What Do I Eat?

The short answer is everything.  Well, almost everything.  I get asked this question a lot.  I've put together a list for you below.  My philosophy on this differs from widely held views in the weight loss community, but it works for me.  I'm a firm believer in eating locally grown, organic, as close to "farm to table" as possible. I avoid processed foods, and things with artificial sweeteners and "diet" labeling. I don't cut fat, and I eat bacon.  I drink whole milk and I eat real cheese.  I eat more along the lines of the "Paleo" diet than anything else.  My diet is high protein, and low carb.  I don't believe that I need "whole grains" to survive.  I don't do soy products and vegan stuff.  I eat meat.  I am a carnivore and I couldn't be happier with how this diet makes me feel.

Here's what I don't eat:

Tortillas - for some reason they make me hurl now.  This is horrific, as I love them.
Rice - awww I miss rice.
Potatoes - I would kill a man for a french fry.
Bread -occasionally I will have a few bites, but that is all
Pasta - as an Italian American, this deserves it's own funeral. RIP Pasta
Sugar Free anything - chemicals, ewwww
Fat Free anything - I like fat, fat is good
Anything with artificial sweeteners - more chemicals, ewwww
Margarine - eeeeewwww
Diet anything - ya, you guessed it, chemicals, ewwwwww
Chips - RIP chips
Candy - sugar is poison to me
Soda or anything carbonated
Beer - RIP beer
Booze - I just don't need the calories, and wine is not booze, right?
Processed foods that come in a box - avoid these at all costs.  If they have more than 5 ingredients I usually don't eat them.


Here's what I'm eating:

Proteins: Chicken, fish, beef, pork (BACON), beans, eggs, greek yogurts, cheese, protein shakes (made with whey isolate) I always eat 2-3 oz of protein to start every meal, and try to make my snacks protein heavy too. I'm usually pretty full with just this, and can only fit in a few bites of anything on the side.
Grains: barely a few bites here and there, only after I've eaten 2-3 oz of protein
Veggies: Organic fresh veggies only, and only after my protein. Usually only a few bites.
Crackers- only a few, and as a vehicle to get protein in
Fruit - a few bites a day. Blueberries or a half of banana in my shakes, an orange, or an apple.
Chia Seeds - this is my trendy new trick. I get the organic ones from Costco and put a tablespoon in a small amount of juice and drink it down.  3g of protein per tablespoon, plus 5g of fiber and Omega 3's.  Love this!
Coffee - I started on decaf at 3 months post-op, then went to regular coffee at 5 months post-op.  I have one cup per day in the morning with straight up half and half as creamer.  No fake creamer, no sugar. I rarely actually finish my coffee because I'm usually getting ready for work and forget about it before it's cold. It's more of a ritual for me that I enjoy.
Red Wine - occasionally I will have 1/2 of a glass of red wine.  I only began to try it after my doctor cleared me at 5 months post-op.  My family owns a winery, so being able to taste wine is essential for me, and so far its been no problem. I think the health benefits of red wine far outweigh the problems, as long as its kept to a minimum on occasion only.