Struggling with my 3 meals

[Crystal88 85]

Surgery was 10/31

I have no idea how to go about having 3 meals a day!! I feel like its this huge struggle or something. I'm such a grazer, which has always been one of my issues pre-op, but I'm still doing it now. I'll have a popsicle at let's say 11am, then some pudding at 12pm, then some broth at 1pm.

I'm thinking I'm really gonna have to sit down and PLAN it out. I also don't know what the heck to have as my meals.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

I found that I really benefited from having a strict meal plan when I was early out. The rules of my surgical practice for soft foods were: 3 meals per day, no more than 3 ounces per meal. No snacking in between meals except for calorie free liquids and Protein Shakes. Eating your meal has to be accomplished within a 45 minute timeframe -- if you are not finished with what you planned, that is fine, put it away for leftovers or toss it, whichever you prefer. Then no eating anything (other than Protein shakes/calorie free liquids) until your next meal.

I also found that it helped me to plan my day ahead of time on myfitnesspal. I would figure out what I was going to have for each meal, plus my protein shakes, first thing in the morning, then enter it in advance. If I needed to adjust for some reason during the day, I could go back and fix it.

I will also say that if you are eating a lot of things like pudding, broth, and popsicles, you may find it challenging to meet your protein goals for the day. I am not sure what guidelines your bariatric team gave you, and don't want to contradict them -- I think it is important to stick with the rules you were given! But if you can stick within your rules and eat in a more protein-forward way, I think it will benefit you overall and also may make it easier to cut down on snacking and grazing, since you will be full longer.

Good luck to you!

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Surgery was 10/31

I have no idea how to go about having 3 meals a day!! I feel like its this huge struggle or something. I'm such a grazer, which has always been one of my issues pre-op, but I'm still doing it now. I'll have a popsicle at let's say 11am, then some pudding at 12pm, then some broth at 1pm.

I'm thinking I'm really gonna have to sit down and PLAN it out. I also don't know what the heck to have as my meals.

Any advice would be appreciated.

You program should have given you a suggested menu plan. However this would be a good opportunity to develop new eating habits. I too used to be a grazer. I started using a food diary on myfitnesspal and doing weekly food prep. I even have a Water bottle with an alarm on it that beeps to remind me I need to drink. The good thing about myfitnesspal is you can do you diary first thing in the morning to make sure you're getting in all your calories and Protein. It's a bit of an eye opener to see the nutritional benefits in black and white. For me it was a good motivation factor.

[downsizingdiva 459]

You program should have given you a suggested menu plan. However this would be a good opportunity to develop new eating habits. I too used to be a grazer. I started using a food diary on myfitnesspal and doing weekly food prep. I even have a water bottle with an alarm on it that beeps to remind me I need to drink. The good thing about myfitnesspal is you can do you diary first thing in the morning to make sure you're getting in all your calories and Protein. It's a bit of an eye opener to see the nutritional benefits in black and white. For me it was a good motivation factor.

Where in the world did you get that Water bottle?

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Believe it or not, I got it free. I'm at the gym but I'll post the manufacturer when I get home

Edited November 15, 2014 by Blerdgirl

[bikrchk 1,313]

I eat about 5 times per day. I try NOT to graze put do planned Protein Snacks in between meals, usually a Quest bar or Power Crunch bar, sometimes a 100 cal bag of popcorn after dinner.

[downsizingdiva 459]

Believe it or not, I got it free. I'm at the gym but I'll post the manufacturer when I get home

I saw them on Amazon. ..i remembered seeing them before when needing a reminder wasnt necessaryso I thought nothing of it..i may get one! Thx!

Edited November 15, 2014 by downsizingdiva

[CheleLynn45 615]

Hi Crstal88.......I was sleeved on 10/27/14.

I had my 2 week post op appointment yesterday with my surgeon. Everything is going really well.

At my two week mark I could start mushy type foods so I did. Everything I have tried so far has gone down well. Thank God!

I have always ate three meals a day and usually a snack at night so I did have to cut that out because my surgeons practice says NO SNACKING.

I am still off of work so it's a little easier with my meal planning. I am suppose to be doing two shakes a day and one small meal. I was doing two meals and one shake but doc wants me doing two shakes and 1 meal so that is what I will do most days, but some days I am doing two meals and one shake. I was able to get my Protein on the days I was doing 2 shakes and 1 meal by adding unflavored GENEPRO to my drinks.

I try to get my Breakfast in pretty soon after I wake up, shakes go down just fine for me in about 20 minutes. then I wait my 30-40 mins and I start with my liquids and try to get at least 24oz in before I have to stop drinking to be able to eat/drink my lunch. Then I wait again and start my liquids to get them in before dinner. And then sometime between 5-7 depending when my husband gets home I do dinner. then more liquids. This really seems to work for me and I think even when I go back to work it will continue to work. The only issue I have right now is if I have an appt or something around lunchtime I have to figure out how to get my lunch in in between. But it really boils down to planning planning planning!!

I'm not really hungry at all much during the day so I think that helps me to stick to my plan. I have to really make sure to plan since in my family there is me, my husband and my daughter. My daughter has decided to not eat meat anymore so at dinnertime I am basically making three different dinners. So far it has been working, but again not without planning. When I wasn't watching what I ate it was easy to get lazy and then just eat whatever, this makes us plan ahead.

I hope any of this helps. Good luck, I always hate when I read on here that people are struggling with things, you know you just want to reach thru the computer and fix it!!! Good luck and I hope it gets easier for you!!

[Tired_of_being_Tired 28]

Hi Crystall88 -

I use to be a grazer pre-op and I think that's how I gained so much weight; because I grazed on all the wrong things. I had my surgery on October 9th and eat 3 meals plus 2 Snacks a day now and this is just fine with my surgeon. Even with my 2 Snacks I still do not get to 800 calories, which is irritating at times. My snacks typically are either a string cheese, a half of an avocado, a sliced peach cup, or a yogurt. With that said, I don't think having a snack is bad if you are making healthy choices I am at solid foods now and still trying to see what my new tummy likes and doesn't like. So far the only thing it seems to reject is sashimi sushi (which I love) but will wait a few months to try again. I try my best to eat Protein first since I haven't been doing shakes (yet). I can only eat 2oz of Protein per serving and I am full (that makes me smile even now just typing it) Another thing that makes me smile is I am able to gulp Water now, maybe 3 good drinks, haven't tried more because I am scared to push it. I am grateful to the Lord for this otherwise I know I probably would be dehydrated by now. I haven't gone to the gym yet, but will start next week. I went back to work a week and a half after surgery and have been doing just fine. I experienced a stall for a week, it may have been because it was that TOM, but am happy to report I was down 2 lbs this morning yay - broke the stall! I don't exactly meal prep (mostly due to not having a kitchen at this time - completely gutted - being renovated) but I do buy my lunch for the week and keep it at my office or in my small fridge in my office. I eat tuna, salmon, chicken, yogurt, sliced turkey, avocados, eggs, things of that nature and I feel fine. Ice Water, Crystal Light, Gatorade are things I drink as long as it's very cold.

Soon you will find what works for you. You will hear a lot of, do this, or do that, but really you just have to listen to your body and your sleeve. I count my calories on an app called "Lose It" and it's great. I wish you all the best and hope you find your way through this new journey of ours. :)

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Where in the world did you get that Water bottle?

It's called the hydracoach water bottle. I got it free from a promotion GE was having. They contacted me because I have myfitnesspal set to tweet when I check in.

I have a variety of Water bottles for different purposes. I have a Rubbermaid Shaker bottle. I got this one free as part of a bzzagent promotion. This one is good for the gym. In the morning I fill it with ice, Protein powder & almond milk. I drink half pre workout and save the other half for post workout. It keeps me away from the snack bar at the gym. Some of those smoothies look like glorified milkshakes. It also helps me to get my Protein in early.