Question:
I'm 2 1/2 yrs post RNY and I need some help...

I reached a plateau about a year ago (at 160lbs, I'm 5'2")and since then have noticed that I have fallen into some real bad eating habbits. I seem to be hungry ALL the time. I get the full feeling and stop but then like 30 min to an hour later i'm starving again. I realize that this is prob head hunger, but it's getting the best of me. The other day the scale said 169 and it really scared me. I don't want to ruin this wonderful opportunity I have been given. I certainly don't want to damage my pouch. Can anyone give me some ideas on what they eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. I have to take a lunch to work so that always seems to throw me off a bit. Basically, I need some ideas to keep me motivated. I know I can do this...I just need some fresh ideas to get me excited! Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day everyone :)    — Leslie C. (posted on February 14, 2010)

February 14, 2010
Breakfast: 1 quarter cup Eggbeaters scrambled up with 1/2 slice of Great Value Fat Free Turkey Breast lunchmeat from Walmart, and 1/4 cup of diced fresh mushrooms, and 15 grams of Weight Watchers Shredded 4 cheese Mexican Blend. 1/2 of a small banana, and 1/2 cup of sliced fresh strawberries. Along with my morning vitamins, that makes about 200 calories. Mid-morning Snack: 2 - 3 "roll-ups" made with the same Fat Free Turkey Breast and about 1/2 tablespoon of fat free Philadelphia Cream Cheese, or 1 Mini Babybel Light. Lunch (even at work): either leftovers from last night's dinner (3-4 oz fish or chicken lightly seasoned and quickly fried in a tiny amount of olive oil, along with vegetables like squash or asparagus - about 2 oz) or 2-3 oz of my home-made tuna salad (using the Starkist Lemon Pepper flavored tuna in the pouch) or chicken salad - made with 5 ounces of meat, 2 tablespoons of low fat mayonnaise, 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs and 1 heaping tablespoon of DILL relish - served with 1/2 of an Orowheat Double-Fiber whole grain English Muffin or a rice cake made with brown rice (found them in the kosher section of our local King Soopers market - but I assume you could find them at any Whole Foods-type store or store that carries a wide variety of Kosher foods). I usually end up skipping my mid-afternoon snack, but if not, I'll generally eat some Kroger CarbMaster Yogurt mixed with Nutricology flaxseed powder to help get some more fiber in. Dinner is usually fish or chicken (no more than 3 ounces), along with steamed or lightly sauteed fresh vegetables, and MAYBE a quarter-cup or less of brown rice or sweet potato or quinoa or even "steel-cut oatmeal" (also called Irish Oatmeal) with a few spritzes of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". I often replace the carbs with fat-free cottage cheese mixed with a quarter teaspoon of Hidden Valley Ranch Original Buttermilk dry dressing mix. My night-time snack before going to bed depends on where I am, both calorie and protein-wise. If I'm low on protein, I will have a Syntrax Nectar Sweets Chocolate Truffle protein shake made with HOT tap water so that it tastes like hot chocolate, or I'll have a cup of Oikos plain yogurt with a little vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of sugar-free Polaner Strawberry Preserves with fiber mixed in. It's YUMMY!! And I make sure to drink ALL day long. I HATE water though, so I have some empty Aquafina Flavor Splash bottles that I make WARM Crystal Light in. They have a new flavor with Fiber that is really good, and I need all the fiber I can get, so I drink it all day long. And the HOT temperature seems to trick my mind into feeling - well, if not "full" - then at least "satisfied", and I don't have the urge to eat more. Hope this helps!
   — Erica Alikchihoo

February 15, 2010
I am exactly where you are. I had my surgery March 2008 and I made it down to 177 then I started to gain weight. I have been watching everything I eat, I journal, I exercise (restarted). I'm scared. I can't gain my weight bac but I have been gaining some weight. Good Luck to you. Keep tracking your food, count your calories, and excerise. We can do it!!
   — sagarmy