Average. Not perfect world, pre-planned meals. I mean the average day where maybe you have a chance to pre-plan some things but maybe you go out to eat, too.

An average day of eating for me is no breakfast, everything gets stuck even liquids and if i do get liquids I have to sip very slow. Lunch is usually leftovers (healthy most of the time) no more than 8 oz or a Lean Cuisine 8oz. I might get 1.0 ounce of sugarfree candy or 3.5 oz of sugar free pudding. Dinner is (healthy most of the time) not more than 8 oz. no fried foods and pretty much chicken, boiled and baked. I have not had any protein drinks in about 2 weeks, the milk was starting to bother me.

I'm probably not even in the same realm as most of the people who'll respond as I feel no restriction... but here's today:

breakfast-ham and cheese crouisant (sp?) -jimmy dean/frozen

lunch- chicken salad plate from local deli (one scoop chicken salad, vinegar slaw, and a stuffed pickle... I ate most of it)

dinner- dorito salad (my husband's specialty, made with ground turkey instead of beef and baked doritos instead of regular)- one bowl

4 girl scout cookies and small glass of 1% milk

Average day for me:

Breakfast: cup of coffee with a bit of milk in it (no sugar) + one egg fried in a nonstick pan with Pam olive oil spray OR a latte + fruit.

Lunch: cup of protein-based Soup (split pea & ham, various kinds of chili, or lentil) + a small whole grain roll. OR a small salad with 2-3 oz of chicken & regular dressing. This is a work-cafeteria lunch.

Mid-afternoon: tall nonfat latte (no sugar) + a piece of fruit -- usually an apple. If I had a latte in the morning, then it'll be a piece of fruit and regular coffee or tea; I generally don't do more than one latte per day.

Dinner: a small serving of whatever DH cooks. Tacos, enchiladas, pot roast, corned beef & cabbage, sauerkraut & hotdogs, baked chicken + steamed veggies, spaghetti + meat sauce and salad, Swedish meatballs over brown rice + steamed veggies, etc. We try to cook these items healthily -- leanest ground beef, lowfat or nonfat dairy products, whole grains, steamed veggies with no butter on them, etc.

Later in the evening: sliced fruit and either decaf coffee or decaf/herbal tea. Sometimes lite microwave popcorn & Crytal Light lemonade.

When we eat out, I don't (can't!) do the "whole meal deal" type package like I used to, i.e. drink, bread, salad, big entree, dessert. Now it's Water before the meal and then just part of the entree. The rest goes into a box if it's something I might want later. I do occasionally have a glass of wine both at home or when out. And a bite of DH's dessert if I really want it. Often I just don't. (bizarre, I know! I was such a sugarhound before)

More, More, More! This is incredibly helpful...just had 2nd fill and restriction REALLY setting in and scared me into a tizzy...ie trying all types of foods, quantities to test the band and completely out of control (and PBing my head off, or starving myself) ...lost any idea of what NORMAL is...the previous messages and what they ate gave me the prespective I was looking for!

Many thanks

Average day for me:

breakfast: coffee and a Protein bar (for convenience). On weekends I might have some scrambled eggs and cheese, no more than one egg's worth.

lunch: 2/3 - 3/4 of the innards of a deli sandwich. That is, about 4 oz of grilled chicken and a slice of cheese or so.

snack: frozen yogurt

dinner: a small portion of whatever's on order, chicken or meatballs or sausage. My family eats out often, so at a restaurant I might eat most of an appetizer of crab cakes, chicken soup, eggplant rollatini, southwestern salad--it varies depending on where we eat.

Getting used to not ordering a whole meal took a very long time, but I got tired of looking at the full plate of food so I finally learned.

I'm just past 3 weeks banded and have no fill yet, and no more restriction from swelling. I'm still taking ownership, though, so here's my average day:

Breakfast: Protein drink or low carb yogurt or 1 over easy egg.

Lunch: Some combination of the following totalling about a cup... fat fee refried beans; tuna or chicken salad, meat & mayo only; deli turkey; deli chicken; egg salad; tomato "broth", as removed from vegetable soup.

Dinner: 1 small fish fillet (talapia, pollock, cod) with fat free refriend Beans or mashed potatoes, and a few bites of applesauce or Water melon or pears.

After dinner (we eat early) - Protein Drink.

If I get hungry between those meals which is RARE, I have a protein drink.

Im 24 days post op

1/2 of a yogurt cup or 4oz cottage cheese

3oz of tuna, egg salad, chicken salad, or grilled chicken

a few steamed carrotts

maybe some spinach

3oz of fish

2 tbs of mashed potatoes

scrambled egg with cheese

pea soup, chicken soup

so far this is all I have tried, my portions are small and if I eat too much im just too stuffed. Its amazing how much food my body requires so far. I chew well and try to eat slow. Im still a newbie and have not tried many foods yet. Soup is my best friend, its filling healthy and is easy on my stomach. My eating habits before were non-stop huge portions all day long. Those days are gone!

Breakfast (between 7 and 9) - cup of tea to open up, but can't eat anything or have cold drinks

lunch (between 11 and 1) - leftovers, today I'm having half of an Emeril's chicken apple sausage, mashed potatoes, and green Beans (usually some sort of ground meat + vegetable)

Snack - I get very grumpy and shaky without a snack between 3 and 4; I usually have wheat thins and cheese. Lately I've been into that Louis Kemp imitation crab (I know, I know, it's so lame), and I'll have that with sesame sticks.

dinner (between 6 and 9) - either same as lunch, or my signature dish, which is one egg scrambled with onions sauteed in olive oil and goat cheese crumbles. I'll have that with wheat thins. I always need to get something crunchy in.

Snack (9 or later) - don't always need another snack if I eat late enough, but I also like to have honey nut chex with vanilla yogurt instead of milk.

I will NEVER drink my meals, as the idea is simply repugnant to me. I mean, a Protein shake has like 220 calories, which is about as much as an ice cream sandwich. I've never been into sweets, but I would much rather eat something that is filling and doesn't taste like aspartame flavored cardboard. Oh, and all that nonsense about Protein Drinks filling you up is complete bullshit if you ask me. You know what fills me up? food.

See, don't get me started on protein drinks again. The other thing I've changed since I just got this fill of the century is that I really need to slow way down to eat. For example, I've been eating this lunch for about half an hour, and I'm not finished yet. I start every meal with hot tea, then I take my first few bites and keep drinking tea in between them to make sure everything is going down. I usually don't drink a lot with meals other than that.

Oh, and soup is bullshit, too. That goes right through the band and I'm hungry ten minutes later.

Ok, I'm finished cursing for the moment. I'll post more if I think of it.

Strawarts, you crack me up!!!

Ok, here is my day (I'm just over 1 month post-up and still on mushies):

Breakfast: protien shake made with flax oil, powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury protien powder, and soymilk. Sometimes I flavor it up with almond, coconut, or mint extracts.

Lunch: One cup of some pureed homemade thing like vegetarian chili, tuna salad with low-fat mayo, chicken croquettes, hummus, tofu-veggie stir fry (these are all blended in the blender)

Snack: Another protien shake if I feel I need it

Dinner: Same as lunch, though I have eaten out a few times and had Indian food that was already pureed, one cup only. Last night I went out and had the restaurant put risotto in the blender! Ate a cup and had one glass of wine and it was great!

Weight lost: 20 pounds.

I'm just past 3 weeks banded and have no fill yet, and no more restriction from swelling. I'm still taking ownership, though, so here's my average day:

Breakfast: Protein drink or low carb yogurt or 1 over easy egg.

Lunch: Some combination of the following totalling about a cup... fat fee refried beans; tuna or chicken salad, meat & mayo only; deli turkey; deli chicken; egg salad; tomato "broth", as removed from vegetable Soup.

Dinner: 1 small fish fillet (talapia, pollock, cod) with fat free refriend Beans or mashed potatoes, and a few bites of applesauce or Water melon or pears.

After dinner (we eat early) - Protein Drink.

If I get hungry between those meals which is RARE, I have a protein drink.

What kind of protein drink are you drinking? Also, the talapia, I've never have that before - is it good? How do you prepare it? I just saw it for the first time at Sams last night. Thanks!

BTW - congrats on the weightloss - you are doing great!

I've had 3 fills and lost about 26ish pounds. Its been slow lately because I have been snacking at night. Bad!!

Breakfast - usually a Protein bar or slim fast. I just can't eat in the a.m.

Things go down really slow and hard. Fortunately I am not a big breakfast eater anyhow.

lunch - Crab salad; applesauce; or yogurt usually.

dinner - We eat a lot of fish; salmon has been wonderful - marinated and grilled by my hubby! Unfortunately, also hamburger/tuna helper - because we get home so late.

Snacks - usually something crunchy - I also like wheat thins.

Any one have any suggestions for snacks? Crunchy?

I've also craved salads lately. I can eat that pretty well.

Wait!! 2 fills!! I was banded Dec.21st.

I lose track.

Sorry

Re: crunchy snack ideas...I don't like baby carrots because they're too fat and short. Our Randall's sells carrots cut up in sticks like they serve on veggie platters, and I like to eat those with blue cheese dip. I also like green beans the same way.

Here is a clip of my food journal for the past six days. I don't go out to eat very often, in fact only twice since being banded. Both times I had a cup of chili and a glass of iced tea which was plenty. (no crackers)

These are typical days for me. I cooked a roast on Sunday and it lasted a lot longer than it used to! hehe As you can see, the days I had roast, my calories were a lot higher. Typically, I eat around 800 calories a day. In place of the roast, I probably would have had chicken, or just had a Healthy Choice, meat -n- mashed potatoes meal and my fish for dinner.

I usually get up, have a cup of coffee or two and later a bowl of Cereal, or a yogurt and piece of fruit, maybe toast.

lunch could be a sandwich - something like tuna, curried egg or turkey, lettuce and cranberry sauce, leftovers, or a salad and a piece of fruit.

dinner, gosh last night we had salmon and a pear, walnut and rocket salad, the night before we had scrambled eggs on toast, before that was lamb loin chops, mashed potato and broccoli and carrots, and I think we had spaghetti bolognaise on Monday night.

I pretty much dont eat between meals. Meals are almost normal person sized for me at the moment.