hello all. i had my band fitted on the 9th jan this year. i have just had my first fill. i had 2 hospitals. one for the op and one for the fill both have given me info to go away with. one hospital says i cant eat meat for 3 months and the other says i shouldnt eat it for a year. what have you been told and what is your experiece of meat!

Hi. This is my first time using this forum and wanted to speak to your concern.

I had my lap band on Oct. 2008. I work at a hospital in Southern California and that's where I had the lap band done. They have a wonderful program that introduces food in four phases. Meat can be eaten on the fourth phase which is about six months into the program. I still don't eat steak or beef stew meat because my band doesn't tolerate it. You can try eating teeny amounts to see if you can handle it. :rolleyes2:

Never heard of such a prohibition. I could eat soft ground meats and soft fish during my soft food stage after two weeks. Solid meat proteins are generally very important for bandster's satiety, but there's exceptions to every rule, particularly when it comes to band rules. I would probably investigate some band vegetarian menus for good ideas for non meat and filling meals.

Edited February 10, 201016 yr by kiz

I was about 4 months out before I tried eating a steak. It went ok, no problems. chicken cooked fresh was introduced maybe 2 months into it, if memory serves. I have never had any problems with fish.

But just be careful if you just had a fill. I had some issues with things that had never given me issues for 2 weeks after my first and only fill.

I think it's fine to eat it if you can tolerate it...but I haven't eaten meat since being banded. I have tried a couple of times and each time it just came straight back up so now I don't even bother. I can get some fish and chicken down occasionally.

i have never heard of this before. The lap band diet goes through stages from liquid to mushy to soft to solid. To get through all the stages normally takes between 6 - 8 weeks. there should be no reason why you can't eat meat although once you start having fills and getting some kind of restriction it does get harder. What you need to ensure is that the meat is tender(try slow cooking methods), moist(it goes down better with some kind of sauce/gravy) and that you only take small bits and chew really well.

I was allowed to have chicken salad and tuna salad at 2 weeks then regular meat at 4-6 weeks. I was encouraged to eat meat and it 1st during a meal, then vegs and finally carbsdue to the protein value and it doesn't slip thru the band as easily.

Really? No meat for a prolonged period?

What does your DOCTOR say--not the hospital, but the doctor?

Mine had me on pureed Protein (meat, fish, poultry) on Day Three postop. Yes, in miniscule portions, but meat nonetheless.

What is the rationale for postponing it? How is it recommended that you get adequate protein?