Hey y'all. So I'm 6 months post op and my husband is 3-5 months away from surgery. And I need advice from the veterans. Anyone go through this with your partner. We don't eat the best and like most overweight couples are each other's worst enablers. We don't like to say no to the other and sometimes it's just easier to grab fast-food. What advice do you have for us. I'd love to meal prep but our freezer is kinda small and almost always filled to capacity. I know we should probably anex the ready to eat things and spend a day cooking. But it does seem like tons of work so hellllllp

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Is your current plan working for you? If it is then I would assume it will work for your husband. And while I plan and prep as far as having healthy food in the house I don’t necessarily ever spend a whole day cooking. Almost anything I make has leftovers for multiple meals.
Example: I make an omelette for breakfast I always make it 2 eggs and with the fillings it’s always enough for 2 days.
Lunch - tuna salad and it’s lunch for 4 days
Dinner tonight is chicken kabobs and roasted zucchini. Depending on how much my family eats I’m pretty sure I’ll have leftovers for dinner or lunch tomorrow.
It takes some forthought and planning but nothing overwhelming.
And who knows? You and your husband may find you LOVE cooking and prepping together! It actually sounds like a great time ??

I'm 4 months out. I prep when I can, but I also have things I can grab and eat - I just make sure they're healthy. I still can't eat that much, but some things I have on hand that serve as a meal in a pinch:

Sargento balanced breaks (it has cheese and nuts and cranberries. Not terribly expensive at Costco)

Parm chips and a cup of hummus

A babybel cheese and an oz of almonds

If you like tofu, I buy those baked/flavored tofus - I just cut up one serving and eat it cold.

Cup of yogurt

I also always have some frozen single-serving ricotta bakes and cooked beans in the freezer. I'll make a double batch of the ricotta bake, which is 8 servings, and freeze at least half. I also have a mini-freezer in my garage that I can use in a pinch (which I had from meal prep before I had surgery).

55 minutes ago, newmebithebypass said:

We don't eat the best and like most overweight couples are each other's worst enablers. We don't like to say no to the other and sometimes it's just easier to grab fast-food.

Some things to think about..Not intended to sound preachy LOL

Food choices are yours to make. You already know these old behaviors are not serving you both well. What will it take to change them? If you continue the path of enabling will you gain the weight back? Can you work your plan if he's not changing?

Home cooked meals are not hard to make or time consuming (Make sure anything I mention is on your plan) My examples are real food stage.

Find ready to eat proteins and quick cook veggies:

• Chicken fajitas, precooked john soles chicken and frozen peppers and onions - Microwave and done
• Canned chicken, bagged salad mix, strawberries and skinny girl raspberry vinaigrette
• john soles frozen precooked beef strips, market side French green beans and bacon
• Eggs and jimmy dean turkey sausage (frozen)

How hard is it to cook protein choices? Chicken, beef, pork or seafood add seasoning put it in the oven.

Try not to make a habit of fast food -order healthy menu items - Do a salad or lettuce wrapped burger- Grilled chicken at chick filet -

My dietician’s recipe site for food ideas

https://insidekarenskitchen.com/recipes/bariatric-friendly-recipes/

@Healthy_life2 has the right of it! Cooking healthy, nutritional meals doesn't have to be time consuming. It does take a bit of preplanning. My husband and I struggled with this too. Both working long hours away from home, it was just so much easier to pick up a pizza instead of cooking at home. However years of this has taken it's toll, and my size 24s started getting real tight, and my husband was not far behind.

Now we preplan. I am making sheet pan (roasted chicken + veggies for the family with plenty left over. However I roast 6 breasts, use 3 for dinner for my family of 4, and use the other 3 for different things. Like chopping up and putting in salad for the next day's lunch. Turning another one into chicken salad with greek yogurt and dried cranberries. And turning the last one into a caprese salad because mozzarella is amazing.

There are so many shortcuts, so many easy ways to make prep quick and painless!

Have you looked into any of the mail order meal plans? Most use really fresh ingredients and you choose meals that fit your diet. I use HomeChef and really like it.


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Meal planning def doesn’t take all day. We do menu planning on Friday/Saturday before we go shopping. Mexican Mondays, Tuesday and Thursday the kids pick and prepare dinners (with help), Wednesday’s are bento box dinner bc the kids have karate, Friday’s are Breakfast. We meal prep on Sunday’s, usually during football. Now it’s just for an hour or so on a Sunday. Start with a rotisserie chicken or make a big batch of soup. It’s super easy

Thanks y'all. I know I have tons more resources to my disposal if I just met with my nutritionist as a group meeting with my husband. I just feel bad I've veered so off plan this early

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9 minutes ago, newmebithebypass said:

Thanks y'all. I know I have tons more resources to my disposal if I just met with my nutritionist as a group meeting with my husband. I just feel bad I've veered so off plan this early

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We are here to support you

Don't feel bad, you recognized the slip and that’s what’s important. We are all in this for the long haul. Be consistent not perfect.

We are here to support you [emoji4]
Don't feel bad, you recognized the slip and that’s what’s important. We are all in this for the long haul. Be consistent not perfect.

Thanks I'm going to call the nutritionist tomorrow do a check in

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Never trust someone who has let you down more than once . Once was a warning, twice was a lesson and anymore than than that is just taking advantage.

Hubby and I have learned that I can only eat 2-4 oz, so we fix one meal and share it and so my eating plan is benefiting him as well. We do the same when we eat out at restaurants, order one thing and share it.

Hubby and I have learned that I can only eat 2-4 oz, so we fix one meal and share it and so my eating plan is benefiting him as well. We do the same when we eat out at restaurants, order one thing and share it.

Yeah we try to do that more often than not these days. We just have wildly differing tastes in food lol

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On 03/04/2019 at 05:31, newmebithebypass said:

Yeah we try to do that more often than not these days. We just have wildly differing tastes in food lol

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Same here!!! I joke that my husbands favorite meal was meat with a side of meat, while I was all about the sides. It has served me well since surgery to focus more on my protein and not as much on the sides.

My wife waited until one year after my WLS to start the process for hers. We wanted to see how the new lifestyle would affect us as individuals and as a couple. She sees my struggles and I see how she has helped me with them. So, together as a team she will get her sleeve and together we will work to stay with a healthy lifestyle.

A few hard and fast rules that I adhere to. I don't eat processed foods as they have no value for me post WLS. I measure all of my foods as I need to know how much I am putting into my body. I don't drink alcohol (never did) or carbonated beverages. I drink fluids 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after I eat. I am mindful of what I want to eat. Most of all I seek support wherever I can get it.

As for food prep, I bought an air fryer and this little gadget is great. I cook fish and chicken in it and they both come out very good in little time. Best of all prep for the foods is very minimal.

All great ideas from the VETs. Prepping is a good way to stay on track and often much less expensive.

Don't forget the beauty of the Crockpot! It has saved me so much time in a very busy life.

Edited March 4, 20197 yr by GreenTealael