A Day In The Successful Gastric Sleever's Diet/life....

[4ALongerLife 329]

To the successful sleevers (who've lost most of their weight or been at this for a while).... question pls. What's a "typical" day in your life as it pertains to your diet? Hey just take a "normal" day. If you remember in phases of progression what a 'normal' day way, that too I'd like to know.

I feel like I'm eating all of the time and not sure that I'm not just falling back on old habits (i.e. eating later at night, etc). So how to make this journey a success... I'm seeking it out... any inputs?

[Lissa 2,631]

I am usually up by 7am and, if I'm not working, I hit the gym early to do my cardio (half hour on the recumbent bike).

I normally eat a mini-babybel right after I get up and take my morning meds/vitamins and drink a bottle of Water.

When I go to the gym, I take a bottle of Water with me and my goal is to finish it before I'm done with the half hour on the bike. I just added walking to/from the gym to my routine so I may have to figure out how to refill the bottle.

Breakfast is usually a Protein bar.

If I'm home, lunch is something home made. If I'm on the road, I'll grab a Wendy's chili or take something with me. If I take something with it can be as simple as a Protein Bar or, if I'll have more time to eat, a tuna kit. Bottle of water before lunch, then another during the afternoon.

dinner is often stir fry, which gives me my veggies and a healthy serving of dense Protein.< /p>

I've recently discovered Clif bars, so they are often my evening snack. If I haven't been to the gym yet, I'll eat a clif bar on the way down there. I'll hit the hot tub at our clubhouse after my workout or after dinner if I worked out early in the day.

Sometime after dinner I try to drink at least 24 oz of water again. I love it flavored with Mio drops, so I can drink a bunch of water without hurting.

I try to log on my fitness pal as I go, but, if I haven't logged, I'll usually enter my food for the day right before bedtime.

I hope that helps you out.

[Lissa 2,631]

I forgot weights and calisthenics in that schedule. I do them while I'm stuck. Since I'm self-employed, I spend a lot of time waiting on other people to send me information. If I'm stuck waiting, I'll go ahead and do my weights while I'm sitting here.

[4ALongerLife 329]

Thank you Lissa! I hope to be successful like you are and have been... keep up the great work!

[Lissa 2,631]

You're going to be successful. Matter of fact, you will probably get to your goal while I'm still working on mine! But, that's okay. I will get there!

[clk 3,519]

I'm not entirely sure I'm successful, though I suppose that just in reaching goal I've made success of my sleeve!

In the beginning (the first maybe nine months for me) eating was a chore. So my day always started with me sitting on my laptop with my morning Protein coffee (two scoops of Protein powder mixed with one cup of coffee) and logging my meal plan for the day. Breakfast is hard for me because I just don't like to eat first thing in the morning, so most days I drink a shake for breakfast.

I had to plan before starting my day because it was HARD to get enough calories and Protein into my body.

So, I went back to myfitnesspal to peek at my diet.

Within six months of surgery I was drinking a shake for breakfast in addition to eating a scrambled egg (I'd slowly sip the shake before and after eating the egg). I'd usually eat two or three pieces of lunchmeat or some other soft protein for lunch. I would eat a few ounces of chicken for dinner. I was usually low on calories/protein by the end of the day so I'd have either sludge (a scoop of protein, 1 Tbs. Peanut Butter and a little water) or a shake before bed. At this point, my diet was mostly protein with very low carbs. This was because eating was WORK for me. I had no appetite, had developed lactose intolerance and had so much restriction I couldn't eat more than an egg in a sitting.

I was eating about 400-500 calories a day, 20-30 grams of carbs and 60 grams of protein per day. I had to eat around the clock to get this much food into my body.

Fast forward to about ten months out. I was eating more reasonably. I had my morning protein coffee (two scoops, one cup coffee). Later I'd eat an egg scrambled with cheese for lunch. For dinner I might eat half a pb & j sandwich on very soft bread and some carrot sticks. Carbs were really helping me feel better so I shifted my focus around 8-9 months on getting more in. Throughout the day I'd have two Snacks - usually one would be a few oz. of Jerky and one would be string cheese or a carb, like crackers.

I was eating about 700 calories a day, 50-60 grams of carbs (all I could hold at this point) and 80-90 grams of protein. It was still a chore to eat.

Around a year out I was really focusing on a more balanced diet. I learned early on that low carbing makes me irritable and tired. Somehow, during this phase I really started to drop my mental food and eating baggage.

I was still drinking one or two shakes a day. I was eating that same scrambled egg with cheese for breakfast most days. I would eat a half sandwich for lunch, maybe with some veggies or fruit if I had room. I would eat a dinner that included not just protein but carbs. So I'd eat some potatoes, some salad, some rice or whatever AND eat a little protein. I made up the difference on protein with shakes, because the carbs were necessary for me and I still had a lot of restriction.

I was eating 900-1,100 calories a day, 90+ grams of carbs, 90+ grams of protein per day at this point and still losing, albeit very slowly as I was down to my last 20 pounds to lose.

Now I'm 21 months out. I eat about 1,200-1,400 calories a day, 120+ grams of carbs and 90+ grams of protein.

I start my day with protein coffee most days because I still have trouble getting more than 1,000 calories in per day without it. For lunch I'll do half a sandwich and a cup of Soup, or half a sandwich and a salad. For dinner I'll eat about 3 oz. of dense protein, some salad, some starch. I usually have two Snacks a day - one protein based like cheese or Jerky and one carb - usually something I've baked!

This is long, but I hope it helps or is at least something like what you were asking for.

~Cheri

[kayte819 95]

I'm only 13 wks out, but I've lost 55lbs post-op & have.a suggestion. I asked the exact.same question when I was abt 6 wks out. Try joining myfitnesspal.com & request friends.from here. There are a lot of us who have our profiles set to share our food diaries so our friends can view them. I find this extremely helpful with food ideas & also ideas how others are getting in all their Proteins. I think it's a great tool! Feel free to add me as a friend....my user name there is the same as here.

Lissa is such an awesome example & her exercise habits.are something I strive for! So inspiring!

[Lissa 2,631]

kayte, I'll let you in on the secret to my exercise habits... It IS MFP. I see that others who were sleeved after me are doing more workouts than I am and it makes me want to work out, too. That's my motivation. If they can do it, so can I.

[Aussiegirl 580]

I love reading about how other sleevers do it.

I am not at goal, tho still consider myself a success at 7 months about and around 110 pounds lost.

My day looks much like this, atleast the work days Weekends are a bit of different story.

Wake at 6am and get ready for work. Have my tablets with some Water.

Get to work around 7-7.30am, have some Breakfast (now started having natural yoghurt and muesli).

Sip on green tea most the morning, whiile doing some work.

About 11am I do a gym session either on my own or with a trainer for an hour. About 80% cardio with 20%strength/weights

Try to get through a Water while training.

Then lunch is usually some Protein on crackers, like ham, cheese and Tomato wholemeal crackers

Afternoon tea is usually a piece of fruit

Then a 5km walk home, working on running more and more of the distance

Evening meal, usually Protein and veggies.

Spend some timein the evening in the spa ( i have one in my apartment complex) and make sure I continue drinking water. I find drinking water helps with keeping the snack thoughts away....well most of the time..

[daniellec 10]

Thanks everyone ! I too am struggling only 3 weeks post-op with eating being a "chore".

I am eating for breakfast some eggbeaters about 1/4 cup with some cheese and sometimes some turkey bacon mixed in. I get at least 1-2 bottles of Water in before lunch. Right now I have about 6 thin slices of lunchmeat rolled around a slice or two of cheese (breaking up the cheese into "planks"). Then I struggle with Water in the afternoon.

Right now I am petrified of eating too many carbs so I try and keep it to about 40g a day. Now between 3-4:30, I am back to being hungry like before surgery so sometimes I only have room for half my eggs for breakfast and eat the rest in the afternoon. More water on the way home and dinner is lately consisting of sometimes just a Protein shake or some sort of lean Protein and a small bit of carbs.

I am trying to consume about 1,000 calories per day. I am wondering if I should have a snack during that 3-4:30pm hunger hour but not sure what to have. Maybe a Protein Shake or cheese or something ? I still haven't figured it out.

You ladies are,by the way, my motivation and my saving grace. I have been making excuses again for not getting to the gym and I need to incorporate a plan now that I have returned to work (it is my first week back). I am so busy worrying about being here to make dinner for my older children that I am about myself. That is one of the cop outs that got me obese in the first place. I know I am rambling.

[smileygirl 5]

I have been wondering this too, thanks for all the posts.

[Lissa 2,631]

AussieGirl, You ARE a success!! 110 pounds is amazing!! I'm coming right up behind you. I can see my 100 pound mark just around the corner and I'm excited. I'll have to step up my game to get there, but I'm already pushing a little here and a little there, working on that next size down.

[Globetrotter 1,340]

I am 20 months out, 125 lbs down with 40 to go and yesterday looked like this:

Breakfast - Protein shake made with unsweetened almond milk and 2 kinds of Protein, chocolate powder and mocha espresso powder. A protein shot.

lunch - cheeseburger salad. 3 ounce beef patty that I made at home with a slice of cheddar, onion, romaine hearts, pickles, mayo, mustard. A burger without the Buns basically. I managed about half of all that so, 1.5 oz ground beef.

dinner - the rest of the cheeseburger salad plus a little bacon crumbled in.

snack - half a small apple with a serving of Peanut Butter. The snack was an hour before my run.

Exercise - 3.2 miles jogging and walking with a friend, done outdoors and talking while keeping up a pace so it was a comprehensive workout. We also stopped to do some chin ups and push ups.

Didn't get in enough Water, probably about 32 oz or half of what it should be. I get most of my Water in the form of hot non caffeinated herbal tea.

There used to be a pinned thread in the food and nutrition section called "What I Ate - Monday" etc., there was one for every day of the week, I liked it because it was encouraging and gave you ideas of what to eat. =)

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

19 months out. Yesterday was like this:

coffee with 1 cream

Work for 2 hours

1 Vietnamese salad roll with shrimp/pork

Run 5 km (3 miles)

Protein shake with milk and Peanut Butter

Back to work; lunch - Latte, 3 Brazilian cheese pastries with corn flour

1/2 dragonfruit, 1/2 oat/ww pancake with blueberries and Greek yogurt

Kidney bean and chickpea salad

Bok choy with shiitake mushrooms and jicama (stir fry)

1/2 chicken quesadilla with sour cream/guacamole

1 cookie with dulce de leche

I THINK that's it! I eat a lot, lol. That was around 2100-2200 calories.

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Double post