Please check out my menu - almost 4 years post-op

Hi everyone!  I will be 4 years post-op in November but have had two post-op babies 15 months apart and I'm still working on getting to my goal weight.  I had to eat a lot of snacks while pregnant to get in enough nutrients so it's been hard for me to go back to how I was eating before my pregnancies.  I'm going to list what I'm eating on a daily basis and please give me your input!  I want to lose 32 more pounds.

Breakfast - Reduced sugar oatmeal made with carb countdown milk

Snack - Nectar fuzzy navel protein shake

Lunch - Kung pao chicken south beach meal, apple

Dinner - Pita stuffed with grilled chicken strips, cheese and veggies

Snack - String cheese and an orange

Thank you!

Before surgery/before pregnancies/current/goal
275/150/172/140

I was on an oatmeal kick for a while, the Quaker High Protein.  I started gaining though so I cut it out.  You might want to try a breakfast with less carbs.  I generally start the day with protien shakes now.

Michele

 The balance is enough calories for your weight and then subtract 500 a day to lose.   Too little calories will place our body in a "starvation" mode. Its a bit tricky.  Water intake too is important.Then its the protein, we need 2-3 shakes a day for absorption.  Then  dense protein over carbs.....I''d cut down on the white carbs and increase the dense proteins.  Will keep you fuller as will the additional shakes.
What about exercising?   congrats on your precious babies!

The oatmeal's not necessarily bad for you, but I too have trouble eating it first thing in the day. All the carbs that early set me up to be hungry all day! I have to start out with high protein. Not sure what your calorie count is for this menu is, but just make sure you're not going too low in calories~you could even add another shake between lunch and dinner to up your protein intake. Do you use thedailyplate.com, fitday or sparkpeople to log your food? this really helps me and tells you exactly what caloric range to stay in if your trying to lose weight. Congratulations on your babies and Good Luck to you!!!!

Thank you for your replies!  I will defintely try eating a less carb-filled breakfast.  I don't like eggs so maybe I'll try just a protein shake and a string cheese or low sugar yogurt.  I have been trying to do a Walk Away the Pounds dvd every day while my boys nap.  I usually actually do it about 4-5 times a week.  I'm with my boys all day and then work all evening so my day is jammed full, but I know exercise is very important.  I don't really understand the whole starvation mode, b/c in the months after my surgery I ate MUCH LESS than I do now and the weight was falling off, so why wasn't my body in starvation mode then?  Anyhow, how I"ve started eating now is MUCH better than I was so I'm hoping some more weight comes off!

My NUTs plan to lose weight was to eat 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat - the fat should be mainly from natural sources - nuts, nut butters, good oils (olive), avacados etc and the carbs mainly from fruits/veggies and lastly starch/carb. To maintain weight it was 30% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat.