Heyy!

I'm new to the site, so forgive me if I'm repeating a topic or something, I'm still trying to figure this all out.

But could someone give me a typical average day of what they eat?

I'm almost 4 weeks out of surgery, and I've only lost 20 pounds.

And I think that's because I'm not eating the way I should be.

I take my Vitamins and usually I start the morning with a protien shake. I get down as much of that as I can, but then I'm SO full for the rest of the day that I can't really eat anything else until about 2:00 ish.

Then this is where I get confused. I never know the proper amount to eat (or what's the healthiest options) so I can still get in a dinner, but not over load myself.

I should also mention that I'm a college student-therefore poor. The limited options at my local grocery store aren't very health conscious- and finding sugar free options and things like that on a budget are a lot more difficult than I would've expected.

So basically what I'm asking is for someone, who knows what it's like, to help me set up a good meal plan to ensure that I lose.

Anything would help!

There is tons of sites out there! A lot of us use world according to eggface! She has some great insite and recipes! Some of them I altered to my liking!

I use wonton wrappers with some of my food! It's great when you need a crunch! I also makes own cheese crackers! My biggest advise to you is to get your 3 meals a day in, snacks if needed, exercise, exercise, exercise, and try to get all your protein and water in however you can!

Budget conscious? Find 2 or 3 recipes that use similar ingredients. Pick a day, shop and cook all 3 recipes, freeze in portions. I use glass containers so I can put straight into microwave, but use freezer ziploc if u have to. Do this every week and you will build up a variety of healthy meals.

Emily bites has heaps of cupcake foods, meaning foods you prepare in a cupcake pan do they are already portioned.

The world according to eggface has lots of wls friendly stuff.

Tonight I used pumpkin, spinach, ricotta, passata and leftover meatballs to make a baked ricotta dish. Will feed me at least 10 times and cost next to nothing.

Cooking in bulk is the best thing to do when you are money and or time poor! Lol

Not sure if it's helpful, but I did a blog post recently about a trip to the grocery store. I bought 5 items and, mixed with some staples I have in my fridge/pantry, I can make a bunch of meals. http://gastricsleeve4me.blogspot.com/2012/07/eating-9-weeks.html

There's a video, and a link to my "solid food" stage page too - which has pretty much everything I eat, and is only like 13 items from the store...it's pretty much my go-to list. In simple terms it's cheese, meat (be it lunchmeat, ground turkey, frozen shrimp, rotisserie chicken, etc.), greek yogurt, refried Beans, and wonton wrappers.

Another crazy-simple and cheap way to go is to make "bites". You'll need eggs, whatever you want in your bites, and a mini muffin tin. 1-2 "bites" should be plenty. There's a BUNCH of recipes on the world according to eggface: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/10/party-time-confetti-bites.html. Make a pan and freeze.

Good luck.

Visit the Eggface site referenced here. GREAT ideas. I make up several kinds of bites on the weekend and put 4 of them in a snack bag and freeze them for quick meals. I also enjoy her Protein "granola." The nuts are a little expensive but they go a very long way and you could make up a double or triple batch to nibble on all week. Her protein pancakes are another recipe that I make up a batch of and keep in the fridge for quick meals.

Ground turkey is cheaper than beef usually. Make sure you buy the very lean product though or it's too much fat. Once a week, I buy one big package of very lean ground turkey and cook it up with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Once its cooled, I divide it up into small bags and freeze it for use during the week.

Another suggestions is to make up a batch of turkey meatballs and freeze them. This recipe made 36 baby meatballs: 1.25 lbs turkey, 1 egg, 1/3 cup oats, splash of milk, salt, pepper. Mix it up and scoop out into little meat balls. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. You could add veggies if you wanted to- such as chopped onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, etc.

I personally buy sugar free Peanut Butter, block cheese and cut my own "cheese sticks", low fat cottage cheese, greek yogurt and lots of canned or dried Beans to mix with meat and make it go father (yes, they have some carbs but they're loaded with Fiber and it's not like you're eating a huge amount of them).

I quite frequently use coupons for greek yogurt, cheese slices, ground turkey products. Every penny counts on a budget! Learn to shop wisely and stock up that freezer! My freezer is full of little bags of goodies. I squeeze the air out of them and date them and put them inside another bag for double protection.

I was going to tell you how save on canned Beans... I can't eat a whole can before they go bad (obviously) and I refuse to throw most of a can away. So I rinse and drain them well, spread them out on a cookie sheet that I spray lightly with pam and then freeze them in a single layer. Once they are solid, put them in a baggie and then you can scoop out just the amount you need for your recipe.

I do the same thing with fresh fruit when it's super cheap and in season.

Feel free to send me a message if you want more recipes.

Good luck!

Budget conscious? Find 2 or 3 recipes that use similar ingredients. Pick a day' date=' shop and cook all 3 recipes, freeze in portions. I use glass containers so I can put straight into microwave, but use freezer ziploc if u have to. Do this every week and you will build up a variety of healthy meals.

Emily bites has heaps of cupcake foods, meaning foods you prepare in a cupcake pan do they are already portioned.

The world according to eggface has lots of wls friendly stuff.

Tonight I used pumpkin, spinach, ricotta, passata and leftover meatballs to make a baked ricotta dish. Will feed me at least 10 times and cost next to nothing.

Cooking in bulk is the best thing to do when you are money and or time poor! Lol[/quote']

Can you please post the recipe for ricotta dish!

Attaching a picture of the recipe. I can't copy & paste from my phone.