A thread for us to share our daily menus!

To help keep things in perspective for everyone, let's try to note our height & weight (or BMI), gender, weight-status & how far out we are post-op (unless this is already stated in your side profile )

Post as little or as much info as you want. If you track macros, feel free to share your protein, fat, & carb details...if all you feel like saying is you had a really yummy taco, that's cool too.

EDIT: Anyone can play! VSG, RNY, DS, etc... ♥️

Edited July 22, 20197 yr by ms.sss

38 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Thanks for your reply! Will come back and answer more. But just had a thought! I AM such an outlier! Doh. Do you think I'm doing a disservice at BP by posting on this thread? Cuz maybe people will get the wrong idea about food from me and what "normal" might mean to them post weight loss?

I think that's a good question. It's why I rarely post what I eat, or even usually respond to a lot of threads.

But I think the difference is, I have had an easier journey than average. If I post up my experiences, diet, etc., I would give people false hope. If people go into this thinking it will be easy, it would be devastating to learn they have to work much harder at it.

But in your case, if people know they may have to be as vigilant as you are, that will put them in a better position to start. If they later turn out to be an outlier, they can relax a little. There is no harm in being very strict and regimented in the beginning, it is actually a benefit. I think if I had gone into this thinking I could be lax about my diet, I don't think I would have had the same results.

14 hours ago, sillykitty said:

I think that's a good question. It's why I rarely post what I eat, or even usually respond to a lot of threads.

But I think the difference is, I have had an easier journey than average. If I post up my experiences, diet, etc., I would give people false hope. If people go into this thinking it will be easy, it would be devastating to learn they have to work much harder at it.

But in your case, if people know they may have to be as vigilant as you are, that will put them in a better position to start. If they later turn out to be an outlier, they can relax a little. There is no harm in being very strict and regimented in the beginning, it is actually a benefit. I think if I had gone into this thinking I could be lax about my diet, I don't think I would have had the same results.

True, but that's the beauty of threads like this...especially if a wide variety of people contribute to them. Cuz it does give an overview of what successful and unsuccessful people are doing daily. It's a touchstone of sorts. The other site I visit to read does a great daily menu thread and they discuss philosophical questions etc and get to know each other. And the day after day after day food journals is really fascinating. There are all kinds of diets being followed.

I know you and I kinda approached our weight loss from a different perspective. You had/have a very large restriction and I did not ever have much restriction. So our perspectives by necessity had to be different. Cuz I had enough room in my new tool to be dangerous and not lose a single pound had I not nutted up and kept my diet very nutrient dense and focused. Right?

But you were all very focused and doing nutrient dense food and automatically food restricting in hours--even though you did get to eat more high reward and high calorie foods. Because you were barely eating, you were having phenomenal success. And you still made the transition toward eating the best bite you can for as much as you can given your professional demands.

So I think to an extent our restrictions of our tools, metabolisms, medicines, health metrics, and our goals have to determine just how much of a calorie savant we have to be in our post op life. So I think you should post your food here! Give the balanced look at what we all eat!

Derp! Don't know why this double posted. serry.

Edited August 10, 20197 yr by FluffyChix

19 hours ago, sillykitty said:

@FluffyChix & @ms.sss

I am fascinated by this thread. I have questions and hope neither of you are offended.

@ms.sss

More sincere questions! Do you truly want to stop losing, or are you liking how you are looking and feeling and think you might want to go lower? I'm asking because you're still eating like you are in weight loss mode (shirataki noodles, salads w super low cal dressing etc.). The days you are eating close to "normally", you are still likely under your BMR, but seem to feel like you need to correct afterwards. It just seems like there is a disconnect between what you say you want, and your actions.

@FluffyChix

You've discussed a lot about your goals, 1, 2, 3 and BDG (Barbie Dream Goal ?). You are solidly at a healthy BMI. What is it that is driving you to work so very hard to get even lower? A lot of days you are at an extreme calories deficiency, which is hard to sustain long term, right? Are you concerned if you get there, what it will be like to maintain it? And if you can't sustain it (which would be expected, right, the bounce?), if that would make you feel worse? You sincerely look very thin and amazing. But I know from your comments you still feel heavier than you truly are (OOTD & Meh the scale threads). Do think maybe you'll never been thin enough because you're looking at yourself in a dysmorphic fun house mirror?

Question for both of you: Do you worry about lowering your BMR long term? For me personally this study scared the crap out of me https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html

Hope you both don't hate me now! ?

Was thinking the same thing about ms.sss and calorie intakes of 500. I could never do that except in the early days but then I have a higher BMI.

So far this morning I have eaten 3 cubes of cantaloupe and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, wishing I would have eaten the egg and bacon instead because I still feel hungry, guess I will drink water and take a tums just in case it is heartburn in disguise

21 hours ago, sillykitty said:

More sincere questions! Do you truly want to stop losing, or are you liking how you are looking and feeling and think you might want to go lower? I'm asking because you're still eating like you are in weight loss mode (shirataki noodles, salads w super low cal dressing etc.). The days you are eating close to "normally", you are still likely under your BMR, but seem to feel like you need to correct afterwards. It just seems like there is a disconnect between what you say you want, and your actions.

More irrational answers! (and some rational ones too... )

Rational Me: I'm not interested in achieving any more weight loss goals, because YES, I am liking how I am looking and feeing (If anything, I now have exercise goals, which is likely hampering my calorie increase attempts, but that's another story...). I don't particularly want to go lower on the scale, but I have accepted that until I get into a real groove which lasts longer than 3½ weeks, weight loss (and most likely weight gain later on) is going to be an occupational hazard. My current weight is still nicely in the middle of the normal range so a few pounds up or down isn't going to kill me.

Irrational Me: I fully admit to being wary of carbs. Specifically bread products, pasta, rice, to some extent root veggies and added sugar. Hence the shirataki and the no added sugar vinaigrettes. For now, I am choosing to stay low carb. I do, however, have the occasional breaded product (buffalo cauliflower! crackers on the charcuterie board! chicken wings! cake!) or high sugar item (ice cream! fruit! bbq sauce on my chicken wings!). And when I do, I often attempt a "correction" the next day by watching/limiting my carb intake (which I am supposed to counteract with increasing my fats - not always successful). Though as I type this, ? I'm not even sure that averaging out carb intake over a period of time has the same effect as limiting carbs to a certain level daily... LOL...i'm going to have to do a bit of research after I post this. Again, this is the irrational me talking, and I'm fully aware I will not implode and could probably benefit from eating a sandwich (as my "concerned" friends and family say both to my face and behind my back ?).

Rational Me, again: I went back looking at what I've posted on this thread so far and looks like I started this thread around the same time that my average cals dropped from around 1500-ish to 1000-ish, so my daily menu's do look pretty diet-y. I haven't gone out/had people over as much these past couple weeks and it shows. I tend to eat less when I'm at home and fixing food for myself. Though I rely on the fact that everything will even out because I know there will be indulge days...like yesterday (which I'll post later), and tomorrow (it's BFF's Mr's bday and we are going to a rodizio restaurant (i.e., AYCE Brazilian Steakhouse) #yum #almostAsGoodAsKoreanBBQ

21 hours ago, sillykitty said:

Question for both of you: Do you worry about lowering your BMR long term? For me personally this study scared the crap out of me https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html

I read this article and the study it references waaaay back. The one ray of hope here is Rudy Pauls. He was the sole person in the study who ended up getting WLS and his metabolism slow down was markedly less than the others. At the time I read these, I researched other papers and I recall a paper or two discussing how WLS patients' metabolisms returned to normal levels for their eventual size after the initial (and expected) drop. Now this is all hearsay on my part right now, because I don't have the links to these alleged papers, but if I get can get into research mode later, I'll try to dig em up. (I need to be in the proper mindset to read these papers cuz man, sometimes I go cross-eyed trying to keep up with all the notations)

21 hours ago, sillykitty said:

Hope you both don't hate me now! ?

Nope ❤️

19 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

Thanks for your reply! Will come back and answer more. But just had a thought! I AM such an outlier! Doh. Do you think I'm doing a disservice at BP by posting on this thread? Cuz maybe people will get the wrong idea about food from me and what "normal" might mean to them post weight loss?

@FluffyChix I think any information is good information? But I see what you mean, both of us actually seem to be posting "off-centre" menus (I just skimmed through the whole thing when I wrote my last post) It would be nice to see others' menus as well for a more rounded view...(you and I seem to be hogging this thread!)

3 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

True, but that's the beauty of threads like this...especially if a wide variety of people contribute to them.

THIS.

2 hours ago, Tracyringo said:

Was thinking the same thing about ms.sss and calorie intakes of 500. I could never do that except in the early days but then I have a higher BMI.

Yeah, this happens occasionally for me post weight-loss-mode...usually because I feel sick or icky or overly full from something (and i've had a few of these types of days in a row lately )

2 hours ago, Tracyringo said:

So far this morning I have eaten 3 cubes of cantaloupe and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, wishing I would have eaten the egg and bacon instead because I still feel hungry, guess I will drink Water and take a tums just in case it is heartburn in disguise

First, congrats! Your side profile says you are under your goal weight!

Are you still looking to stay weight loss mode?

I just had my surgery 8-8 gastric sleeve

5'2", ♀️ 9m PO, maintaining

Friday August 9th - 115.7 lbs
Finally got a higher calorie day in yesterday to post (had few surprise friends drop by in the afternoon and then stay until late into the evening). This menu probably comes at an excellent time, given the discussion above about more varied menu representations. Full disclosure though, I had a dumping episode (definitely from the moon cake) after the 1:45pm snack with friends. On the bright side, the poop was 4 days coming, but on the non-so-bright side, I had to lay down for for an hour or so afterwards to recuperate.

Stayed up extra late last night so I could digest my food before going to bed (to avoid the middle of the night reflux) and my stomach doesn't feel so very great today.

10:00 am: 1 cup chicken broth -- 8 cals
12:30 pm: salad + 73g stewed pork loin + 1 fried egg + 1tbsp crispy onions -- 250 cals
1:45 pm: 250ml CoolWay fudge chocolate chip frozen dessert + 1 fl oz pumpkin seeds + ½ moon cake + 8 wheat thins + 45g peppercorn paté -- 705 cals
5:15 pm: 127g 4% cottage cheese + ½ fl oz pumpkin seeds + 78g blueberries + 61g strawberries + ¼ tsp pepper -- 202 cals
7:45 pm: salad + 44g bbq pork ribs + 45g stewed pork loin + 13g parmesan cheese -- 231 cals
11:05 pm: 38g prosciutto + 21g salami + 30g cheddar cheese + 35g peppercorn pate + 26g cherries + 38g walnuts -- 80 cals

Totals: 2084 cals, 136g Protein, 113g NET carbs, 124g fat

Irrational me is all planning to even out the 113g of net carbs, btw.

Exercise:

• 2km run (10 min)
• Strength training - Arms (15 mins)
• Zumba (1hr)

Edited August 10, 20197 yr by ms.sss

Thanks for your replies @ms.sss & @fluffychix

Out of town for the weekend, so I’ll respond when I get home!

I'm a midranger/slow & steady looser/tortoise

(I will try to participate more often but this level of meticulous tracking is unsustainable for me most of the time - as I track in my head these days)

Exercise: -12 hrs ?

Edited August 10, 20197 yr by GreenTealael

Yay! You don’t have to track just participate!

On the other site, some list quantities, some list meticulously, and some just say:

b-protein drink

l-turkey jerky stick

d-mashed sweet potatoes and salmon

not even any macros or quantities! The idea is just to be accountable and get ideas from others! It all works!!!!

As a newbie (heading to surgery Monday morning) I can’t tell you how helpful and insightful I find this thread to be be. Thank you to those further down the path from me for clearing the way, letting me know struggles are ok and to be expected, and for helping me to get in the right headspace. I sincerely appreciated your openness!

1 hour ago, GreenTealael said:

(I will try to participate more often but this level of meticulous tracking is unsustainable for me most of the time - as I track in my head these days)

Any level of participation is great ♥️