Meal prep thoughts?

Hello.I have not had weight loss surgery yet but I am hoping to soon. I am thinking about giving meal prep a try and maybe that will help me lose some weight before I see a surgeon. The only reason I can think of that I wouldn't like it is that don't you end up eating the same foods for days in a row? And what if you are craving something different? Any meal prep ideas and tips would be welcomed. Thank you.

I would love some meal prep ideas and tips too. looking forward to the responses

My idea of meal prep is adding a stack of Smart One's and Lean Cuisine frozen dinners to my grocery order. I can happen something different for every meal and know I am in my calorie limit of around 300 calories per meal.

Good thinking. I have never liked frozen dinners but haven't tried those kinds.

My two cents ... Packaged processed foods are NOT the way to go. This a journey and we all make it on our own, but you should consider those that have gone before. When you "prep" your meals, you know exactly (usually to the gram) what what you will be eating. You know that the ingredients are exactly what you need to progress. Staying away from processed foods will be a habit you need to cultivate to ensure you are able to maintain your new lifestyle.

Yes, it's easy ... but I know that is how I got be over 350 lbs. I WILL NOT ever be again.

It's your journey, your decision, but be open to some wisdom.

Enjoy.

I am on the other side having had RNY 15 years ago. I have no appetite and throw away half of the 300 calorie meal. But when you still have the appetite and large enough stomach to eat and enjoy food meal prep would be very helpful.

Hello Summerjoe and JackieLove. If you search with the keywords: Meal Prep on Obesityhelp.com you will find some really helpful articles.

Here is one as an example:

The Importance of Meal Prep For Weight Loss

I think it all depends on how you approach the meal prep -- you could do several variations and freeze them so that you're not eating the same thing every day; I freeze a lot of single portions and then I have options. For me the key is to make sure to actually eat what's in the freezer.

The best tip I can think of, to avoid food fatigue, is to do what I do for my whole family,..

Summerjoe,

Make one meal day#1, enough for 2 full meals,,( refrigerate leftovers for 3rd day). ON Day#2, make another completely different,( again for 2 meals - refrigerating left overs for 4th day. This way there are no leftovers over 2 days old. I have done this successfully by including a 3rd different meal on a day we don't an a repeat- so close...and delaying the meal not chosen on day #4.. til day #5. third meal would provide meal number 6. For that meal, I alternate chicken, pork and beef. Once a month we have some kind of fish based- usually a Gumbo or Jambalaya- and include chicken , polish sausage , w/ shrimp and crab.....(on days there's second serving, all one has to do is prepare a side dish, one could alternate those too!.. and meal is done. 6 days meals /3 days cooking/ time saver and food saver.I also eat liver 2-3 days a week n cycles... (on those days My hubs makes a spicy sandwich, or stuffed baked potato and Broccoli and cheese.( things i can not eat)

To prepare for surgery you should also learn to estimate portion sizes, especially of meats, since many of these surgeries end result is a high protein and lo carb diet. You should also investigate intermittent fasting.(not a diet-but a way of ingesting all foods) It works well for some people. I have seen my hubs drop 30 lbs in 3 months-( he has not had WLS) and is almost at goal he began with 12 hours and most days does 15-17 hour fasts, taking all food in then a short time frame. I had WLS 25 years ago and have begun it sporadically , helping me get on track to return to my chosen weight range and maintain loss. You can get info by going to You tube...and entering intermittent fasting in the search bar. I could urge you to look at several video's and gt information before trying.. it could accelerate your loss- Most surgeons ant a person to loose several #'s just before surgery to reduce the size of the liver..It lessens chance of nicking the liver... another good choice would be to use something like milk thistle to cleanse the liver and assist your liver to have processing space to pull the fat for elimination.

Thank you very much for the great tips and information!