weird rules I stole from

Rule 1: Eat the same breakfast every single day. I’ve rotated between salmon and roasted vegetables or Greek yogurt bowls for years because once I found breakfasts that worked for me, I stopped needing variety first thing in the morning. Consistency makes my mornings easier and keeps me from starting the day with random food decisions. Rule 2: Eat protein first at every meal. Chicken, eggs, salmon, Greek yogurt, ground beef, whatever it is, that gets eaten first before I move on to the rest of the plate. I have limited space after surgery, so I want the first bites to actually count. Rule 3: Eat on a schedule instead of waiting until you’re starving. My hunger cues changed after surgery, so I don’t leave meals completely up to how hungry I feel in the moment. Having regular meal times keeps me from waiting too long and then reaching for whatever is fastest. Rule 4: Stop trying to recreate the foods that got me here. No fast food. No artificial sweeteners. No protein powders unless I actually need them. No diet products or meal replacements. I stopped trying to build a bariatric-friendly version of my old diet and started building a completely different way of eating. Rule 5: Keep trigger foods out of the house. Ice cream, crackers, protein bars, whatever I know is hard for me to stop eating once I start. I’d rather make one decision at the grocery store than fight with myself every night in my own kitchen. Rule 6: Meal prep every Sunday. I pick two or three meals, cook them in bulk, portion them out, and make sure I have something ready when I get hungry during the week. I don’t want tired Wednesday-night me trying to make a good decision from scratch. Rule 7: Close the kitchen at 7 PM. Once dinner is done, I clean the counters, put everything away, turn the lights off, and mentally call it for the night. That stops me from spending the next few hours wandering back in for random bites because I’m bored or tired. #bariatricsurgery