How does someone that is addicted to bad food start eating healthy and feeding their family healthy things? I'm almost in tears with frustration trying to work out meals that everyone will eat and that aren't just lousy with calories, carbs and fat. I go on sites that list healthy meals and the food either sounds boring or it has things that I either can't afford or don't know what they are or know my familiy won't touch. OK, I'm exaggerating of course, but really, how do I learn all this without getting a degree in nutrition? My eyes have always glazed over when it comes to nutrition information. I can program a database, set up a Windows Enterprise Server and write a C++ program but I just can't read a stupid nutrition label. I have to make myself learn it now, but I confess it's soooo frustrating. I Google "healthy meal ideas" and it seems that everyone and their cousin has a site talking about a different idea of what healthy is. Some say high protein high fat low carbs, some say low calories is all that matters, some say meat is bad, some say meat is great, some say high fiber low fat, some say.. well you get the picture. I'm overwhelmed. How do I do this? Of course I will talk to the nutritionist when i see her again, but in the meantime I'm lost. And feeling sorry for myself - can you tell?

Eh, healthy is relative, truly. You have to find what works for you. There is no one size fits all diet out there. Some people do well with low carb, some don't. Some do well with high fats, some don't. You have to test the waters and find what works for you.

Google won't help at all sadly. Why not just eat what you like and focus on eating smaller portions of it? Or find ways to make your favorite foods healthier. Again, it's up to you to find what works for you. Some people here eat 800 calories a day and lose, some eat 1800. There is no one diet that promises weight-loss.

Personally I'd suggest doing low carb for a few weeks and see what it does for you. Low carb being under 50g of net carbs each day.

Thanks. You're right. I need to find what works for me. I'm not so much worried about myself as much as wondering what to fix for my family. I know with the band my eating will change by necessity but I'll still be the primary grocery shopper and cook for my family. I have to find stuff that they will eat that's more healthy than what I've been making. Our staples are casseroles (with bread crumbs/Ritz/cream/cheese), pasta, biscuits, mac and cheese, pizza - that sort of thing. I want this to be a family-wide improvement. I'm just feeling overwhelmed right now.

Rainy,

Check on some of the lowfat Cambell soups for recipes. My mom used to make something with chicken, cream of mushroom soup and broccoli. It was good when I was a kid. You might find some casserole type things.

First of all, take a deep breath!!

What you need to do is find a way to lighten up your family favorites or adjust them slightly to work for everyone. One of the things I do is if I make something that is normally served over Pasta, I still make the pasta for DH and the kids but I put mine over veggies - that way I am pretty much having the same thing they have. When we order pizza, instead of Domino's we now order from a local Italian place where I can order a side of meatballs in marinara sauce. Last night, my DH wanted shrimp scampi so I made that for him and set some shrimp aside for me which I grilled with some mushrooms...I just make adjustments on the main dish that work for me and it isn't that much trouble to do it. The big thing I need is to not feel like I am depriving myself so as long as I am having something similar then I don't spend the entire meal wishing I was eating what they are eating. There is no right or wrong eating plan...some people do low carb, some do low fat, some do WW, some eat whatever they want but in moderation...you just need to choose a path and see how it works for you - you can always switch things up as you go.

Another good place to look for recipe ideas is The World According to Eggface. She had GBP and her site contains tons of recipes that are really good. I tried her Philly Cheesesteak Casserole the other day and everyone loved it!

My last suggestion is to use some sort of nutrition tracking software - I use My Fitness Pal (on my Iphone and on the computer). You can put in your food and it calculates the nutritional value so that you can see at a glance what your numbers are for the day. This helps keep me accountable...

Hope those ideas help!

Thanks. You're right. I need to find what works for me. I'm not so much worried about myself as much as wondering what to fix for my family. I know with the band my eating will change by necessity but I'll still be the primary grocery shopper and cook for my family. I have to find stuff that they will eat that's more healthy than what I've been making. Our staples are casseroles (with bread crumbs/Ritz/cream/cheese), Pasta, biscuits, mac and cheese, pizza - that sort of thing. I want this to be a family-wide improvement. I'm just feeling overwhelmed right now.

Check these out:

http://www.bariatriceating.com/BErecipes/

http://lapbandeating.blogspot.com/

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbooks.asp?cookbook=47556

http://www.thinnerti...um/131-recipes/

How does someone that is addicted to bad food start eating healthy and feeding their family healthy things? I'm almost in tears with frustration trying to work out meals that everyone will eat and that aren't just lousy with calories, carbs and fat. I go on sites that list healthy meals and the food either sounds boring or it has things that I either can't afford or don't know what they are or know my familiy won't touch. OK, I'm exaggerating of course, but really, how do I learn all this without getting a degree in nutrition? My eyes have always glazed over when it comes to nutrition information. I can program a database, set up a Windows Enterprise Server and write a C++ program but I just can't read a stupid nutrition label. I have to make myself learn it now, but I confess it's soooo frustrating. I Google "healthy meal ideas" and it seems that everyone and their cousin has a site talking about a different idea of what healthy is. Some say high Protein high fat low carbs, some say low calories is all that matters, some say meat is bad, some say meat is great, some say high fiber low fat, some say.. well you get the picture. I'm overwhelmed. How do I do this? Of course I will talk to the nutritionist when i see her again, but in the meantime I'm lost. And feeling sorry for myself - can you tell?

I haven't had a nutrition class like many bandsters have and I am not a dietician, so I really can't advise you of what you SHOULD be eating. I know the struggles that you are having because I am having them as well. I want to eat healthy, but it's hard. To me the foods get boring or they aren't all that satisfying, so I stay start small. There are alot of healthy substitutes to your everyday food. Instead of eating eggs eat egg substitutes, instead of sugar use Splenda, instead of butter or margirine use the Parkway spritz (it's 0 calories!), light soy milk instead of 2% milk, light white instead of regular bread, and whole wheat Pasta instead of regular. Give yourself some time to explore all the options out there. Soon it will be like second nature. As far as cooking for your family, I am sure this can be tough. I don't have a family to cook for, but I know what my mom used to do to us. She only cooked one meal and if we didn't like it, we didn't eat! I'm sure the family will come around, especially since you need their support.

Wow thanks guys! Sometimes I think I get into a loop and get all worked up over things that i really shouldn't. I can do this. For some reason I'm just really down today and craving carbs like crazy. When I get like that my thinking gets all frantic. Yes, I'll take a deep breath and check out those sites that were mentioned. I haven't tried the low-fat campbell's soups yet but I love the regular ones. I like that they have lower sodium too. I'll try those. Yes, this is going to be hard I won't lie, but I know I want to do it and I need to do it. I honestly hope I'm not able to eat bread after the band. Bread is my nemesis. My DH and kids aren't that big on it but i keep buying it because I'm so addicted. I think I'll try cutting way back on that to start with. Now to get my kids to eat more protein.

A lot of it just comes down to portion control. Whatever you ate before, eat half or a 1/3 of it. We were eating enough for 3 or 4 people.

I just make sure my meals are mostly Protein, and I try my best to stay around 1200 calories a day. But honestly I don't worry about it too much

But do you still feed your family the same way you did before you got healthy yourself? I just worry that my poor eating habits have gotten us all into a rut of unhealthy and high-carb foods. I'm just looking for ways to sneak more healthy into my family's diet as well. I don't my 3 kids to grow up to have to have bariatric surgery like me.

Spark People. Com also has some freshly good healthy recipes as well. It is a pretty awesome site that will help you with tracking your food and exercise as well as motivational information as well and best of all it's free.

If you made fried chicken, make grilled chicken, whole wheat spaghetti instead of regular... little changes.

Its really pretty easy. The first rule of healthy is variety. Dont eat the same thing day in day out. You need to decide whether the low carb thing sits well with you or not, for me I dont believe in it, dont have an interest in living that way and would have to relearn planning and cooking a healthy diet, so I just eat "normally".

So..... eat a lot of different foods, try to include a few different coloured vegies on your plate with your evening meal, try to eat two fruit, five veg a day, dont overdo the bread, Pasta and rice, eat the wholegrain or wholemeal varieties where possible, dont add fat when cooking and definitely dont bread and fry things - the grill and the barbecue and dry roasting are best. Most nights of the week we do eat boring and plain - ie. a piece of Protein be it chicken, fish or red meat simply prepared, potato and vegies. We'll do a rice or pasta meal once a week. Home made Soup makes a good dinner and your family can have a bread roll with that even if you dont. Salads, yogurt, fruit and nuts, someting on crackers and some fruit makes good lunches, and I always stick with a basic good quality Cereal (oatmeal, muesli etc) for Breakfast, usually with some berries and a dollop of yogurt, or a piece of wholegrain toast with Peanut Butter (or vegemite, lol, I am an Aussie after all). I pretty much stick with 3 meals a day, no Snacks, no seconds, avoid sweet stuff nearly all of the time and dont have a lot of alcohol or liquid calories.

I lost 130lb, and have maintained that loss unfilled for five months now, just a basic, sensible diet really does work - but I do run for an hour or so or go to the gym most days.

I agree it is very hard. And the reason that most diets fail is because its the same thing over and over. I know that I spent the first few months never cheating. Then it came to that time of the month and I cheated and about beat myself up! Carbs and sweets are my downfall around that time. I remembered how my surgeon told me to be good 90% of the time. So I decided instead of giving myself cheating time every week as I call it I give myself that week. I have learned to cook from all the good recipes on different sites for weight loss patients. My family has only complained a few time. My hubby did not like cauliflower rice but my kids love it. I have found the best thing for me is to make them a full dinner ad I just eat the Protein and the veggies. Maybe 1 or 2 bites of carb or starch.

The most important thing is to remember this is a journey and a tool we have been given it takes everyone time to learn how to make it work right for you

I lost 130lb, and have maintained that loss unfilled for five months now, just a basic, sensible diet really does work - but I do run for an hour or so or go to the gym most days.

Jachut, you are my hero! I want to be just like you! I want to lose 130 pounds (ok maybe a little more) and run and be thin. You make a lot of sense. Actually we don't eat that badly. We already eat brown rice and wheat bread (although after reading labels in the store today I realize that the wheat bread we eat is still not that great), whole wheat Pasta and I don't fry anything. I just eat waaaaay too much of it. Plus the junk. I've lost 5 lbs. just cutting out Coke and candy so far.

So, yeah, I'm making this harder than it has to be. I just really need to stay away from the militant health-nut sites. I don't think I can ever be like that. NO carbs, NO sugar, NO preservatives etc. I just need to add more veggies and fruits and get rid of the junk. But I still need some education on reading labels. Like which margarine is best and how many carbs is too many for bread, etc. I'm hoping my nutritionist can point me to some easy-reader books or guidelines about that stuff.