.  Brown rice is a sometimes food.  Cookies are a just once in a while food.  So I don't think it's a poor food choice to eat granola, but I would not eat it every day.  Or, if I really liked it and wanted to eat it often, I might try eating less of it.  Maybe I would  use less granola on my yogurt and add a couple sliced strawberries or something like that.  Use enough to get the taste and crunch, but fewer calories. 

I'm not familiar with the black bean crisps but they might be a sometimes food, too.  Another thing I do is try to limit the starchy-carby stuff to one serving a day.  So if I choose to eat two cookies for a snack (like I did yesterday), I probably would not choose to have half a bagel for another snack that same day or to eat some brown rice with my dinner.  However, sometimes I have days that are higher in calories and carby-starchy stuff than others.  I feel OK about that as long as it evens out.  Like, if I have one higher than normal calorie day in a week, but I have another day I'm not real hungry and am lower than usual in calories, I think that's OK.

I think that sounds like an incredibly healthy day.

Your total calorie count may bit smidge high for 5 months post-op but I wouldn't make a big fuss out of it, not for just one day.  We have all had days where we were less prepared than usual and it's a bit of a scramble.  To my eyes you did quite well.

First of all, what does your doctor want you eating? That much and that often during the day?

For me my breakfast would have been the protein drink. Only. That would have (and still would) keep me full till lunch. Lunch would have been the yogurt, no granola OR the cheese

stick. I can't do both. Dinner would have been some kind of protein meat-fish, chicken, etc. Are you suppose to be on this high a coloric intake yet? at 8 months out I was barely on 800 for the day.

I didn't do any carbs then, very little now. I have always been on 3 meals a day as per my doc. My meals ran about 170 per meal plus a snack if I needed it. Snack was cheese stick or couple spoons

of yogurt. check with your doc as to amounts and calories. I'm over 12 yrs out and I couldn't fit in my pouch what you eat per meal still.  If you're still losing and burning off calories it's ok but check

it all out with a fitness program or the paperwork from your doc.

Jen 12 yrs RNY

It looks healthy to me :)  Like others have said, maybe ditch the granola and find a shake with more protein.  But nothing screams BAD, that is for sure.   Good job

Yogurt seems high, do you add protein powder into it?  I have never seen yogurt with 20 grams of protein!

I like Dannon light and fit 80 calories and they are yummy.  Only 5 protein, but a good snack.

The yogurt + granola makes it over 20. The granola I found has 5 grams of sugar and 10 grams of protein. It's almost not sweet at all, but has nuts.

I know the protein shake is not the best. I often have a Jay Robb one, but lately I've been having trouble convincing myself to get them down. This one is more of a treat. 

The black bean crisps, I hardly ever eat. 

As for the protein shake filling me up - it does for about 5 minutes. If I wait until lunch (6:45 until 11:51) I would be so shakey, so I eat a yogurt between the two.

Sigh. Guess I'll try again tomorrow. 

And I'm 8 months out yesterday! :)

Six months or eight months? You show as August, which would be six. Just wondering. Have you tried the caramel pretzel shake? It makes me feel really full for a long time if I make it with almond milk (unsweetened vanilla) and crushed ice. It is my current favorite. :)