Think nothing has changed since surgery? Think again!

I cannot extol enough the virtues of food tracking, especially on an online food journal. It is quite illuminating. At four years out I can eat a LOT more than I could immediately post-op and so one might think nothing has changed, right? But check it out.

In the last SIX DAYS, I have eaten:

5,000 calories (that's less than 1,000 calories a day on average. NO, I am not bragging. This week is sort of low because of some wonky scheduling issues. Usually I get at least 1,100-1,200 calories, if not more, a day)

145g of fat (that's about the amount I probably consumed in a DAY with my old fast food habits)

395g carbs (that's about 65g of carbs a day...and my tracker does total, not net, carbs)

452g protein (again, a bit on the low side but still, in another life that would have been WAY lower than the carbs, not more)

So yes, things have changed for me. This past week I've eaten quite intuitively. I haven't had a binge, I haven't "made" myself eat. This is very representative of my natural eating patterns which means...surgery works! (for me at least)

Knowledge is power!

I track my food. Started in about November.
The interesting thing I found was when I entered it online as I ate through the day, I ate more calories. When I write it down and enter it at night, I eat less. Almost as if I am thinking "Oh, I have 200 more calories, I should eat _____"

But you are so right -- I try to keep the very max at 1200 calories, which would have been one of my snacks pre-op.

 I think that's because online tools give you a caloric goal. I largely ignore that. I plan my food day and try to eat what I said I would eat. As a recovering food addict, I approach eating very differently than a lot of other post-ops though. I plan meals so that I will be full. Being full is the only time I do not eat. Otherwise I am prone to grazing. So my portions might be a few bites bigger but I guarantee I won't eat until my next meal. 

This may be justifying but it works. When I try to eat to satisfied is when I get carby and "graze-y."

yeah I don't go by the goal the site sets for me (something like 1900??).  I just know I want 1200 or less on an ideal day. 

  I think that is why I eat such "big" meals.... I am afraid of getting hungry before time to eat again and I don't have the faith I can control myself.

 I absolutely agree that using the calculators are extremely important.  My weight loss had stalled and I had a tool to go back and see what had changed, and I had steadily been increasing both my calories and my carbs while my protein was staying the same.

I use it now to calculate my protein, do I need to have a big boost of protein at night or can I ease up and have something with carbs, but generally I do protein all the time and now I watch my calories so they stay within a level I  am comfortable with. 

Along with tracking, I feel that weighing/measuring portions is very important because it's really easy to think you are eating 2 oz of cottage cheese but really you have kept bumping it up until its 4 oz or that sort of things.  I still have portion size dismorphia, even though I know meat, a deck of cards etc...

Gypsy

I've only been tracking consistently for the past month now.  I've never been able to keep up with it in the past and I can honestly say that I really could have benefitted from food tracking all along.  I have noticed a great change in my eating habits and my attention to details since I've been journaling and, in turn, it's made strides in turning around my regain.  I was losing weight more slowly before I was tracking it.  I look forward to seeing the difference it will also make in the maintenance phase of things, too, because I don't feel it's something I will ever be able to do without again.

~ Renae

There are so many online food trackers. Which one do feel is the best & easiest to navigate?

I've only ever used myfitnesspal.com .  It is easy if I can do it! lol
 You can enter a brand name food, or put in your own recipes.  Good stuff.

I used to use Myfooddiary.com but have stopped for now.

I am using Myfitnesspal.com.  I absolutely love it!  I used to use livestrong.com (daily plate), but Myfitnesspal just works better for me and I find that I am sticking with it.

~ Renae