I’m a year and a half out. What should my meals look like?? I’ve been gaining some weight back and need to get on a better diet I think.

at that far out I'd switched over to mostly calorie counting (although I know it isn't for everyone). I had to experiment a bit to figure out at what range I maintained my weight (for me, it was 1500-1700 calories, but that's going to differ for everyone). If I went under that most days of the week, I'd lose - if I went over it consistently, I'd gain.

Are you still in contact with your dietician? They’re always the best place to start. Go back to tracking & measuring your food if you don’t do this anymore. It’s easy to get complacent & less vigilant & eyeballing isn’t always accurate. I do random checks now to make sure I’m not over estimating portion sizes ?. Ensure you’re still hitting your protein & fluid goals too. I do that every day.

How many calories you should be aiming for will depend on many things like age, gender, level of activity, etc. i eat about 1300 calories. As for portion size I always consider the recommended portion size as a starting point. Sometimes I eat less, some times I can eat the recommended serving size. It depends on what I’m eating, how hungry I am & sometimes what my tummy is up for. For e.g. I can always eat more vegetables & today I could only eat about 3/4 of my usual serve of porridge.

As for your food choices, again that is very individual. You need to work out a way of eating that best suits your lifestyle & is sustainable. For me that means prepping most of what I eat myself. I keep my meals fairly ‘clean’. Lowish fat, lowish carbs, no bread, pasta or rice & low sugar (usually 10g added sugar or less). No highly processed foods. No fast food & very rarely takeaway (maybe 5 times in almost three years - braised chicken, cashews & vegetables or steamed gyoza). I aim for 2 serves of meat, 3 or 4 serves of vegetables, 1 or 2 serves of fruit, 2 or 3 serves of dairy, 2 serves of multi or whole grain carbs. It’s been working for me but your needs & prefernces may be totally different.

Edited February 3, 20224 yr by Arabesque

Eat like you did just after WLS . . . focusing on protein, watching your portion sizes, around 1200 calories/day, getting in your water intake. You'll be back on track in on time.

I would definitely track calories. It's the only way to know for sure how much you're eating. Make sure you're getting 60 g of protein (or more depending on your activity level/height, etc). Drink enough, because you need the fluid and also fluid will help you from feeling hungry.

It's best to limit added sugar (you can see added sugars on the nutrition label) and avoid grazing. Start with protein, then veggies, then whole grains.

Re-gain is incredibly common, so don't beat yourself up. Just go back to making the best choices you can. You're aiming for progress, not perfection!

I would track all food to see ways to reduce calories while hitting at least 60 grams of protein. There may be lower calorie substitutions you can make or activities you can do to get the extra pounds off.

On 2/3/2022 at 8:53 AM, Arabesque said:

Are you still in contact with your dietician? They’re always the best place to start. Go back to tracking & measuring your food if you don’t do this anymore. It’s easy to get complacent & less vigilant & eyeballing isn’t always accurate. I do random checks now to make sure I’m not over estimating portion sizes ?. Ensure you’re still hitting your Protein & fluid goals too. I do that every day.

How many calories you should be aiming for will depend on many things like age, gender, level of activity, etc. i eat about 1300 calories. As for portion size I always consider the recommended portion size as a starting point. Sometimes I eat less, some times I can eat the recommended serving size. It depends on what I’m eating, how hungry I am & sometimes what my tummy is up for. For e.g. I can always eat more vegetables & today I could only eat about 3/4 of my usual serve of porridge.

As for your food choices, again that is very individual. You need to work out a way of eating that best suits your lifestyle & is sustainable. For me that means prepping most of what I eat myself. I keep my meals fairly ‘clean’. Lowish fat, lowish carbs, no bread, Pasta or rice & low sugar (usually 10g added sugar or less). No highly processed foods. No fast food & very rarely takeaway (maybe 5 times in almost three years - braised chicken, cashews & vegetables or steamed gyoza). I aim for 2 serves of meat, 3 or 4 serves of vegetables, 1 or 2 serves of fruit, 2 or 3 serves of dairy, 2 serves of multi or whole grain carbs. It’s been working for me but your needs & prefernces may be totally different.

thank youuuu.