What's on your menu today ( Monday) RNYers?

My father had frontal lobe dementia, so I totally understand what you're going through.  My mother wanted to keep him home as long as possible, so I got rid of my place and moved back in with them.  There was no way she could have taken care of him without the extra assistance.  She would take the day shift and I would take over once I got home from wor****il he had dinner and was put to bed.  It was a very very stressful time and added to my weight issues.  After we got him to bed, nothing sounded better than a bowl of ice cream . . . or three.  Hang in there and if you ever need someone to talk to, feel free to seek me out!

My mom confessed to me his weekend that she can't do it alone anymore. My dad cannot be left alone and now he is waking up and getting out of bed at night which scares my mom. She can't imagine living without him. I have 4 siblings in the area and we are all available to help along with many living situations to be had, but we think he needs more help than anyone of us can provide. I miss my Dad and he is still here, that kills me. Thank you for the support, I appreciate it very much!

My dad would do that.  One morning I woke up and couldn't find him and had a moment of panic, since we have a pool and I was afraid he fell in and drowned.  He wasn't in the pool.  I finally found him in the garage.  He wandered out the side door and into the garage, but the door is spring loaded and he couldn't open it to get back to the house.  It seemed like he finally gave up and fell asleep on the floor.  We had to wake him up to get him back in the house.  

I also don't know how many times I got calls from my mom during the day that he'd fallen out of bed and she needed me to come home from work to get him up off the floor.  Looking back, it's no wonder I turned to food for comfort.

Again, anytime you need to vent or just need support, I'm here (and local, I think!)

Good Monday morning everyone!

Well, I have a confession to make. Diet went well up until Saturday when my husband and I went to the movies.

I did indulge in the buttered popcorn but wouldn't eat any candy. About 45 minutes before the movie I had a Triple Zero greek yogurt from Oikos, That did slow me down some from eating the popcorn like a maniac, like I usually do! i knew it wasn't good for me but I wanted it! I knew it was going to be a carb overload! Well it did not end there, I had some Dove chocolate almonds when I got home, we fell asleep close to 4:30pm (empty-nesters) and I did not wake up until 7:30am the next morning! I have been really exhausted. After church on Sunday, we ate dinner there right after service, close to 2:30pm and again, settled in for just a little nap and slept like babes! I woke up very hungry, like I was having a low blood sugar and I went in the kitchen and devoured some cookies my husband bought home from work (he works in the University dining hall). I ate 2 cheese sticks after that and watched t.v.

This morning I knew the scale would reveal weight gain....182.0 from 179.8 (Friday's weigh in). Oh well.

QOTD: Dream job? I've been working at Yale University in various departments for over 27 1/2 years. It's very exciting to meet people from all over the world. I have worked all my life, raised my children while working, not just at Yale but in banking, and other industries as well. To say, I am ready for retirement, YES! but I am only 55 years old, so I still have a way to go! So I work to live, and I am very grateful that I have a great job in a horrible job climate.

Menu today:

BREAKFAST: OIKOS Triple Zero Greek Yogurt - Coconut Creme, a handful of honey roasted almonds, coffee, coffee, coffee, water & 30 gram Premier Protein Shake, Vanilla

LUNCH: Triscuit Original Crackers, 6 each (carbs 20 g), regular peanut butter, about 2 Tbsp

SNACK: Almonds

Would someone please advise me on today's menu and let me know what I could be doing better and also on this weekend's flop, what I could've done or chosen to do better.

Blessings All,

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

That's a tough one.  I am not sure what you can do about the weekend flop.  I do find that post WLS I am much quicker to bounce back and not let a derailed weekend turn into days and days of poor eating choices.  I think it's because although I am only 3+ years out, I still find the dense protein fills me up so it's not like I just eat off the rails non-stop.

Eating mindfully and making good choices is a daily struggle for me.  I can't say what you should do on the weekends, but I am happy to give you some menu ideas in case any sound good.  I believe you are a few years out and getting back on track, if I'm not mistaken?

As far as breakfast, shakes do not fill me up in the least, and either does yogurt.  So I try to make my breakfast a dense protein to fill me up.  Egg salad, tuna salad, leftover chicken or even ground turkey - I don't limit my breakfast foods to typical breakfast stuff :)  Might sound weird, but I would be very snacky if I had slider foods like yogurt or shakes for my breakfast, and would eat a ton of almonds and things.

For lunch, when I was losing weight I really steered clear of triscuits and other high carb crackers.  I lose most weight when I am under 30 or 40 g of carbs a day, and having 20 in so few crackers (to me) would be a waste of carbs lol.  You can try 34 degree brand low carb crackers, or make your own cheese crackers on parchment paper in the oven, or microwave pepperoni or turkey pepperoni to make crisps.  

For lunch I usually have turkey or chicken or cheese or something high in protein - again, it keeps me full longer.  And then dinner is a combination meal - like tonight is salmon patties and ravioli, with fewer ravioli.  So I'm not a no-carb dictator, but I just know that for my body, I eat less calories and less carbs if I lead with protein.  I also love cheese, turkey, chicken, salmon, whitefish, shrimp...so it's not hard for me to prioritize those in my diet.

And I must add, I go to the movies very infrequently but when I do, I eat popcorn.  I just do :)

Dcgirl, understood!

I gave up the oatmeal as suggested by my doctor, even though, it never clicked with me until getting back on OH!

I do see a lot of veterans eat lots of protein and of course, that's the goal! 

Yes, I see having the crackers as a waste, honestly I could have more PB instead of the crackers and PB fills me up lots.

Thank you so much for answering me and also being honest about the popcorn at the movies, lol.

So very much appreciated, and yes I am 6.5 years out!

Have a great day!

Hi Cheryl!  Cheryl here ;)

I would off the crackers.  Always makes me more hungry to eat carbs, especially crackers.  Replace it with a meat stick or cheese stick.  And peanut butter is another problem area for me.  It is hard to limit it.  More protein from almost anything else, but especially meat.  Grim recommends ham... I agree.

Hi Cheryl,

Thank you as well for responding!

I am going to limit the crackers today but going for the extra PB because that's all I have with me at work today. PB does fill me up.

I am going food shopping this evening and will definitely pick up ham and other meat!

Thanks for your wonderful advice and taking the time to help me, much appreciated!

I'm only 6 weeks out so take this with a grain of salt. But the next time you're going to be in a tough food situation,try dense protein rather than yogurt. I've heard lots of vets say that yogurt is a slider food. 

Other than that just dust yourself off and get back at it. :) 

Good Morning daizymom

I can't believe it's been 6 weeks already.  My dream job would be to make a difference in people that have obesity. So many need help and can't find it....  ObesityHelp enables me to help but I wi**** could be more...

This weekend was a good one.  Got out and rode my bike and while I have been doing well with getting my regain off it has slowed down so I am cutting back on the fruits and carbs and get back to super low carbs and see if that will take my home to goal  

2 egg omelet with salsa

Protein shake

Grilled chicken with baby spinach

Shrimp

Salmon and green beans

Have a great day everyone