hah131

i'm a complete food addict. i can't have it in the house, or i eat it....i've tried to learn to substitute my desire for sweets with a chocolate Protein shake that i think tastes decent. as far as salty, i try nuts, but i get a little out of hand with those too. i have my good days and bad, but i find that, when i'm having a ridiculously bad spell, if i do a day or two of liquids, i can get my cravings in check. i also find that, if i force myself to work out when i'm craving something really badly, the craving goes away.
i'm only 6 months out from surgery, so it's a day-to-day learning experience/struggle. i'm at a conference for the next three days for work, and there are so many Snacks that it's killing me. i ate three soft pretzel sticks, two brownies, and two Cookies today. all i wanted to do tonight was go somewhere and get something horribly bad for me to eat. instead, i forced myself to go to the hotel's gym and run/walk for an hour and a half. now i don't even want dinner. i don't know if the bad desires will ever go away; i just have to figure out the best way for me to handle them.

Lisa,
I'll give you the run down of my typical week exercise and nutrition-wise.
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - lap swimming for 35 minutes at 5:30 am, 30 minute walk around 12:30 pm, 35 minute walk with the dogs 4:30 pm, 60 minute zumba (all except Friday) 6 pm
Tuesday/Thursday - 30 minute walk 12:30 pm, 45 minute walk with the dogs 4:30 pm, 3-5 mile run 6 pm, 45 minute video - either kickboxing or some other cardio
Saturday - 60 minute boot camp 9 am, 60 minute walk with the dogs (sometimes longer)
Sunday - 60 minute walk with the dogs, run and/or video
As far as my diet goes, it's pretty monotonous, especially during the work-week. It generally looks like this:
Breakfast 10 am - fat free plan greek yogurt with .33 serving of Protein powder mixed in (146 calories, 26.6 g protein)
Snack 1 pm - Protein shake (30 grams protein, 160 calories)
lunch 3:30 pm - 1 hard boiled egg, 1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese, 2 oz raw veggie (cauliflower, broccoli, or carrots) (about 132 calories, about 14.4 g protein)
Snack - 6ish pm - protein shake and one serving PB2 (115 calories, 18 g. protein)
dinner - 8 pm - large salad with either tuna, salmon, edamame, bun-less veggie burger, or tofu - salad includes 3 oz romaine lettuce, 0.3 oz alfalfa sprouts, 2 oz broccoli, 2 oz cauliflower, 2 oz mushrooms, 1 oz celery, 1 oz green or red pepper, 1 oz carrots, 1/2 tablespoon greek dressing - 88 calories for salad without protein, protein ranges from 60-100 calories. Lately I've added in a small amount of fruit - 4 oz peach, 1 small plum, 4 oz mango, 6 oz apple, or a large tomato.
I take one chewable multi-vitamin per day, 1200 calcium - one at breakfast, one at dinner, 2 times a week, I take a B12, and 2-3 times a week, I take 1000mg D3. (my multi-vitamin and calcium are an extra 30 calories per day)
I just had my blood taken last Saturday in preparation for my year appt on the 20th. I'll know better then how my Vitamin levels look, but I'm really strict with taking my Vitamins. Eventually, when I'm in maintenance, I'd like to up my calorie intake to somewhere between 1000-1200 per day, but for right now, I'm sticking with the range I've been eating.
I hope that helps!

just thought i'd put in my two cents about the 100 pound loss question. i honestly don't believe any of mine was luck. i work my BUTT off. i work out, on average, 2 hours a day...and it's not just two hours of walking. i do lap swimming 35 minutes at 5:30 am three times a week; i take an hour of zumba 2 nights a week; i walk the dogs for at least 45 minutes on those days; i walk during my lunch break for a half hour every day unless it's raining; and i run between 3-5 miles on the days i don't have zumba. i exercise seven days a week and have since surgery. i also eat between 650-850 calories most days, keeping my carbs very low (generally between 30-50 g a day). those calories and carbs include everything - vitamins and calcium included. i'm very, very strict. now that i'm 7 pounds away from goal, i'm starting to incorporate more carbs into my diet - mostly fruit - but honestly, for the first 10 months, i rarely had any fruit, bread, pasta, etc because they were just way too carby. i'm a vegetarian, who has learned to eat more fish, so my diet really consists of veggies and low carb sources of protein only.

My 1 year bandiversary is Wednesday. Thus far, I've lost 108 pounds in that year. I still feel like i weight 270 pounds. I started seeing a therapist a few months ago to deal with body image issues, as well as sporadic binge eating. I can't say that it's helped a great deal yet, but we're working on it. I'm a big proponent of therapy, especially during huge changes such as these. Good Luck!

i eat 5 small meals per day - approximately every 3 hours. if i didn't, i'd never hit anywhere close to the amount of calories i need...in fact, even with eating 5 small meals, most days i average about 850-900 calories. my surgeon is quite happy with me eating that way. i've never been told to just have 3 meals a day. i think, as long as you get in the protein and calories you need, you can be flexible with your eating schedule.