Tracyringo

Wait... why am I being quoted anyway?
My comment is not directed specifically at you which is why you werent tagged (why would you think this was about you instead of a general conversation? I thought we were just discussing different paths)
I was chiming in on : If I (during my preop stage)looked at other peoples food logs and associated it with my likely future I would have been wrong.
Why shouldn't you continue to post about your journey? I'm certain they are helpful to people. People adore the advice and structure you provide to them 💜

B. Protein Powder in coffee
L. 2 oz Salmon
.25 mash potatoes
S. 1 oz salmon
.25 mash potatoes
.5 Protein Water
snack. Not sure yet
Cal. 505
Pro. 50
Carb. 21

I also would have been very nervous if i looked through people's food logs. I was never going to eat only Protein 5x a day, i needed vegetarian options too and those by virtue are high carb/cal.
I really only gave up the things my Team told me to: carbonation, alcohol (I don't drink anyway) excess sugar, then caffeine, bread Pasta & rice (I dont care for pasta or rice so... NBD) for the first 6 months.
And even then they gave me wiggle room for my Roman Holiday at 4 months post op. I was told sure eat pizza, but get protein too. So I ate pizza pasta & gelato nonstop for 2 weeks and pastries crossaints, fried chicken tenders and kebab for 10 more days in Paris (only the panna cotta bothered me- the fabled Parisian dumping incident). Lost weight.
I made tons substitutions stateside for healthier versions of things and i will eat (or drink 😂) a salad in a min because i actually like them. But im satified that none of my choices make me anxious. I really really value that freedom.
Maybe its because I've never dieted before or maybe its a personality flaw, but i find the idea of constantly dieting or diet mode after surgery not a good fit for me which is why my MPF page is super lonely these days.

Ok ... I won't be a regular contributor to this thread, because of the reasons I mentioned, but are a few snapshots of some of my days
Weekend Getaway
Brunch - Breakfast sandwich on biscuit w gravy, breakfast potatoes, bite of my bf's burger & mimosa
dinner - Charcuterie board, Gnocchi w 4 cheese sauce & wine
Late night - beer, pizza, beer & ice cream sandwich

Work from home day
Breakfast - Taco Bell
lunch - Pasta w Chili & Cheese
Dinner - Happy Hour w friend (apps + drinks)
Late night - M&M's

Work from Home
Breakfast - Leftover pizza (not actually dominos, but prosciutto thin crust)
Lunch - random snacking
Dinner - Pasta w Chili & Cheese (once I open a can of chili, it takes a while to get through)
Evening snack - popcorn

Out of Town - All Day Meetings
Breakfast - quick bite in hotel
Lunch - salad w added meat
Snacks - Cookies during meeting
Dinner - Apps, salad (didn't bother to add the lettuce), Halibut, mashed potatoes, bite of my coworker's lamb, chocolate piece stuck in the chocolate mousse, beer & wine
Late night - vodka soda w watermelon juice & beer

Travel Day + Casual Business Dinner
Breakfast - free plane snacks
Dinner - loooong evening at the bar with lots of bar food & drinks

Out of town meeting + Travel
Breakfast - in hotel
Lunch - food brought into meeting
First dinner - BBQ chicken Quinoa Bowl at airport
Second airplane Dinner - Lemon grass chicken, red curry rice, Asian slaw
Snack - red vines when I got home

Work Road trip (4 meetings )
Breakfast - meeting in a convenience store (really, lol) taco + soft serve oreo sundae (don't judge 🤣)
Lunch - business lunch at BJ's
Road trip - Buccee Nuggets & Jerky
Dinner - Business dinner -Cevishe app, "Duck 2 Ways & Dumplings" + wine
Late night casual meeting - beer

Travel Day
Breakfast - airport lounge
Lunch - free airplane snacks
Dinner - Taco Bell
Snacks - grabbed from market at the hotel, evening snacking

Out of town meetings
Breakfast - hotel lounge
Lunch - sandwich brought in to meeting
Dinner - charcuterie board, risotto, part of shared dessert, wine, vodka soda splash of cran & port
Late night - snack in room

I think that is a pretty good representation of how I eat. Obviously my business travel and meals are pretty atypical!

I'm trying, y'all lol but I'm currently traveling
B- coffee alternative with Creamer, Water, bai, Vitamins meds etc
L- string cheese, mixed nuts, chocolate, water
D- paneer masala (slightly too spicy so I only ate one bite) with northern Beans & sweet potato, Protein Shake, water, tea, meds, maybe chocolate 😂

Yeah, I'll admit, KBBQ day was a miscalculation. I honestly thought I'd eat more (I seem to often over-estimate my ability to mow down).
I don't mind the fat (i.e., oil) in regular dressings, but I think there's too much added sugar in them for my liking (which is why I make my own )
And yeah those Shirataki noodles do have an odd aroma, don't they? (Kid says they smell like a scratch n sniff fish sticker...whatever that means) They satisfy my noodle wants, though, and still keeps me low-carb, so it's an aroma I can live with 😎
Btw, looking at the pic of your hush puppies reminded me that what I order/eat at restaurants has drastically changed, I will order lower carb, lower sugar items (which naturally end up being lower cal)...not just because I'm watching these macros, but because I actually prefer it now (I LOOOOOOOVE me some salad). But I'm not against drinking my dinner sometimes, so there is always that, lol. Oh, and bags of chicharron.

I count my calories pretty meticulously as well. It's my way of keeping myself honest.
What prompted me to ask, were things like, saving your cals up for KBBQ dinner & using low cal dressing vs. a full fat dressing
For me making the switch to high calorie dressing was one of the first things I did to slow my weight loss. I also feel super virtuous when I have KBBQ (or Brazillian steakhouse, or shabu shabu, or hot pot). It has never felt like a splurge for me, even during my WL phase.
So those things really stuck out to me (along with Shirataki noodles, I cannot get over the smell 🤮)

YUMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmMMMMMM!!

Some would definitely hate me! 🤣
I think we are, or at least were, very similar with the amount of restriction. Mine was pretty extreme, which I was grateful for, most of the time. Near the 1 yr mark my relaxed pretty significantly. I can eat enough now that it doesn't usually attract attention when I eat out.
We are also pretty similar in that I didn't have much physical hunger for a long time. Even now mine is pretty controllable if I fast & push liquids.
Here's my brunch yesterday (Hush puppies covered with sausage gravy & bacon)


As the picture illustrates, I get my calories in by eating pretty calorie dense foods, by eating frequently, & liquid calories (ie alcohol) (I don't drink daily, but I'm by definition a binge drinker)

Right back at cha lady.
Hmmmm...I do still count my calories meticulously, but a higher calorie day doesn't get a response/reaction from me as a higher carb day would (except that one time I realized I had like an 800+ calorie snack and shocked myself. have since repeated this though, so I guess I just needed to get used to the idea..)...so no, I don't think I have a phobia of calories, lol.
In all, I consider myself still in transition, still working on getting to that level of a "forever" diet....and am feeling pretty good with my efforts so far

It is of course, your prerogative to post or not to post ♥️.
Though I personally would love to know what you are eating to get to 2300 cals a day! I've seen some of your before and after meal photos and it blows my mind how you can get that many cals in given your restriction...it seems similar or even more than mine and I'd love some tips...
...and no still don't hate you, and I would think others wouldn't either, I mean we are on a WLS board after all ♥️

Well hell! I'm pretty sure that's part of it! And y'all probably did a hellah amount of stuff this weekend beyond cardio. Anyway you slice it, that's fabulous!!!! Yay!!!

Might very well be a fluke. I dropped two lbs between Friday to today. I'm chalking it up to cardio 😂

Ha! That's why we need MANY voices here on this thread! With many examples!! Cuz then people can see a wide variety! Or wider variety!
And yes, I may be at healthy BMI, but I'm not at my goal... and if you hang out and read much on this thread you will see that I'm still in WLM (weight loss mode). And unlike you guys, I have chosen to be in the camp who says WLM = 600-800cals day. But that's just me.
And nope still don't hate you. You give me hope that I may not have totally forked my metabolism when I do enter maintenance phase!!! Yay!!! That's really outstanding btw (2300???) and dropped 3 lbs. Fabulous!!! Congrats to you my friend!!

Thanks for the well thought out response
Want to start out by saying you look fabulous, and not underweight in any way, anyone who tells you to eat a sandwich can GTFO.
I also think a low carb lifestyle can be sustainable. (I mean, it sounds like a living hell, but that's just me, lol)
Have you considered if you are calorie phobic, and not just carb phobic?

You and I are only 2 weeks a part surgery wise.
I have skipped my Vitamins and it is not as big an issue for us VSG, but we do need them especially early on.
I cannot drink with meals because it hurts and sometimes I have to wait more then an hour because of the pressure.
I have a prescription from my bariatric team for 800 mg ibuprofen. VSG here are allowed NSAID.
Some days on vacation I have not gotten all my Protein
I have on vacation ate out quite a bit but do try to make the best choices.

Today Breakfast 1 egg, 3 slices of bacon, and 1 package of grits. I was too full and could not drink for 2 hours.
lunch cantaloupe and cottage cheese
snack Chobani key lime yogurt
dinner will be Tyson chicken fried steak patty baked, mashed potato 1/4 cup , and peas. Like before I wont be able to eat all my dinner and will save for later tonight. Calories hit around 1200

Today Breakfast 1 egg, 3 slices of bacon, and 1 package of grits. I was too full and could not drink for 2 hours.
lunch cantaloupe and cottage cheese
snack Chobani key lime yogurt
dinner will be Tyson chicken fried steak patty baked, mashed potato 1/4 cup , and peas. Like before I wont be able to eat all my dinner and will save for later tonight. Calories hit around 1200

Today Breakfast 1 egg, 3 slices of bacon, and 1 package of grits. I was too full and could not drink for 2 hours.
lunch cantaloupe and cottage cheese
snack Chobani key lime yogurt
dinner will be Tyson chicken fried steak patty baked, mashed potato 1/4 cup , and peas. Like before I wont be able to eat all my dinner and will save for later tonight. Calories hit around 1200

I've actually been thinking a lot about this over the weekend.
I definitely won't be posting my daily menu on here. I wouldn't have posted it up when I was in weight loss mode, because I ate off plan frequently, and still lost rapidly. And now in maintenance, my BMR appears to be much higher than it really should be. I averaged 2300 cals/day over the last month, and am down 3 lbs. (do you hate me now?)
So I think if I posted what I ate, at any stage, it would give people false hope. I attribute my success to luck more than anything else. And you can't count on luck. What really matters, IMO, is what your BMR is, and eating at or below it. As you said there are too many variables to account for that. But I appear to be not only an outlier, but maybe even an extreme outlier.
On the other hand, maybe yours and @ms.sss menu's could have the opposite effect? If when I was contemplating surgery, I read these menu's of women with healthy BMI's eating so little and/or so strictly, IDK, maybe that would have potentially discouraged me.

Nothing wrong with what you ate, if I remember correctly they have 9 grams of Protein.

Keep going as you change it up!!! I agree on alternating days. I am working off a 10 lbs regain and as I am carb sensitive bread is not happening I count calories and Protein and avoid carbs. Best to you as a send cheer your way!! PS I do not lose if short I’m sleep. 🌻🌻🌼🌻🌼🌼🌼🌻🌼🌼🌻🌼🌼🌼

I am firmly in the middle 😍

I used my Surgeon's goal which was BMI 28. It felt achievable amd sustainable for me: I'm not battling the scale or food choices & have greater flexibility in that range.

Most of us have never and may never see our "ideal" body weight as defined by the ASMBS/Insurance Chart and that's because it's an archaic formula based on 1950's weight people. So it's pretty unrealistic for most of us, but nevertheless, it's the formula used by ASMBS certified doctors (COE docs) the world over.
Here's how it's figured for a woman:
100lbs for the first 5 feet of height + 5lbs for every inch over 5 feet.
Sample: 5'4" woman would have an "Ideal" weight of 100 + (4x5) = 120lbs
I'm 5'4" and very average but have some extra skin. But at 120lbs I think I would look pretty damn skinny.
But you may be saying "ideal" as in your "BDG" = Barbie Dream Girl weight? Which is anything you dream it to be...but that may be how YOUR goal will be determined, it just isn't the way your doc or RD determines your target goal or the projected % EBW loss (excess body weight loss).