Seeing a registered dietician tomorrow

I'm exactly 2 years out today, and I'm having trouble keeping weight on. My surgeon's goal was met at 6 months at 140lbs. My personal goal was reached within the next year at 120lbs. Now it's later and I'm down to 108lbs. I'm not sure why I keep losing while I feel like I eat like a pig a lot of the time. So I made an appointment with a dietician who specializes in younger females with eating disorders (I don't have one, but I think she sounds more appropriate than someone who, say, deals with diabetic patients primarily). I'm not sure what's going to happen. I really hope I don't get yet another lecture about how I shouldn't lose anymore weight (duh, my BMI is one pound to being underweight). I really just need help planning out healthy, higher calorie meals that I like to eat and that fit in with my schedule. So I'm hoping we can accomplish that.

congrats on your two year anniversary.  im getting there myself, mine is at the end of July. i think you have made a good decision in seeking the help of a nutritionist. i have one question/suggestion for you.  you may do this already.  do you track your food on a daily basis on one of the online weight trackers??  this might help you see how many calories you are consuming daily and also help you plan what you need to eat more of on a regular basis. maybe talking to a nutritionist and tracking would help you. just some of my thoughts, good luck with everything jacki

No, I don't currently track what I'm eating. I'm horrible at journaling, and I've had to quit therapy for anxiety disorders in the past because they required so much journaling from me. I know I'll have to be accountable for what I eat, but I'm hoping she has an easier way of doing it. I'll even buy a palm pilot if it will make it easier. I find it so hard to measure food.

I use a food journaling software program on my Palm Pilot/PDA; it's from calorieking.com and it's super easy to use.  You can also get a Diet Diary directly from Palm that can be synced up with your computer.  (The version from calorieking.com cannot be synced up with your computer, one of it's only downfalls in my opinion.)  Anyway, I've been using this program for about 2 years and it's super easy and super helpful.  I'm not underweight, but I'm working hard to avoid the traditional 10% regain.  I figured that by tracking my food, daily weight, and exercise, I'd know how much I could eat and maintain.  And so far -- vacation weight gain being excluded from consideration -- it's working.  (I'm working on losing 10 pounds I put on while on vacation, but thanks to my food journaling, I know exactly what I need to change to lose that weight.).  Anyway, using a PDA to journal makes it super easy - I probably spend 15 minutes or less on this every day.   A couple additional suggestions in response to finding it hard to measure food.  First, buy things that are already portioned - single serving yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese sticks, nuts, etc.  Then it's already pre-measured and you don't have to worry about what quantity you are eating.  Second, buy some of the 1/2 c. and 1 c. disposable Ziploc or Glad containers.  I use them then I'm packing up leftovers or when I make things like pudding.  Each container is a specific size, so if I know what's considered a portion, I just fill the container and I'm good to go.  I've found these two things helpful in terms of keeping track of what I eat.   Good luck at your appointment - I hope the dietician understands where you are coming from and can offer some helpful suggestions.   Kellie

Thanks! The appointment went well, and I'll be seeing her again in 2 weeks. She was very non-judgmental, dealt well with my picky eating, and was very nice. (I had been really worried about getting a lecture or being blamed for something...) Unfortunately, I upped my calories and now I seem to be losing faster. But since the place I'm going to actually has an inpatient facility for eating disorders, they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves for weight gain.

I've started tracking my food now, and even though I feel like I'm always eating, and eating a lot of calories, it is less than I thought. I ended up buying a special cute little notebook just for this journaling so I could keep it in my purse. Kind of a motivation to stick with it. And today I went on a grocery trip shopping specifically for calorie dense foods. It was very strange to not reach for the low cal or low fat version of things I regularly eat.

I was going to say the same thing as a previous poster about measuring. I have measuring cups in the kitchen when I pack my lunch and use them to scoop out the right stuff into the right size containers and I also use pre packaged stuff like yogurt and cheese sticks...I also got a small scale to weigh my meat portions just before I put them on my plate at dinner.

We have a small mailing scale in the basement for eBay stuff that I'm going to move into the kitchen, and I bought brand new measuring cups to motivate me to start measuring my food. They're orange so I can't miss them!

those things and little snack size plastic ziplock bags saved me completely...I have the little tupperware containers for salad dressing and 1/2 cup snack cups (also tupperware) that helps alot too.