4 months out

[Jessica314 1]

Hey I'm 4 months out I need help I feel like my eating is leaning towards failure I eat late in the day in off schedule anyone have tips meal idea?

[samuelsmom 670]

I have this problem too sometimes. It might help to do a food diary for several days so you can see exactly where the pitfalls are and exactly what and how much you are eating.

After that, there are several strategies. Planning meals and Snacks can work really well, so that when you are hungry you already know what you are going to eat. I am not sure from your post if you work during off hours or are just finding yourself eating late. If it is the latter, maybe "closing" the kitchen at a certain time might be the best options.

Hope these ideas help!

[Luvin_Life125 558]

I am the same way if I don't track my food every day. I have to log everything I eat every meal, every day. I find I tend to really underestimate my calories and Protein consumption if I don't track it. I was reluctant to have to weigh, measure, and log every bite I eat because I don't want to be on a diet the rest of my life. However, right now, while I have the most potential to lose most of my excess weight, I need to make the most of it. I made myself a deal that once I get to maintenance then I can let some of the tracking slide as long as I maintain my weight.

Right now tracking every time, every day is going to be the best way for you to take control.

As far as not eating until late in the day and being hungry or needing to eat quickly, plan and set yourself up to succeed. Buy a big bag of nuts, Jerky, or whatever else you like for Protein Snacks. Take the time to take the big package And empty the bag by weighing out individual servings and pack them in snack size containers or ziplock bags. Also the "bites" recipes on the world according to eggface blog are GREAT for this type of situation. Each recipe makes 24 mini muffin quiches and they freeze really well. Every week I make 2 varieties. Once they are cooked and cooled, I wrap 2 "bites" together at a time in waxed paper. I take all 12 of the wax paper bundles and store them in a gallon freezer bag labelled with which flavor they are and the date I made them. They taste great, reheat easily, have so many different flavors and combinations so you don't get burnt out, and keep well in the freezer. By cooking 2 batches every week I usually have 6-8 different flavors in the freezer on any given day to choose from.

Another option is getting a large container of Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese and portioning it out into single size servings when you get home with it. Then it is ready to go when you need or want it.

One of my favorite quick Snacks on the go is the single serving packages of apple slices with my Peanut Butter dip. I have found a bag with 12 single serving packages of apple slices inside. They are ready to grab and go and I find them in the refrigerated produce section of my local grocery store. I make a dip for the apples using plain no fat Greek yogurt, PB2, and sugar free Torani vanilla Syrup. You mix equal parts PB2 and the syrup together until smooth and then mix that into the yogurt. Now you have a protein packed Peanut Butter dip that tastes like it should be bad for you. I use the 16 oz container of yogurt with 3 TBS each of the syrup and PB2. Once it is mixed I put 1/4 cup of dip into individual bowls with kids and store it in the fridge next to the apples. You may want to play with how much PB2 & syrup you put in to make it taste good to you. You can use either myfitnesspal or sparks people recipe nutrition calculator to figure out the calorie, protein, fat, carbs,etc per serving based on the brands and quantities you used. It is a great tool for anything you make so you know exactly what you are getting.

Another thing I find helpful is keeping a few individually packaged servings of Protein powder in my purse for when I am caught or delayed unexpectedly or I forgot to bring food with me. This works best with the fruit or juice flavored powders (ie: grape, lemonade, fuzzy navel, cherry, etc). You can easily scoop servings from your large canister at home into snack sized ziplocks and seal them up yourself instead of spending the extra $ to buy the single serving pouches. The individual servings are great for dumping in a bottle of Water. Just cut or rip the corner off the ziplock bag and it becomes the funnel for the bottle. I always have a few bottles of Water stashed in my car if I don't happen to already be carrying one. The Syntrax Roadside Lemonade is my go to for this. It mixes and dissolves easily by just shaking the water bottle around. It doesn't require a Blender Bottle to get the lumps out. Use what works for you.

That is all I have right off the top of my head. I hope it helps you! It all comes down to taking an hour or 2 to get things prepped and ready to grab when you need it. You can even break the tasks up and do one a day so you only have to squeeze 15 minutes of prep in on any given day. Please ask me if something I said didn't make sense or wasn't explained well.

Edited March 1, 2015 by Luvin_Life125

[Jessica314 1]

Oh my god thank you guys so much i will start keeping notes now thanks for the tips

[CheleLynn45 615]

@@Luvin_Life125 Great ideas and advice!!! I love this site!!

I am also going to be 18wks post op tomorrow and I agree with tracking. I log EVERYTHING to make sure I am getting the right amount of Protein and liquids daily. I have used myfitnesspal in the past and loved it, but I use a paper journal now.

As far as your times go that you are eating, don't worry so much about it, as long as you are getting in what you need and not eating junk you should be good. If you think about it, there are people who work second or third shifts and they have to eat at odd times too. Just be mindful of what you are putting in your body. Plannng and loggin is really the key I think.

Good luck with everything.