BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb What Is your Daily Menu Like?

There was a discussion in another thread about how much was eaten in a day. I posted an average daily menu for me and I was scoffed at <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> But it's true! I have photos of me on the site. I'm not a stick figure. And I definitely eat until I'm full. In fact my boyfriend does most of the cooking and usually I have to give him what's left on my plate after I'm done, because he always gives me a little more than I can eat (just in case I suppose).

We all know that the stomach is dynamic. It can stretch and contract. If you eat small amounts, your stomach stays small and you get full when it's full. If you force yourself to eat large amounts, your stomach literally stretches, and it takes more to make you full. When they do stomach stapling procedures, for example, one danger is if they make your stomach into a "tiny" stomach and you keep overeating anyway, you will simply stretch that stomach back out into a large one again. So you in essence have undone their surgery <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

So tell us, what is a typical day like in your eating life? And do you tend to eat until you're satisfied - or full - or overfull?

OK, I'll start. I work from home and work very late to do server upgrades - it's 5am and I'm about to go to sleep, for example <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> So I actually wake up again about noon. I have these EAS shakes that are chocolate flavored and very tasty, but low in sugar. I really don't like to eat breakfast, so I tend to have one in the morning. Then I get a pitcher of water and keep it on my desk for the rest of the day. So I think a lot of water.

For lunch, which is about 4-5pm, my boyfriend makes me something light. Maybe a burger on low carb buns with pickles. Maybe a tunafish melt. Sometimes a veggie soup. That fills me up.

Snacks - depends on what's in the house. Celery sticks with hummis. Devilled eggs. Almonds and peanuts. I might have some, I am a firm believer in eat when you're hungry so you don't get over-hungry at mealtime and gorge. I don't always snack though, sometimes I'm just not hungry.

Dinner. Bob'll grill a tuna, or a chicken breast, or salmon. Sometimes a steak. Usually he'll do broccoli or cauliflower or asparagus with it. I tend to eat more of the veggies and less of the meat, depending on what proportion he gives me. And that's about it! We really don't eat desserts, we're not dessert eaters. We eat our meals slowly, and we stop when we're satisfied with what we've eaten. We don't stuff ourselves. We don't eat quickly or mindlessly, because that is how you get more food into you stomach than you need <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> You just eat slow, talking, savoring the flavors, and soon you're done with the meal <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Oh yes, a glass or two of wine <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Here is my typical day. This is actually what I ate yesterday.

Bowl of cereal 1.5 cups (this constitutes 2 servings as one serving is 3/4 of a cup)with 3/4 cup of milk.
10 large strawberries.
Quesadilla with salsa.
2-3 Tablespoons of icecream
2 1/2 cups of ceasar salad.
3 large pieces of garlic bread
4 cups of chicken alfredo which I ate 1/2 at the restaurant and 1/2 later at home.
10 oz of chocolate milk.

I don't usually eat "meals" I snack all day. I eat about every 2-4 hours depending on how busy I am. This keeps my metabolism high and prevents my body from going into starvation mode which will make you conserve energy instead of burn it. I am always battling to get enough fruits and veggies in my diet, especially veggies. I love fruit and my favorite is exotic fruit but I am not a fan of vegetables unless they are steamed.

I think I should mention that I am petite, standing at 5'1". I wear a size 5 sometimes even a size 3 depending on the manufacturer.

The stomach stapling us usually done in concunction with bypass. In that surgery the remove part of the small intestines where most of the absorption takes place therefore less is absorbed into the blood stream before being passed to the large intestines where only water and vitamins are absorbed. I don't advocate for any type of surgery as the answer for weight problems but people would rather take the easy way out as opposed to changing their lifestyle. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

I agree completely with you here, Kat. We actually have watched many documentaries on stomach stapling where they go step by step through the procedure, as part of my research into weight loss options so I can answer questions here on the site. Some of the people they have in the documentaries literally were bed-bound and could not move at all and were on the verge of death. So in that case, I can see doing something drastic like stomach stapling and liposuction to give them even 6 more months of life in order for them to start being able to exercise a little bit. But for most people, that would be an extreme option.

I think, like I've mentioned in other threads, that people have come to expect quick fixes. They expect a drug to make them more sexual, to instantly attract others to them, to give them more smarts, to melt away the fat. They don't want to actually do work to improve themselves, they want these things to just "happen" while they watch TV and drink beer. So that is a general mindset we all have to overcome.

When you think about all the people in the world who are starving to death and who are trapped in a village with a job they hate, it's really hard to then think that some problems in the US involve not being able to stop eating oreo cookies <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Veggies are good for you! Eat more veggies! They are little powerhouses of nutrition. I definitely am a proponent of eating when you are hungry, and drinking a TON of water. That helps to keep your metabolism at an even keel. I also recommend taking short exercise breaks every few hours. While maybe eating a bowl of cereal somehow increases your metabolism and heart rate, I don't think it does nearly the same job as taking a 1/2 hr walk does <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Was that Lucky Charms cereal? <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Cereal is sort of a broad description.

On the ice cream, I have a TON of homemade ice cream recipes on the site that you can make with Splenda that are completely delicious. It's also FAR cheaper than buying store-bought ice cream. I highly recommend it - it is so much better tasting than store-bought and so much better for you too.

I really recommend breaking any addictions to chocolate milk. Anything liquid and sugar that you drink tends to coat the teeth, and I get a ton of email from dentists talking about how that causes really nasty cavities in places your brush doesn't really get to. You only get one set of teeth in your life (after age 6 at least). Spend time talking with elders sometime - it really sucks to have teeth that are sore and/or missing. It's one of those things that you don't appreciate them until they're gone. I do work with a local senior center and it's amazing the things you learn.

A pint of ice cream can last me 2 months (or until it's freezer burnt) so I don't see a need to try to make my own, I hardly eat it.

The cereal was fruit harvest, not the best, I usually eat Kashi.

I already spend about 7 hours a week at the gym I don't see a need to do more exercise plus I have to do walking at work and when I am school (but most of that time is still spent sitting).

Who ever mentioned an addiction to chocolate milk? I am not a fan of chocolate! But every so often I may get a craving, mostly during menstration, and just a little is enough to satisfy it.

I think we finally found something we both agree on. We are both saddened by the fact that there are just as many people suffering from diseases caused by not getting enough food as there are people suffering from diseases caused by eating too much. <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> And we agree on the quick fix thing too. Americans have come to expect that all of our problems can be cured with a pill. In fact it has actually caused problems. Penicillin was a great medical discovery but peoples over dependence on antibiotics has caused mutations of viruses leading to super bugs. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

hi lisa,

you mentioned teeth. one thing that i highly suspect, and is almost never mentioned is that - i think much of our cavities are due to lack of mineral absorption. we may be ingesting enough, but not actually absorbing. to absorb calcium, we need magnesium and fats. so people downing calcium pills could be causing more harm than good. that calcium that is not able to be used by the body, can form plaque deposits in our arteries, for example.

Plus people drink way too much soda. Soda has almost the same pH as our stomach acid which slowly erodes our enamal.

I thought this was a low carb site. The Daily Menu posted by Kat1980 was anything but!

Here is what I ate today:
1 egg w/sausage patty
glass of spicy V8 mixed with no salt added beef broth
1/2 artichoke with celery & tomatoes
Bowl of homemade beef broth w/vegetables & a little barley
Ham & cheese & lettuce wraps
some olives (I love olives)
Parmesan crusted chicken cutlets, gravy, green beans & small salad
bowl of Edy's low carb ice cream w/ reddi whip & Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup (suger free - no carb)

I really didn't miss the carbs today.