Be careful about setting yourself up for failure by making an unconscious list of food that you "never eat again". There aren't really any foods on a list of that sort. Some things are harder to get down than others but small bites are ok. Good luck

Oh, boy, do I remember that feeling. It wasn't that long ago! I looked at the four hour appointment block as fun, because it made the whole process seem so REAL finally. The nutritionist was very nice, very enthusiastic, and super supportive, so that was great, and the exercise class was pretty basic stuff...if you've done any exercise classes before, you'll already understand all the info. The doctor wasn't my favorite, but he was thorough and the exam was routine, except for the EKG (which, of course, I had to make interesting). And you're lucky with your lab tests. I had to have a few of them redone because of my wonky results. My blood refuses to be normal

As for the "last meal syndrome," do try not to look at it that way. There's no reason to think you won't EVER get to have certain foods again. The point of the band, to my mind, is to aid you in eating normally, meaning you can eat all foods, but you will more easily control your portions and eat fewer calories. 6 weeks after banding, I'm able to eat anything I try so long as I follow the rules of small bites, chewing til the cows come home (and probably looking like I'm chewing my cud!), and eating slowly. If you don't have that "never again" mentality, it might be easier to resist shoving it all in before the pre-op diet deadline.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the insight ladies! I guess my thinking is that I don't want to have the band placed just to go back to eating my old ways - I want to start a new way of structured, disciplined eating that won't involve the cinnamon rolls, sour patch kids, ice cream, etc. Those things will be a very-rare occurance versus a weekly treat like they are now.

Also - I've talked with a few lap band patients that say they absolutely can't stomach bread without throwing up afterwards. I'm not a huge bread-eater, but the permanence of some foods not being pleasent anymore is kind of hitting home.

Are there some foods that you just can't handle post-op? I know everything is about portion, chewing, and giving your body what it needs first (protein, veges, the fruit) and that's what I want my focus to be on. Mentally, I'm an "all or nothing" kind of girl (hence making myself quit coffee - I can't do one cup a day - I do one POT a day).

I've only had my band for 6 weeks and only have 1 fill of 3cc so far, so I don't have much restriction. So far, I can eat everything I've tried and I've tried almost everything, including bread, pasta, beef, rice, and reheated chicken breast, all of which I've heard are VERY hard for some bandsters to eat. It may be because I'm not tight enough yet to have any trouble.

BTW, I'm not saying I eat a ton of all those things! I definitely watch my calories and portion sizes (eat about 1000 cal/day) but I like to have a lot of variety in my food, so I haven't cut anything out completely. That might change, but right now I'm doing well. I make smart choices (very few sweets or junk foods) but I think it's important not to deprive yourself. When I deprive, I end up going bonkers when my willpower finally breaks. By having small amounts of "unhealthy" food occasionally, I feel satisfied to do a big splurge.

I totally get portion control, and I had no problem cutting out the bad things when I did a VLCD, but when I did start slipping off it, I would mess up say, at lunch, and just figure the rest of the day was ruined and eat horrible the rest of the day, instead of getting back on track with a healthy snack and dinner. I'm excited to talk with the dietician tomorrow.

Once I get through this appointment, I have my two psych evals (well, part 1 then part 2 a few days later) and should be able to see the surgeon after the first week of April. I'm really hoping for an early May surgery. Fingers crossed!