tracking food and weight daily?

Keep at it!! I want you to be able to say the same thing when you are 5 years out!!

I'm somewhat of the unconventional odd man out on these forums but I will give you my experience.  There are many paths to health and weigh maintenance and you have to pick what works for you.

First, my surgeon's meal plan is not low-carb, high-protein or anything like that.  He characterizes it as, "Low-fat and low-sugar with adequate protein."  Adequate protein is at least 60g per day.  A sample dinner on his lifestyle meal plan is 3 oz pork loin or chicken, 1/2 c brown rice, and 1 cup of broccoli.  I consider than an exceptional meal.  I generally eat "protein forward" and I don't shy away from anything you can buy in the produce department.  I'm a firm believer that it's not the baked potato that made me fat, it was the butter, sour cream, cheese, and bacon I put on top of it.

During the losing phase I tracked everything, food and weight, every meal and every day.  Period.  Full stop.

However, for myself, I don't track food daily any more because the vast majority of my diet is comprised of foods you don't need to worry about. When you stick to mostly fruits and vegetables, avoid refined and added sugars, avoid refined and added fats, it's pretty much impossible to eat too many calories.  You will get full long, long before you've eaten too much.  For example, in the summer season I'm a huge fan of a cucumber and tomato salad dressed with nothing more than balsamic vinegar and I know that no matter how much I eat it's not going to pack on the pounds.  That's a perfectly satisfying meal for me and has the added benefit of being incredibly healthy in ways beyond just weight management.

I do, however, weigh daily and there's research that shows daily weighing during maintenance is most effective.  This is primarily due to the fact you can nip things in the bud immediately.  For example, if you see in the morning you're up half a pound you might skip an afternoon snack or eat a smaller lunch, sometimes even subconsciously.

That's basically my philosophy and journey so far in a few paragraphs.

A few months ago, I walked through the produce section in the supermarket. To be honest, my mind had wandered and I was walking aimlessly, and didn't realize how I ended up there.

I kept a daily food log for the first 4 years after my RNY.  I tracked calories, grams carbs, ounces fluid & grams of protein.  I also logged any nausea, dry heaves, etc.

Now at nearly 7 years out - I track for 2-3 months a couple of times a year.  

I have weighed daily since my RNY.  I want to know if the scale is trending up and I then can take action.  I'm currently up about 5 pounds ( but within my goal range) - so I'm logging exercise and well as food intake. I started tracking January 1 and will continue until my 7 years bariatric check in late March.

It is amazing what I choose not to put in my mouth when I know I have to log it.  Logging also makes me read food nutritional facts very closely!!  I put many things down when I see the carbohydrate, sugar or fat content.

I eat protein forward then veggies/fruit.  It's a lifestyle change. 

Good wishes,

Penny

You are doing a great job, Penny!! Keep it up!!