Well, I've had some requests about the diet plan I'm following, so here goes.

It is actually a pre-op diet that I am on, in anticipation of weight loss surgery. I am a candidate for roux-en-y gastric bypass, and I am on this diet in an effort to get into a "weight loss" state, or negative calorie balance, at the time of surgery.

Reasons for the diet, per my doctor:
1. To help shrink the left lobe of the liver by using up excess glycogen stores. Shrinking the liver aids in a safer surgery.

2. To help transition to the post-op diet.

3. To get in the habit of counting protein, fat, and carb grams prior to surgery, since it is essential to do so after surgery.

What you'll need to do the diet:
a food count book, such as The NutriBase Complete Book of Food Counts.

Basic guidelines for the Pre-Op Diet:
Men:
75 grams of protein/day

I am on a medically supervised diet. It's high-protein, but not extremely low carb like Atkins.

Here are the daily guidelines:
> 60g protein
< 60g carbs
< 30g fat

Try to keep the total calories under 1450.

With that in mind, here's this week's supper menu:

Monday: Turkey Loaf (meatloaf made with ground turkey instead of ground beef)

Tuesday: Crock Pot Roast

Wednesday: BBQ Baked Chicken (sauce is spicy and sweetened with Splenda rather than sugar)

Thursday: Meatless Chili (made with veggie burger crumbles)

Friday: Chicken & Spinach Adobo

Saturday: Blackened Catfish

Sunday: Spicy Grilled Marinated Chicken Breasts

For breakfast I usually have either an omelette made with Egg Beaters - they have mixes now with the veggies already in there, the Southwestern mix is fabulous - or I'll have lowfat/sugar free yogurt and maybe a protein smoothie.

Lunch varies, usually it's leftovers from the night before or something high-protein like tuna.

Snacks: low-fat string cheese, beef/turkey jerky, hummus or low-fat cream cheese on Wasa crackers, small piece of fruit, stuff like that.

The toughest thing for me is finding sources of protein. but I'm slowly getting better at it.