For Veterans:Does anyone just measure the amount you eat?

 I am doing great and make great choices, 90-95% of the time. I was wondering if I stick to my caloric intake and 1/2 -1 cup of food could I still be successful eating whatever i want. Eating healthier is challenging and expensive. I am not talking fried foods and junk, just pasta, rice, white bread and a few others.  I look at all the sites offered on here like egg face and bariatric foodie. 

This is for folks 1+ years out mostly, but all advice is welcome.

BTW I am never hungry and eat because I need too so I will stop losing.

 See...the trouble with that is two-fold.

#1 You will be able to eat more

#2 Not all calories work the same

So for #1, what do you do when a cup no longer satisfies you? Because right now that may fill you up but trust when I say there will come a time when you can breeze right past a cup. And the thing is, there ARE foods you can eat a ton of for little or no calories (and recipes with combinations of food that do the same), but you are only focusing on the amount not the composition of your food. See the problem there? Our pouches are SUPPOSED to expand so if you are going ONLY on amount of food, not paying attention to the composition of your daily eating (and I'm not talking micro-tracking but having a good mental idea of whether your day is carb, protein or fat heavy) that's a danger in my opinion.

As for #2: carbs beget carbs. Especially starcy ones. On carby days I get hungrier and I can eat 500-750 more calories than I do when I focus on my lean proteins and fiber. Also, anecdotally I can say there will probably come a time when you'll have to deal with blood sugar issues. I've never met a long term post op RNY who doesn't have some reactive blood sugar issues (although some, like me, have it milder than others).

But the main thing that I think is that you had this surgery to CHANGE your relationship with food. NOT to change your relationship with the QUANTITY of your food. See the distinction? If you want to learn to eat healthfully, you do have to practice certain things habitually. Again, this does not mean you have to become a calorie zealot but in a way, in the beginning, you DO have to do that so you can learn. The ONLY reason I am so good at eyeballing calories (and I have razor-like precision) is because I planned and logged my food every day for nearly two years. Now I can make those decisions quite naturally but without that base of knowledge, my relationship with food would not have changed.

So my answer is, if you are looking for a long-term, sustainable solution to your former obesity, I'd invest some time in the planning, measuring and logging. Even if you don't do it forever, just practicing and knowing how will serve you well in the future. 

 I was hoping you would chime in! This year I have definitely worked on all you have mentioned. I document on my fitness pal almost daily. .My doc and nutritionist also told me exactly what you said this is our time to learn new behaviors and establish a new relationship with food. My new relationship now is " ugh I have to eat again"! Lol

I shop weekly for the upcoming week. Good choices are always in my home or purse. Being prepared is the best solution for eating right for me. My 16 year old thinks she is being punished by all the veggies,low calorie, less suger, and fat free products. You would think I set her on fire when I say have a piece of fruit for snack!

I was previously a practicing diabetic(lol) so I still watch my sugars and carbs close. I was also hypertensive so I check my blood pressure from time to time.

I just wanted some insight on how people do this long term.

Thank You

 Very well put. 

nope.  That does not work for me. I need to watch the carbs, even the "natural" so called - good carbs. For me to maintain (when I can't exercise too much - I do need to limit carbs)
 
But with low carb - and very low sugar - I do not need to worry too much about calories and fat.  And I am not really hungry (unless I do not eat)

 Thanks for your input.

I am prepared for the maintaining phase and appreciate your advice.

I am 13mths out and have actually become more interested in planning my intake. Nik helped me figure out that what works for me is to set my calorie goal for the day and then find the absolute best choices that will get me the most food (I can eat a good deal). So now instead of constantly having a protein shake or bar for snack (not a "bad" choice") I have apple slices and cheese. I can get a lot more food, more flavors, more nutritional benefit and stay full longer.

I don't see me getting to a point where I lose interest in the nutritional value of what I am eating... way too slipper of a slope for me!

 I do well without protein bars but at the end of the day sometimes I have to have a shake to catch up on protein.

I eat something about every 3 hours because I can't eat enough in one sitting and get in my calories or protein. So I am still tweaking my techniques.

Thanks for your input.

I'm the same way. I need to plan my meals and avoid carbs like crackers, pasta, cookies, rice etc. I stick to protien, lean protien.

I guess it depends on how you define "whatever I want" both in terms of actual food, in terms of how often you plan to eat whatever you want, and -- most importantly -- what your mindset is behind that "whatever I want". I am 5 years out and maintaining my loss. I permit myself to eat something that is less than healthy if I REALLY want it... Occasionally. The only foods that I consider prohibited are the three foods that make me physically ill. In general, however, I eat very healthy foods, with a heavy emphasis on protein and an aversion to fried foods and "white carbs".

My concern is that in one breath you are asking about eating pasta, rice, white bread (as part of the definition of "whatever I want") and with another breath you are saying that "eating healthier is challenging". I will be honest... I am very concerned that if you are already finding eating healthy to be challenging without eating the "white carbs", you will find it next to impossible to maintain your weight loss if you add those things back in to your diet before you have really solidified the ability ro eat a healthy diet consistently without thaie things. Regain is a VERY REAL issue, even for people who get below their initial goal weight. Those "white carb" foods have almost no nutritional value, take up pouch space that should be used for protein, and are very high in carbs (and often eating those kinds of carbs lead to cravings for even MORE carbs). Most people *****gain their weight do so because they become lax about what they are eating and go back to eating the same kinds of foods that made them obese in the first place, and the "white carbs" are often at the top of the list.

I would recommend that you keep those items out of your diet for as long as you possibly can. Most people who are successful with this surgery don't go back to eating the things except as an "exception".

There are lots of inexpensive ways to eat a healthy, well balanced, protein-forward, limited-carb diet.

Lora