What do you eat to succeed?

[erin2796]

I'm just curious what those losing weight quickly are eating on a typical day? I am losing weight slowly..Well actually I had gained weight before my first fill and am just now back to my original 12 lbs lost.

Any advice or help would be appreciated. I want to kick my weight loss in gear and just can't seem to get it right for me so I'm hoping I can take what you guys are doing and intertwine them into something that I can manage.

Thanks!

[julieburns]

Well until lately I really was hit and miss. And then recently I discovered tuna and shrimp for my lunches. I buy the little 3oz. pack you don't have to drain of tuna. I buy a 2 pound bag of frozen little baby shrimp. I then buy fresh spinach in the ready to go bags too. Now I just have those 2 things for a great salad and use a vinaigrette dressing. For breakfast I still like to use protein shakes on work days. Otherwise I use oatmeal or have an egg, scrambled. Believe it or not at work I eat the same thing for dinners except I will use whichever protein I didn't eat at lunch. When I am home and having dinner with my husband he usually BBQ"s some great chicken, salmon, or once in a great while beef. I eat about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of whatever meat we have and then veggies. I have found the little 100 calorie snack packs to be a life saver when it comes to carbs and cravings. I would love to hear some others food plans though because mine isn't too creative.

[karenlynn79]

Hey Erin,

I just hit 41 lbs in 4 months (since my fill in April) so I am pretty darn happy! This is what I've been doing,

1) keep track of calories, fat, fiber and protein (at a minimum) to make sure I get ENOUGH!

2) have basically the same stuff daily, with obvious exceptions and changes when I get bored:

Breakfast: 1 cup skim milk with 1/2 scoop Optimum Whey protein powder chocolate (195 cal, 23 protein) I add fiber in this too

Snack: 1/4 cup roasted Edamame (soy beans) 130 cal, 8 fiber, 14 protein (they are good! at Costco)

Lunch: either soy burger, soy chicken patty, or lunchmeat (around 100-160 cal) plus maybe something crunchy like a few cheezits or chips

Snack: goldfish crackers or something similar (140 cal) or yellow corn tortilla (70 cal)

Dinner: I have been trying to eat what I make for the fam, like chicken or tacos, just a small amount, and corn on the cob or artichokes (fresh) usually about 200 cal

Night: 1 apple chopped up into little cubes

Sometimes I have strawberries or grapes at night instead. Sometimes I also have a small pack of mac n cheese (220 cal) but that's usually too sticky for me.

I try to stay between 1100-1200 cal a day

I also work out for about 20 min daily, either strength training, running, or pilates

And yes about 2 or 3 times a week I have a "goody" like a couple cookies, a york patty, etc... otherwise I'd go nuts!

What I've found most important are:

Tons of water, lots of protein and fiber as well as making sure to get enough calories

I tried so hard to eat Tilapia but I HATE fish! I just couldn't do it, but the nutritional values are amazing so I really wish I could do it!

Anyway good luck! You'll get into a routine once you find a plan that works for your body. I haven't hit a plauteu but I know I will, so I have a few "tricks" that I'll try when that happens....

Karen

[erin2796]

Thanks so much Julie and Karen! I definitley appreaciate you sharing your routines with me! I LOVE shrimp so maybe that is one way to go with my lunches for sure and Karen you gave so much info! I do not write down what I eat now so maybe that is part of the problem, I definitley do not think I'm getting enough protein.

THANK YOU AGAIN SOOOOOOOO MUCH!!

[Mizzoupoodle]

I have a question for anyone. I have only been on solids since Friday and I'm not having snacks at all. The reason is I don't want to eat some little bit of something and not be able to drink for an hour. How do you all get your water/liquid in if you snack?

[Kimmy in MD]

Sylvia,

I count my special k water as part of my water requirement and it has the added benefit of protein and tasting like a snack. Also, if you need a snack, try the sugar free jello, it is considered a liquid, although I hear this may have been reconsidered recently, regardless, shouldn't have to wait too long after eating it to drink something and if very thirsty, Dr. Miranda did say you could suck an ice cube.

[Mizzoupoodle]

Thanks Kim for the info. I kinda forgot about the protein water, that should help with keeping the full feeling! I will also try the sugar free jello:)

[erin2796]

I want to thank Julie and Karen for replying with what they eat to succeed! I know there are others out there and I'm sure I'm not the only person wondering this same thing. I wanted to bump this up to see if anyone else will be willing to offer what they eat on a normal basis to keep losing weight.

I'm the type of person that needs to have a set diet to stay on track so I'm just trying to collect ideas from everyone, take the ones that I think I can use and make a consistent daily menu for myself. I am not losing any weight right now and I'm sure it has something to do with not eating the right foods, drinking enough water, or getting enough protein.

Please everyone! Help a sista out! LOL!

[yoyodieter]

My diet is simple, lean cusine for breakfast lunch and dinner, once in awhile I go out to eat like the spaghetti factory, and they have a small adult portion of spaghetti and they have a nonfat sesame dressing, it is so good. I also drink wine at least a glass or 2 or 3 a night. I seem to loose 2 pounds a week doing this. I still have problems with portion control, I like to clean my plate over and over, so that is why I eat so many lean cuisines. I don't snack between meals and I drink lots and lots of water, Hope this helps

[erin2796]

That really does! Thanks Linda. That might actually work for me because it would control my calories and portions.... I will give that a shot.

[C1BandedBabe]

Erin I kind of do the same thing as Linda... It’s just so much more convenient for me since it’s just me at home right now and the hubby is gone... I eat oatmeal or a protein bar for breakfast, lean cuisine, smart ones or south beach meals for lunch and dinner.. But I have a snack between lunch and dinner. I eat lunch at 11 every day and don’t get home and have dinner til about 5 so I eat a snack in between lunch and dinner and its usually a 100 calorie pack or something like that..

Hopefully I will start reaping some of the benefits from all this soon!

[GirlBarb]

No water half hour before and No water 1 hour after eating.

Breakfast:

1 cup spinage

egg beaters

low fat swiss cheese

salsa

Snack:

1 cup fresh blueberries

1 non fat yogurt

Lunch:

chicken breast

mixed with either,

mayonase, tomatoes,lettuse, cucumbers, sourcream, salsa

what ever suits me that day

Dinner:

lean cusien or

same as lunch or

lean meat or fish with vegatables

I am staying away from most carbs for now, it keeps me from craving sugar and pastries, I walk the treadmill 1 hour also.

[Bobbi]

I keep a food diary, so here is a typical day for me.

B. Light Fat Free Yogurt/ Protein Bar (I buy these at Walmart they are called Pure Protein).

L. Salad with a vinergrette dressing, 3 oz protein (I work in a fish plant so have protein available to me at all times) Anwhere from shrimp, tilapia, pollock, cod, halibut, crab you name it, we have it. I love it when we do the salmon burgers, 25 grams protein and 180 calories per burger.

D. Salad with a vinergrette dressing, vegie (squash, cauliflower, brocolli, whatever I have available to me) and a protein, chicken, pork or seafood. Mostly seafood. Can't take in beef anymore.

Snack Milk with 2 graham crackers. I try to fit in 2 fruits throughout the day.

[Kim2BSlim]

Breakfast: Slim Fast powder mixed with 1% Milk (I add a half scoop of choco isopure to it also)

Lunch: Usually I fix a small can of tuna salad and put it on one piece of toasted bread. ( I can't get it all down, but I try to eat most of the tuna first for my protein)

Snack: Atkins Protein Bar or Special K Protein Bar

Dinner: I usually eat what I cook, which usually consists of a meat, a veggie, and a carb. I usually do not eat the carb (rice, noodles, potatoes) My fave is pork chops or chicken or salmon on the George Foreman grill and usually green beans or a small salad)

I do not drink any calories. Water or Unsweet tea for me. I do have one cup of coffee a day with creamer and sweetener.

If I get hungry at night I will eat a 100 cal fudgesicle or a 100 cal bag of popcorn.

[erin2796]

Thank all of you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much! I'm going to pour through everything and pick the ones that I believe I can mange! This forum is the best!

[thesuse]

Hi Erin!

Sorry to hear you're struggling. I can relate. I was feeling a bit hopeless about the band for a while.

I eat different foods every day, so I'm not sure how much advice I can give, but I'll tell you what I can.

Breakfast:

- during the week I do eat the same every day (for the most part) greek yogurt with a little honey or jam - if you get the 2% it's only about 200 calories including the honey/jam and I find it yummy and satisfying

- on the weekends I like eggs. I have been tighter in the am so a little mush works for me. I fry one egg and lay it on top of a serving of cream of wheat. Might sound weird to some, esp if you like sugar and milk in your cream of wheat, I just like it with some salt and with an over easy egg on top it's total yum - and again only 2-300 cals depending on how much butter I put in the pan

- also I put a spoonful of fiberSure in my tea every morning. Keeps me regular

Lunch:

- before my fill I could do a half sandwich, although I haven't actually tried bread since my fill, so this may not work

- I live in NYC and work in midtown so there are a million lunch options during the week - I usually go for a salad/food bar place where I can pick and choose a few ounces of a protein (usually fish or chicken) some veggies and a few small bites of carb - like sweet potato or rice or pasta

dinner:

- I'm all over the place for dinner. I order in at work a lot when I work late and my favorite is sushi. I've had problems with rolls - the seaweed is hard to chew and has caused me to PB even pre-fill so I stick with the individual pieces and edamame are good and healthy too

- I kinda like to snack on tuna salad (made with half plain yogurt and half lite mayo along with onions and a little lemon juice) along with triscuits which go down well and have lots of fiber too

I had been addicted to eating a little ice cream every night, but I finally seem to have kicked that habit. I'm trying to stick to fruit now - summer plums are yum!

Hope there's something helpful in here - thanks for the post - it was fun for me to read through the ideas as well. I need to stock up on some lean cuisines - they're great to have around