Hi all,

This topic is for vets (more than one year out, bonus points for every extra year!) to post what they are eating today.

I'll start. I'm almost 5 years out and I'm battling a 20 lb. weight regain. I've joined Weight Watchers and am following their new plan, which is more protein-centric than in the past.

Here's my day:

B: 2 Jimmy Dean low-fat Turkey Sausage Patties and 1/3 c. oatmeal, cooked with 1 cup Water and a little splenda and salt

L: Spinach and cheese Flatbread from costco (240 calories) and 1.5 oz. turkey lunchmeat

S: 100 calorie bag of popcorn and two small tangerines

D: 3 oz. low fat ground beef (we grind our own) on a WW sandwich thin with 1 c. homemade tomato Soup (low sugar canned pureed tomatoes, basil, a little salt and water)

S: not sure I'll have one but planning on 3/4 c. plain fat-free greek yogurt topped with 1/3 c. frozen berries

I am 2.5 years out and today I had:

1/3 cup granola- Breakfast

1/2 turkey burger with bun- lunch

3 snack bags of goldfish crackers- Snacks

1/2 turkey burger with bun- dinner

Later tonight I will probably have a Fiber One bar and another snack pack of crackers. I also had a skinny macchiato which adds some Protein. Some days I eat more, some days less, but roughly this is along the lines of what I eat most days, subbing out the turkey burger for grilled chicken nuggets some days or a grilled chicken sandwich.

2 years 3 months out. Maintaining 10 pounds below goal. I don't measure or track anything, (except fluids cause I know how big my mugs are and the sizes of bottles) but I'll do my best....

Couple spoonfuls of full fat cottage cheese with my Vitamins this morning

Natures Valley Protein bar

1 beef stick

Couple small handfuls of pumpkin seeds

2 pieces of Tombstone 4 meat pizza (toppings only...dog got the crust)

Couple forkfuls of seaweed salad

1/3 apple

Small cup of chili with mozzarella cheese

raw broccoli and cauliflower with ranch dressing

Plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 scoop Protein powder, ground flax seed and blueberries

20oz rooibos tea with 1/2 and 1/2

20oz Vitamin Water

16oz protein hot chocolate

12oz decaf chai tea

32oz water with a scoop of Syntrax nectar peach

I am almost two years out and here was my day:

Breakfast: Premier Protein shake

Lunch: 3 oz of roasted pork

1/4 cup chopped lettuce, 1 oz of feta cheese, 1/2 oz shredded cheddar, 1 tablespoon of blue cheese dressing

Dinner: ate the same thing I did for lunch (it was good)

Snack: 6 strawberries

Fluids: 60 oz of propel Water

2 cups of green tea

I am 17 months out and training for a half marathon, so my struggle right now is eating ENOUGH calories. Today is one of my rare days where I actually made it up over 2000 calories thanks to a big lunch out with coworkers (burned over 2400 though, so still not good).

Breakfast: Cup of coffee with half & half and Truvia followed by a Combat Crunch bar

Morning Snack: two squares from a chocolate bar

Lunch: half a hamburger with pepper jack cheese & Cajun mayo (no bun), about 5 french fries, half a pickle spear

Afternoon Snack: another cup of coffee and Combat crunch bar

Pre-workout Snack: the rest of the chocolate bar from the morning

Dinner: toppings off three leftover pieces of pizza

After dinner Snack: ice cream sundae made with Halo Top ice cream, chocolate syrup, and 2 thin mint Cookies

Bedtime Snack: another cup of coffee & Combat Crunch bar

So, as you can see, today I ate a massive amount of food, including a lot of junkie stuff. If I hadn't burned 620 calories running today, I wouldn't have had the chocolate bar or ice cream and would have had a better dinner.

Totals for today were:

Calories: 2138

Protien: 116

Carbs: 178

Fat:128

Fiber: 49

Fat and carbs were way higher than normal. I usually try to be around 100 carbs and 70 grams of fat.

I am amazed people eat the topping off pizza, and not the whole piece of pizza. I have ordered it without cheese before and added my own vegan cheese at home, but I need the crust!

Yesterday:

Breakfast:coffee with half and half and a Quest bar

MS: More coffee with Half and Half

Lunch: NOTHING appealed to me! So I ate an 80 calorie Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt

Afternoon snack: I didn't eat lunch, so my bloodsugar was plummeting. Another quest bar.

Dinner: Udi's gluten free tortilla with 2 slices of Daiya (vegan) cheese, 1 serving Chobani yogurt

ES: 1 cup grapes, 2 oz. cheedar cheese curds

This is not evidence of my best eating day, but it is honest. I need more fruit/veggies and more Water. (I think I made it to 40 oz. yesterday, not including the coffee, of course...)

Onward!

I am amazed people eat the topping off pizza, and not the whole piece of pizza. I have ordered it without cheese before and added my own vegan cheese at home, but I need the crust!

The crust is just SOOOOO filling. If I ate the crust, I could do one piece of pizza and then I wouldn't get enough Protein. So on the very rare occasions I do eat pizza (it really is rare, this pizza was leftover from two weeks ago!), it's toppings only.

I am amazed people eat the topping off pizza, and not the whole piece of pizza. I have ordered it without cheese before and added my own vegan cheese at home, but I need the crust!

The crust is just SOOOOO filling. If I ate the crust, I could do one piece of pizza and then I wouldn't get enough Protein. So on the very rare occasions I do eat pizza (it really is rare, this pizza was leftover from two weeks ago!), it's toppings only.

I see your point! You are superhuman in my book!

I'm 19+ months post-op, have lost 100 pounds and am maintaining at 135 pounds (my original goal was 150, and I blew through that). Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast:

1/2 cup coffee and 1/2 cup skim milk (homemade skinny latte)

GNC Lean shake 25, swiss chocolate

Mid-morning:

Cheddar cheese - 1 ounce

Three seed cracker

Smuckers sugar free strawberry jam - 2 T.

Lunch:

(Ruby Tuesday leftovers from night before)

3 ounces hickory bourbon salmon

1/2 serving brown rice pilaf

1/2 serving grilled zucchini

1 side of hickory bourbon sauce

Mid-afternoon snack:

Homemade skinny latte

Dark chocolate and almond biscotti

3 Sam's Choice lemon cookie thins

Cocktail Hour:

1 ounce Glenmorangie scotch

Dinner:

Stouffers chicken parmesan

Romaine lettuce hearts

Litehouse chunky blue cheese dressing

1/2 ounce blue cheese crumbles

4 ounces of chardonnay

After-dinner snack:

1 square Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt

Day's Macronutrients:

1,849 calories

177 carb grams

77 fat grams

94 Protein grams

3,487 mg. sodium (too much - limit is 2,300 - blame this on the Stouffers chicken parm)

19 grams insoluble fiber (too few - need at least 21)

I'm 19+ months post-op, have lost 100 pounds and maintaining at 135 pounds (my original goal was 150, and I blew through that). Here's what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast:

1/2 cup coffee and 1/2 cup skim milk (homemade skinny latte)

GNC Lean shake 25, swiss chocolate

Mid-morning:

Cheddar cheese - 1 ounce

Three seed cracker

Smuckers sugar free strawberry jam - 2 T.

Lunch:

(Ruby Tuesday leftovers from night before)

3 ounces hickory bourbon salmon

1/2 serving brown rice pilaf

1/2 serving grilled zucchini

1 side of hickory bourbon sauce

Mid-afternoon snack:

Homemade skinny latte

Dark chocolate and almond biscotti

3 Sam's Choice lemon cookie thins

Cocktail Hour:

1 ounce Glenmorangie scotch

Dinner:

Stouffers chicken parmesan

Romaine lettuce hearts

Litehouse chunky blue cheese dressing

1/2 ounce blue cheese crumbles

4 ounces of chardonnay

After-dinner snack:

1 square Lindt dark chocolate with sea salt

Day's Macronutrients:

1,849 calories

177 carb grams

77 fat grams

94 Protein grams

3,487 mg. sodium (too much - limit is 2,300 - blame this on the Stouffers chicken parm)

19 grams insoluble fiber (too few - need at least 21)

Hi VSGAnn! I am one of those people with a sloth-like metabolism, and I gain if I eat more than 1200- ish calories a day. Is this your typical caloric intake? What is your workout routine? I think I may need to ramp it up!

Since yesterday was so atypical, here's a more standard day for me:

Breakfast: cup of coffee with half & half and Truvia followed by a Combat Crunch bar

Lunch: 2 oz. of cheese and 1/2 ounce of honey roasted peanuts

Afternoon Snack: cup of coffee & Combat Crunch bar

Pre-workout Snack: chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch Clif bar

Dinner: 3 oz. turkey kielbasa and mustard

After dinner Snack: ice cream sundae with Halo Top ice cream, Lemonade Girl Scout cookie, and caramel syrup

Bedtime Snack: coffee (with soy milk) & Combat Crunch bar

That only works out to 1608 calories, so I would likely try to sneak in some extra calories somewhere between Breakfast and lunch. I try to get a minimum of 1900 a day.

So the totals without some sort of high calorie morning snack come out to:

Calories: 1608

Protein: 113

Carbs: 170

Fat: 72

Fiber: 52

Hi VSGAnn! I am one of those people with a sloth-like metabolism, and I gain if I eat more than 1200- ish calories a day. Is this your typical caloric intake? What is your workout routine? I think I may need to ramp it up!

@@Teachamy ... yes, this is maybe a bit on the high side, but I've averaged 1700 calories/day for many months now.

I mostly walk outside for exercise. I also do a little yoga, stretching and floor exercises. But the winter and these nasty March days have meant I don't consistently do that now. And let me be very clear that I'm not at all a gym rat. However, I am so much more active than I used to be -- do a LOT more housework, run more errands, probably even fidget more than I used to.

I can't say what will work for you, since WLS patients show considerable variation in how much and what kinds of food they can eat to maintain their weight. But I will offer this: When I was losing weight, my surgical practice's very well educated and experienced physician's assistant strongly urged me to eat more (not fewer) calories as my capacity increased. Specifically, she suggested that during months 5 and 6 post-op I eat 1,000 calories and during months 7 and 8 I eat 1,200 calories. She said that this would help my metabolism not get stuck at a lower level than it needed to be. Half a month later, I reached my initial weight goal (150 pounds).

Then I, my PA, my NUT and my exercise consultant all agreed (based on my weight loss rate and history and my MFP macronutrient records) that 1,700 calories made sense as a maintenance calorie budget for me. But then ... very slowly over the next year while averaging 1,700 calories/day I've lost another 15 pounds.

So obviously I need to be averaging more than 1,700 calories. In the last few months I've weighed from 133 - 138. I do NOT like weighing less than 135. That's why I've recently been eating more.

This is just guesswork on my part -- but if you want to raise your calorie intake, do so very gradually. This will require you to actually track assiduously your food using something like MFP. Maybe raise it by 50 calories every week for the next month and see what happens. Then stay there. Then try that again.

I wish we could just do a cheek swab and send it to a lab to see how much we can eat to maintain our weight. But it doesn't work like that. My own WLS experience and success has been ALL about observation and mindfulness. I don't worry about being perfect. Instead, I consider that everything I do just gives me more information to figure out how my body works.

And believe me, 19+ months post-op isn't long enough to imagine I have it all figured out.

P.S. I forgot to mention that I'm 70 years old. Was sleeved at age 68.

I am 18 months post op and at goal.

B: premier Protein shake

S: 3 fresh strawberries

L: 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese with a few canned peaches

S: cheese crackers

D: homemade shrimp fajitas with 1/2 tortilla

S: Kozy shack chocolate pudding

This is a typical day for me although the dinner protein at dinner and lunch changes out. Also if I don't have strawberries I will swap that snack out for a small apple and a tablespoon of Peanut Butter.

19 months out, and this was yesterday:

Breakfast

coffee with splash of almond milk and stevia

1/3 cup of steel cut oats with splash of almond milk and stevia

Mid morning/post workout snack

Greek yogurt

lunch

Smoked salmon dip with nut crackers and carrot sticks

Mid afternoon snack

Apple

Coffee

dinner

Chipotle salmon and mixed veggies at our favorite restaurant for my husbands birthday (didn't even eat half) Had a little of my hubby's crab, too. It was a seafood kind of day!

Even though it was hubby's birthday,we didn't have any cake or dessert because we were satisfied with dinner. There's a first time for everything I guess!

I'm 2.25 years out and 2 pounds above goal.

BREAKFAST:

80-Calorie yogurt

Atkins Protein bar

Apple

6 shots of espresso

lunch

4 Oz crabmeat with 1 tablespoon low calorie mayo

100 grams chick pea salad

3 Oz plain potato (spray butter)

8 Oz fresh melon

2 shots espresso

dinner

Miso Soup

Salmon sashimi

Salmon sushi roll

@@Andrew0929 You must have WAY less restriction than I do to be able to eat that much each meal. Your "lunch" is 19 oz. of food! I top out around 6 oz assuming the food has a high liquid content, like chili.