I'm curious about what types of foods, serving sizes and even specific brands of foods you are eating after surgery long term. I understand about the soft foods right after surgery but I'm talking about once life settles down and the rest of you life begins. Anyone want to share a typical food day with me? Also if you could include how much Protein, fats and carbs you are eating a day that would be great. Thank you! I am just beginning and have my first appointment next week.

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I am eleven months post op so I can eat more than a recent post op. Here is an example of one of my days:

Breakfast: two scrambled eggs

Lunch: grilled chicken (one leg and a thigh)

Dinner: grilled salmon, steamed green Beans

Snacks: one piece of string cheese, Greek yogurt, turkey Jerky

Of course my days vary. Sometimes I will add a Protein drink a few days a week. I also am only a few pounds from goal so I do have "cheat" days. Yesterday was one of them. I had a chocolate bar, and two sugar Cookies. Will be back on my plan today. I feel I can almost eat close to what is considered "normal".

I'm 17 months out and have been maintaining below goal for over 8 months. There is nothing complicated about my meal plan.....I simply eat a healthy, balanced diet of protein, fruits, veggies and whole grains. I don't measure, count track or buy special ingredients (except my protein powders). I'm single and don't really like to cook, so I do a lot of simple meals or whatever looks good in the grocery store deli. I eat a lot of soups and chili in the winter. I do still drink a large protein smoothie most days to make sure I'm getting enough protein.

Yesterday....

Slice of turkey ham and 1 fried egg

2 large travel mugs of decaf coffee with 1/2 and 1/2

Carl's Jr. Single cheeseburger with tomato and onion wrapped in lettuce, no bun

20oz bottle Vitamin Water

Seafood cocktail (fake crab meat with cocktail sauce)

Mixed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, zucchini) with Italian seasoning and parm cheese

1/4 apple with Peter Pan peanut butter

Large cup of Sleepytime tea

Chobani Greek Yogurt with Kashi Go Lean cereal

Normal work day (I don't get a lunch break so there's lot of snacking all day).....

Decaf coffee with 1/2 and 1/2

Quest Bar or Kind whole grain bar

Mixed nuts with craisins

Homemade elk jerky

32 oz bottle of water

Large Protein smoothie with fruit (banana, peaches or berries) and insoluble fiber supplement

Protein for dinner (ham, beef, turkey, seafood, fish, whatever)

Either a V8 or a couple servings of veggies, depending on how much room I have

Greek yogurt

Cup of tea

And as for me, it's not necessarily about eating healthy 100% of the time, either. I have an alcoholic drink, candy, dessert, junk food, etc. several times a month. I pigged out over the holidays and then got back to basics afterwards. Just everything in moderation, like any "normal" thin person I know.

I'm 18 months out and don't tend to always follow the Protein first rules, but I'm maintaining beneath my goal weight and still losing, so it seems to have worked out. My days tend to vary, but they usually go something along the lines of this:

Breakfast

- 1/3 cup Cascadian Farms Fruit and Nut Granola (I only eat this kind- no reason I just like it best)

Snack (after morning workout)

-Protein shake (almond milk, frozen Greek yogurt, PB2, & protein powder)

lunch

- 1/2 Hillshire Farms Little Plate (it has salami, cheese, and a hard cracker- like an adult lunchable)

Snack

- turkey and cheddar cheese roll-up or cottage cheese or 1/2 a Protein Bar or handful of granola

dinner

- other half of the Hilshire Farms Little Plate

Snack

-Veggie crisps

This day works out to 916 calories (with turkey as the second snack), 92 carbs, 40 fat grams, 53g protein, 2,370 mg sodium, and 32g sugar. I ate exactly that the other day so MyFitnessPal gives me the full breakdown. The fat grams are a little higher than I like because of the cheese, and the veggie crisps have no great nutritional value, but I like them. On some days I'll eat more than that because I'm hungry or I've worked out a lot. I routinely eat a grilled chicken sandwich from a fast food place, the other day I had an entire chicken salad from Chik Fil A over the course of two meals, and I add things like hummus, watermelon, cantaloupe, crackers, chili, marinara sauce with zuchinni noodles, etc. For the most part I eat whatever I want to, just in very small servings. Also, my "whatever I want to" is dictated by my sleeve which hates anything that has fat, sugar, or has been near butter or a fryer. Almost all sweets and junk food make me instantly sick, so while I wouldn't mind eating a piece of cake, one or two bites is about all my stomach will tolerate so I just tend to not go for things like that anymore.

Also, there are days where I may hit 1800 calories, so don't think you'll be stuck eating 1000 calories for the rest of your life. I'm hungrier when I workout more and when I know I'm going to blow my calorie goal for the day I just make sure I do it in protein based food instead of junk. Once you've hit the maintenance stage, you can eat anything your stomach will tolerate. I weigh myself everyday and I record everything I eat or drink in MyFitnessPal, so I keep myself accountable and then if I happen to want to have a cocktail or some cake or something else bad for me, I eat a few bites, I enjoy it, I put it into MyFitnessPal, and then I go back to eating my regular food afterwards. The nice thing about the sleeve is that it has taught me moderation- something I could never manage before surgery.

Breakfast: 2 cheese sticks

Lunch: Premier Protein Shake

Dinner: 3 oz of chicken, beef, or fish

2nd Dinnner: cheese & peanuts

Sometimes I have a protein bar in place of one of the meals. The main thing I track is the protein and typically I have 70-75 grams a day.

Edited May 24, 201511 yr by sweetie716

I'm following this too. I hope others add to this. I am supposed to start "real" food in a couple weeks, and I won't lie, I'm a little scared.

I am 16 weeks post-op. 62.5 pounds down, 51 of which are post surgery. I exercise very little (true confession time)...

A typical day is 950- 1000 calories, with a Protein goal of 88 or higher and carb goal of 50 or lower. I typically don't count fat unless I'm stalled. My surgeon is super pleased with my progress and blood work.

B: Decaf coffee with 1/8-1/4c of vanilla premiere protein shake. I usually do 2 12 oz Keurig pods.

B2: Dannon Light & Fit Greek yogurt mixed with either 1 oz of nuts or 2 oz of fresh berries. Occasionally I will do 1/3c of high protein granola (Kind or Bear Naked), but that's only if I know I'm going to be very busy and not get a balanced meal day. I eat yogurt every day. It's good protein, goes down easily, and is full of Probiotics.

L: Leftovers (see dinner) or deli meat and cheese. I use ultra thin cheese mostly. Sometimes on the go I'll do a P3 pack or a tuna pouch.

S: 1oz Beef Jerky, cheese, or a T of Peanut Butter with celery (only if I have calories to spare).

D: 2-3oz of meat (primarily beef or fish. Chicken/turkey come back up 95% of the time and pork is insta-heartburn) and 1oz of veg (zucchini, asparagus, spaghetti squash, Brussels sprouts, etc...). No potatoes or broccoli- both get stuck. Tonight we are having spaghetti. I'll do spaghetti squash with meat sauce and a T of Parmesan cheese. I measure it out to be about 3-4oz total. I'll eat the leftovers for lunch for several days or until I'm tired of it!

S: Protein bar. I eat a Quest bar every day to meet my protein threshold. Some people advise against this, but I haven't seen an issue with my loss.

When I stall, I increase my fluids and cut nuts and beef jerky (salt and fat). I feel restricted mainly at dinner, so I make it my lightest intake of ounces. I can intake the most at lunchtime, thus the snack.

Eating out is still really difficult for me, and I find it's mainly because of stress over what to order. If possible, I'll check the menu beforehand. Because of this stress, restriction seems to increase so I tend to eat very little when I go and end up wasting food or having a ton of leftovers. Keeping this in mind, I'll order things that can be reheated easily or eaten cold.

Good luck!

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