Can someone tell me if this is a good day's worth of food?
Thank you all so much!
I think what happened to me is that I forgot how to eat since having a baby 5.5 months ago. When I got pregnant last July, I had been losing again, but my doctor said, "STOP! Eat more!" She just wanted me to maintain my weight, not even gain (or if I did, up to 15 pounds or so). She just didn't want me to lose. So I forgot what it looks like to eat honestly. I was drinking 2-3 protein shakes a day during pregnancy to up the calories and prevent myself from losing. I think that's when I got in the habit of drinking way too many calories, which I have to stop. Before that, I was having iced lattes too, which was a bad habit.
Someone asked about how I went off plan: I went off plan by drinking calories and just eating smaller amounts of food I like instead of focusing on dense protein and vegetables. I don't eat terribly, but I did not eat "on plan." We have a family dinner nightly in our house that usually consists of a good protein (usually fish or chicken), green vegetable (salad, broccoli, etc), and a gluten-free starch (hubby is gluten-intolerant, stuff like brown rice, sweet potato, corn on the cob in the summer, etc). I need to start focusing on the protein and vegetable and forget about the starch. I also got "addicted" (for lack of a better word) to the feeling full sensation. After surgery, I had a really hard time eating/drinking for quite a while. So I was told to continuously suck on protein shakes or eat yogurt to get in the protein/calories. Of course, that initial discomfort with food went away, but that habit developed to feel full constantly post-sleeve. It's like I get uncomfortable without a full sleeve. I don't usually let myself feel hunger, which is so strange because before the sleeve, I ate 3 meals a day and rarely snacked. So strange.
I also don't know if I can truly eat the food I listed because I usually don't take time to sit down and eat. With a 4 year old and 5.5 month old, other than dinner, I usually eat standing up or in between activities, which leads to grazing. My whole "system" needs to be overhauled. I am guessing 2 eggs, vegetables, and canadian bacon might be too much for me, but I have no idea, as I usually eat 1 egg, 1 piece of canadian bacon, and then eat the rest of my daughter's toast if she doesn't eat it. These are things I can definitely change and WILL CHANGE. I still have a great tool, and to be honest, I'm glad I didn't lower calories too much in the beginning because now I have that option to do that and I think my weight will come off. Prior to my pregnancy, I had been maintaining 255 pretty effortlessly (which I know isn't ideal, as I need to lose more, but I was drinking a lot of calories doing this, so I may have more wiggle room with calories than I think).
In any event, I am so grateful to you all for offering your opinions. Today is a day of planning, buying the protein foods I need, and getting my mindset right to get out of the bad habits I've succumbed to. I still have restriction. But because I haven't been focusing on protein first, not drinking with meals, etc, I have no idea what I will actually be able to eat.
I think what happened to me is that I forgot how to eat since having a baby 5.5 months ago. When I got pregnant last July, I had been losing again, but my doctor said, "STOP! Eat more!" She just wanted me to maintain my weight, not even gain (or if I did, up to 15 pounds or so). She just didn't want me to lose. So I forgot what it looks like to eat honestly. I was drinking 2-3 protein shakes a day during pregnancy to up the calories and prevent myself from losing. I think that's when I got in the habit of drinking way too many calories, which I have to stop. Before that, I was having iced lattes too, which was a bad habit.
Someone asked about how I went off plan: I went off plan by drinking calories and just eating smaller amounts of food I like instead of focusing on dense protein and vegetables. I don't eat terribly, but I did not eat "on plan." We have a family dinner nightly in our house that usually consists of a good protein (usually fish or chicken), green vegetable (salad, broccoli, etc), and a gluten-free starch (hubby is gluten-intolerant, stuff like brown rice, sweet potato, corn on the cob in the summer, etc). I need to start focusing on the protein and vegetable and forget about the starch. I also got "addicted" (for lack of a better word) to the feeling full sensation. After surgery, I had a really hard time eating/drinking for quite a while. So I was told to continuously suck on protein shakes or eat yogurt to get in the protein/calories. Of course, that initial discomfort with food went away, but that habit developed to feel full constantly post-sleeve. It's like I get uncomfortable without a full sleeve. I don't usually let myself feel hunger, which is so strange because before the sleeve, I ate 3 meals a day and rarely snacked. So strange.
I also don't know if I can truly eat the food I listed because I usually don't take time to sit down and eat. With a 4 year old and 5.5 month old, other than dinner, I usually eat standing up or in between activities, which leads to grazing. My whole "system" needs to be overhauled. I am guessing 2 eggs, vegetables, and canadian bacon might be too much for me, but I have no idea, as I usually eat 1 egg, 1 piece of canadian bacon, and then eat the rest of my daughter's toast if she doesn't eat it. These are things I can definitely change and WILL CHANGE. I still have a great tool, and to be honest, I'm glad I didn't lower calories too much in the beginning because now I have that option to do that and I think my weight will come off. Prior to my pregnancy, I had been maintaining 255 pretty effortlessly (which I know isn't ideal, as I need to lose more, but I was drinking a lot of calories doing this, so I may have more wiggle room with calories than I think).
In any event, I am so grateful to you all for offering your opinions. Today is a day of planning, buying the protein foods I need, and getting my mindset right to get out of the bad habits I've succumbed to. I still have restriction. But because I haven't been focusing on protein first, not drinking with meals, etc, I have no idea what I will actually be able to eat.
Shannon (mommy to a 4 year old and 6 month old)
Sleeved May 2009 and haven't used my tool properly.
It's taken me awhile to get back here, but I'm back and ready to commit.
Sleeved May 2009 and haven't used my tool properly.
It's taken me awhile to get back here, but I'm back and ready to commit.
Wow Elina's advice is great. She told you all you need to know. I think you can do this. you mentioned something about eating and drinking not being your focus. Did you start doing that again? I bet you can stop doing it with little effort again. I know that not drinking when eating and waiting a good deal of time really does work. I stay satisfied much longer when not drinking after eating for at least half an hour. I think that will really help you out. If you need a snack--give beef jerky a try--it is a great snack. It's high protein and low carb and low fat all rolled into one (if you buy the right kind, some of them aren't as good as others). I usually buy jack links and it's like 14 grams of protein per ounce and a few grams of fat and like 2 grams of carbs. It fills me up quick. I wish you all of the best. Having a baby is hard on the body and that probably did set you back a year and a half but now you have the right mindset. I bet you will be posting back here in a year that you are down 100 lbs.
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