With every attempt at weight loss in the past, eating had to be planned out and regimented or else the diet would fail.

How does it work with the band? Do you have to plan your meals? Or can you just eat what your family is eating, but less of it?

I dont know that I "plan" my meals but I make sure I have the things I need - sources of protein, veggie etc in the house. I do live alone so I only cook for me but if I am out with friends etc I eat a "regular" meal - I just usually end up taking a lot of it home with me.

I personally believe that you have to plan out your meals even if you aren't dieting. Otherwise, you give up a lot of control over your eating to other people. My thin colleagues at work bring in food if they think they are going to work late, for example, and don't just eat out of the candy machine like I used to because I never wanted to plan.

Now, do you have to count calories for the rest of your life? That I don't know because I'm not on maintenance yet. But I think at least some people don't have to.

I have not been banded yet. I'm still doing a six month supervised diet. However, I have started NOW. I am on a 1200 calorie diet and I plan and document everything. I find it keeps me honest, and l also feel a sense of achievement looking at my weight loss each week. I not only plan my meals, but I also plan my exercise. Heck. I even have Thanksgiving all worked out so I don't "fail". I realize this sort of strict structure may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm a food addict, and I cannot be trusted yet! lol

I schedule my exercise in my electronic calendar. Otherwise, it doesn't happen.

Planning meals sounds good as it means you are less likely to snack on rubbish food choices.

The "Diet" word is sometimes frowned on by people who have had WLS as they seem to think that because they can no longer eat the amount of food they once could, that the weight will miraculously disappear....and it probably will for a while. But in my experience, I still have to diet to lose weight....if I eat bad things then weight goes back on (at an alarming rate I hasten to add). So the band is a tool that controls the amount we eat, but unfortunately it does not control what we eat. My biggest emotional crutch is chocolate - I was eating a large bar (250g) a day and the weight just piled back on....but on the plus side, when I am in the correct frame of mind for dieting, and make the right food choices, then the weight does come off and I never feel hungry like I used to before the band.

We do not have the luxury of malabsorption like our other WLS brothers and sisters, but we do have the other luxury of knowing that our bands will work as long as we do....long after the malabsorption has disappeared.

Sorry to ramble on....but don't you just hate dieting? lol

Funnily enough at the moment I plan my husbands meals for the week ahead and have it up on the fridge, but do not really plan my own, its so much easier to have a plan though. I eat about one in three meals I prepare for my husband. Hope this helps.

I did have to change my shopping habits and start cooking healthier. I have cut out foods that I know are a problem for me and so I just don't buy them. I know that I have to have solid Protein on hand so I keep cooked chicken and/or fish in the house. I stopped the bad habit of not planning ahead for dinner then just grabbing fast food or ordering pizza because I don't have anything thawed out for dinner. So, like others I do have to plan ahead for healthy meals but everyone SHOULD do that anyway.

But otherwise-no, I do not diet. I don't count calories, I don't measure food, I don't keep a journal. I did track calories and measure food at first just to get a handle on how much and what I can eat but now after 5 months I can plan a healthy dinner and eye up my plate to get the appropriate amount each meal without counting or recording.

Planning keeps you safe and makes you accountable. I eat what the family is eating but in 1 cup full amounts which has all been weighed and entered into my computer food and exercise database. This way I can make sure I am getting all my nutritional needs, I can look at balance and in doing this it makes me feel safe.

I still allow myself treats but instead of gorging on WHOLE pack of fries I am happy with 5.

Good luck with it

Deb

I don't think you really have to diet.. but planning, yes. I personally journal everything, helps keep me accountable, and still figuring out how to eat at my sweet spot. But I probably will stop this once I get the hang of things. I do find you have to plan to some degree though, to ensure you have adequate solid protein. I generally cook enough so that I have protein left over for the next day's lunch, sometimes dinner too.

I don't feel like I am dieting, really, since I allow myself some treats, and don't feel hungry all the time. I definately don't feel deprived, as I am able to eat pretty much anything I want, just in smaller quantities.

Good luck!

With every attempt at weight loss in the past, eating had to be planned out and regimented or else the diet would fail.

How does it work with the band? Do you have to plan your meals? Or can you just eat what your family is eating, but less of it?

i really dont plan my meals. yes i go to the store and buy high protien stuff. but what i do day to day is a decision i make really on the fly. i buy foster farms frozen chicken breasts that i can cook frozen. stuff like that. we also eat out alot but not fast food typically and if its on the go ill stop at quiznos and get a small chili or a kids sammich. my favorite is authentic chicken tacos. i dump the hot sauce on and just eat the insides because its shredded chicken cilantro and salsa and bypass the tortilla. taco salads without eating the bowl is one of my faves too. i just improvise. and it seems to be working decent. otherwise i ensure to get asmall portion of grilled meat with veggies etc. i really do think the trick is the portions you eat. combine that with eating healthy 90 percent of the time and i think thats the magic touch. i know its weird but for Breakfast ill usually make meat and veggies. lol. and then take the leftovers with me for lunch.

I planned my meals during my entire weightloss phase. Now that I'm on maintenance, it's become habit to buy foods I can eat at the store.

I just go into the pantry and can whip up something.

I decided to make a lifestyle change when I had surgery.. Not go on a diet.

I stock my fridge with all kinds of good things to eat that can be consumed in small amounts. I eat alot of meats, peanuts, milk, eggs etc those are easy and quick to make. I keep tyson anytizers in the freezer at all times since I can heat that up and eat it within 2 minutes. Really there is no planning on my part.

I watch what I eat, and I plan my meals around nutrition, but I do NOT count calories. I don't count carbs or fat either. Food was an obsession for me at one time. To spend hours counting all that crap is just trading one food obsession for another, and my goal was to get away from that and eat naturally. That to me is dieting, and I don't want the rest of my life to be labeled a "diet". It's a life style. I make sure I eat 5 servings of veggies and fruit every day. That's about it. I eat about a cup of food at a meal. Sometimes more....sometimes less. It just depends. If there is a special occasion, I eat what everyone else is eating. I'm a person, a human, I have favorites, I like holidays. I'm not a "freak". So, yes, I basically eat what everyone else in the family is eating, but what I fix for them is healthy and nutritious, so I don't have to worry about it.

I watch what I eat, and I plan my meals around nutrition, but I do NOT count calories. I don't count carbs or fat either. food was an obsession for me at one time. To spend hours counting all that crap is just trading one food obsession for another, and my goal was to get away from that and eat naturally. That to me is dieting, and I don't want the rest of my life to be labeled a "diet". It's a life style. I make sure I eat 5 servings of veggies and fruit every day. That's about it. I eat about a cup of food at a meal. Sometimes more....sometimes less. It just depends. If there is a special occasion, I eat what everyone else is eating. I'm a person, a human, I have favorites, I like holidays. I'm not a "freak". So, yes, I basically eat what everyone else in the family is eating, but what I fix for them is healthy and nutritious, so I don't have to worry about it.

I cannot agree with you said more. I DO NOT count calories. I DO NOT count fat, weigh my food, or anything like that. I JUST GAVE YOUR SERMON TO ANOTHER BANDSTER! LOL! I am all about eating healthy... but counting just creates a food obsession. And with my band, I NO LONGER HAVE THAT OBSESSION. I think about food... when I am HUNGRY. I don't plan out my meals and think about what my next meal is going to be. I got off work and was starving, and went to Panera Bread and got some black bean Soup and a salad. I didn't stand there and obsess about fat or calories... I got what sounded good. I eat better, more organic, less processed than I ever have... because THAT IS WHAT I CRAVE.

99.9% of bandsters outside of the US subscribe to the belief that Aubrie and I speak of. You lose by eating less. Not by counting what you eat. I am no longer on a 'diet.' I got the band so I would no longer have to diet. I finally have a healthy mindset.

Edited October 28, 200817 yr by kgloverii

YES!!! I plan as much as possible. I also do it for financial reasons now too since food is getting so damn expensive. I look at my store's sale flyer and plan my next week accordingly. (it probably takes me about 20 minutes.) We bring breakfast & lunch to work and I cook dinner. We eat out about 4-6x per month. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

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I no longer count calories or journal my food but I did for the first year. (I lost 120lbs in that time!)

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I try and stick to a meal plan because if I don't, I tend to make poor choices. I also tend to over eat if I let myself get too hungry between meals by not keeping healthy snacks in the house. Planning at the beginning of the week also gives me the ability to be sure I'm eating a balanced diet.

I don't feel like I'm on a diet.<o:p></o:p>

Edited October 29, 200817 yr by Candle