I didn't even really know how to word the title - but in essence, I'm asking when looking at a food you're considering (or several foods for a recipe), do you search for certain amounts of items (proteins/fats/carbs/sugars/etc)? What balance seems to work for you? It's really overwhelming and eventually I'd like to be able to make the best decisions I can down the road. I have a little folder of the suggested recipes for each phase that I found on here, Eggface is a huge help, but you guys aren't coming food shopping with me. Well, you can, but NY may be a bit far for some of you.

So what amounts/percentages/balances do you look for?

My goal is 100 grams of Protein a day and at least 64 oz of Fluid.

For the most part I avoid starches (rice, potatoes, Pasta, bread, sugary foods, etc.)

When looking at a food label I look mostly at protein and carbs. I try to keep the protein to carb ratio high (for instance double-digit protein, single-digit carbs). I don't really limit fats, but find I don't like greasy foods, so do choose leaner meats, etc.

I try to get my biggest bang for the calories I can protein-wise.

My surgeon also advised us to avoid high fructose corn syrup like the plague. I don't completely avoid cane sugar, honey, etc., but I try to minimize it.

Beware of low-fat foods. For instance, low-fat Peanut Butter has almost the same number of calories as regular but is made with high-fructose corn syrup -- they basically diluted the peanut butter with sugar to lower the fat content which is insane.

I'd rather have a small portion of "real" foods than fake stuff. I eat real butter (albeit very rarely).

I also try to choose clean, whole foods when possible. So, for example, I don't drink orange juice, but I do eat fresh oranges on occasion.

I eat protein first, then vegetables, and then fruit most of the time.

I hope this helps answer your question.

Pretty much what @InnerSurferGirl said. I aim for 100gms of Protein a day. I buy foods with minimal ingredients, and as few artificial or man made ingredients as possible. If I can buy organic, non-gmo I do so. I do't eat a lot of bread, white rice or crackers. I do eat brown & black rice occasionally as well as whole grains.

I hope I understand your question and that my impression that you haven't considered a food tracker is correct.

From what I've seen in BP, sleeve and band people have perhaps a few concerns in common (eating Protein first, then produce; eating slowly; maybe more, but I don't know what) and, regardless of procedure, the daily nutrient goals in general can't be much different if at all; your own RD is your authority. That said, I think you'll find meal planning and calculating how recipes fit in if you choose a food tracker. There are many free options. Two of the best known are My Fitness Pal, which I'm told is simple to use. The only one I've ever used is at sparkpeople.com. It's more cumbersome, but not monumentally so. The "extra work (and I don't know how much over other trackers it really is)" is part of my meal-planning and food-choice discipline. Spark has a huge database of foods, fresh and produced, with nutritional data and you can add whatever you use that's not in the database. Enter recipes as well and the system will automatically break down the nutrients; double the recipe and the system will adjust based on the initial data entered. Spark is also available for use on Android or something that I don't use. You can edit the default goals to conform with your own practice's guidelines.

When choosing or improvising a recipe, I first consider protein (my goal is min. 60g up to perhaps 90 or 100, advised by my RD) content of the total recipe and, after adding the rest of the ingredients and having all the numbers, I decide the number of servings. Many recipes can be altered if they have, say, more fat or simple carbs than you want; cooking has more leeway than does baking.

Meal planning seems far more complicated at first than it really is. Play around with a tracker or three to see which suits you. I'm not "selling" Spark. I just happen to be accustomed to it.. It has all sorts of options for keeping your trackers permanently, changing to a streamlined format that will make it easy for our* WLS RD to review if you need to tweak your planning, etc.

Something else you'll probably find when you're back on full solids (or as close as sleevers get) is that most of your old, favorite recipes and books have plenty of recipes that are sleeve-friendly. You can buy a bariatric book or two if you like, but don't pitch out what you have.

Aside: @@Inner Surfer Girl and @@BLERDgirl do it every time. I'm typing away and they slide right in there.

* That's a real typo. You're NYU and I'm Columbia, therefore, we don't have an "our" RD.

Edited November 19, 201510 yr by WLSResources/ClothingExch

May I ask what you mean by this? Why do you imagine sleevers don't go on full solids / regular foods?

I eat normal foods. food doesn't get "stuck" - I eat smaller portions is all.

Something else you'll probably find when you're back on full solids (or as close as sleevers get) is that most of your old, favorite recipes and books have plenty of recipes that ..

I used my fitness pal to track and it worked great.

When i buy something that is intended to be a Protein source, I use a rough rule of thumb...I call it my protein bargains. Must have AT LEAST 10 g of protein for every hundred calories; carbs are ideally under 5.

So my salmon patties at 160 calories/22 g of protein and nearly zero carbs is a "protein bargain"

May I ask what you mean by this? Why do you imagine sleevers don't go on full solids / regular foods?

I eat normal foods. food doesn't get "stuck" - I eat smaller portions is all.

Something else you'll probably find when you're back on full solids (or as close as sleevers get) is that most of your old, favorite recipes and books have plenty of recipes that ..

I found this comment confusing as well. As a former lapbander, I find my diet completely different with the sleeve. Steak, chicken, shrimp, and solid meats are my main sources of Protein now... and the same things that used to make me Barf with the LapBand.

@Mom26 As for nutrition goals, I don't lose well if I consume many carbs. I tend to eat meat/veggie combinations like fajitas with bell pepper, shishkabobs, steak w asparagus, chicken and broccoli, Tilapia w zucchini, etc... So I basically go for solid meats and very low carb vegetables. It actually makes shopping and meal prep very easy. Load the fridge/freezer with fresh and frozen meats and veggies, and mix and match for a meal.

These are exactly the responses I was looking for. Thank you so very much. I will also use a food tracker but wanted "real life" input. ❤️❤️

I use MFP. It does have the feature where you can add or create recipes and save them. I start my day with completing it for the day, In the evening I adjust it for what I actually ate and add in my exercise. It give me a good way to not only monitor my protein, but also watch my macro nutrients.

@CowgirlJane@liannatx --

Not that sleevers don't go on real food. I've read topics begun by sleevers because they'd gotten stuck; one was specific about grilled, white-meat grilled chicken. From what I"ve seen in many other topics, a high percentage use Protein drinks, more than enough to give the impression that they're a significant part of life after the healing process is done -- for many, but not necessarily. Is it not possible that sleeve people's experiences vary as happens with banded people (e.g., not all get stuck)? Maybe those who continue with drinks prefer it that way rather than finding it necessary, but none has said as much.

I am over six months out and eat real food most of the time. I use shakes for convenience and/or if I am really behind on my protein.

You have drawn an incorrect conclusion. Most sleevers do not get food "stuck" as there is no physical block. Exceptions are peeps with a stricture, which is a complication. Perhaps forums lead us to focus on complications because they tend to be vocal?. I realize other people's experience may vary, but in 4 years I have vomited less than a handful of times and it was 100percent due to "wolfing" food.

At 4 years out, I have a Protein drink a day because otherwise I cant hit 80-100g daily. I have a muscular build and have been advised that is the range for me. I eat ALOT of protein sources but still seem to be in the 50-70 range without my Premier Protein protein. I use it instead of creamer in my coffee and to wash down my vitamins!

When I was banded I had no idea how important protein is to loss and maintenance...I never used Protein drinks then. .of course the extent of my nutritional guidance was to "be satisfied with petite portions" which is good advice, but lacking in specificity!

@CowgirlJane@liannatx --

Not that sleevers don't go on real food. I've read topics begun by sleevers because they'd gotten stuck; one was specific about grilled, white-meat grilled chicken. From what I"ve seen in many other topics, a high percentage use protein drinks, more than enough to give the impression that they're a significant part of life after the healing process is done -- for many, but not necessarily. Is it not possible that sleeve people's experiences vary as happens with banded people (e.g., not all get stuck)? Maybe those who continue with drinks prefer it that way rather than finding it necessary, but none has said as much.

@@CowgirlJane -- I'm glad you clarified the "stuck" issue. The posters hadn't gone into such detail...and I did think their telling was odd. I'll amend my posts. It's a good thing I hit only two topics, both very recent, so I'll find them easily. But at least it's correct that bands and sleeves need to eat slowly?

Edited November 19, 201510 yr by WLSResources/ClothingExch

I think we ALL need to eat slowly.

@CowgirlJane@liannatx --

Not that sleevers don't go on real food. I've read topics begun by sleevers because they'd gotten stuck; one was specific about grilled, white-meat grilled chicken. From what I"ve seen in many other topics, a high percentage use Protein drinks, more than enough to give the impression that they're a significant part of life after the healing process is done -- for many, but not necessarily. Is it not possible that sleeve people's experiences vary as happens with banded people (e.g., not all get stuck)? Maybe those who continue with drinks prefer it that way rather than finding it necessary, but none has said as much.

I'm 3 years post op, and have never vomited once. I eat anything and everything. I have a Protein Drink a day to boost my protein intake for low calories. I could probably get protein in easy enough, but like the convenience.

It's a surprising, but common error for folks to read on message boards of one or two persons' WLS experiences and then extrapolate from that to "all WLS patients' experiences."

As in ... "everybody who has WLS has complications / regains all their weight / becomes anorexic / loses their teeth / becomes an alcoholic / gets divorced / can't eat real food / whatever."

FTR, at 15 months post-op (sleeve) I've never thrown up once. I average 90-100 grams of Protein a day. I still have a protein drink about 5 times a week. It's just food. Like milk. Like chicken, burgers, eggs and Beans.

BTW, my sister who has never had WLS also has a protein drink for Breakfast during the week. She finds it convenient.