I've read different opinions on how to eat post-surgery. Some people eat what they want and lose, some people eat healthy and lose, and some people go on atkins, South Beach, WW or a specific diet.

My surgeon says it's the strictest diet I've even been on (cutting out ALL sugar, ALL white carbs, and just filling up on protein)

I guess I want to know, specifically, what you eat every day breakfast/lunch/dinner (snack?)

We've had this debate before, and "eating what you want" means different things to different people.

To me, it means choosing healthy, appealing foods and the occasional treat, but not obsessing over calories, carbs, fat or whatever. My personal opinion of that is that living that way is just as dysfunctional in its own way as living on the sort of diet with the sort of food relationships most of us had before. It may be "healthy" and it may make you "thin" but are you really listening to your body, getting rid of your positve/negative and punishment/reward attitudes to food. For me, I cant do that if I "diet".

THen again, some people can live that way without my hang ups. Many people balk at my exercise schedule and say its obsessive. To me its just great fun and makes me feel good.

So the easy answer is really, do your own thing.

Nobody can say one way is right and one way is wrong but what we CAN say is that no one way is the only way. Strict strict dieting is not the only way to lose weight, its that simple. It may be a fast way and it may be people's preferred method, but nobody can say you MUST cut carbs or you MUST eat 800 calories a day becuase from a carb eating 1500 calorie a day person like me, I can say that's complete rubbish. It certainly didnt apply to me.

Find your own groove, recognise your own body's calorie and nutrition needs and you'll be fine.

So I ate what I wanted, lost all of my weight and then some and exercised a lot and have kept the weight off for a few years now.

My doctor's in your surgeon's camp---and I've been following the regimen with no problem and great success so far. I don't feel obsessive; at this point it's easy for me because I'm very early in the game, and don't have a lot of desire to eat other things. So, I just play by the rules.

I do sort of take the stance that eating what my body NEEDS most of the time leaves some leeway for minor indulgences now and then. My MIND is open to indulgence. At this point, my little stomach is not!

I did eat quite healthily pre-op; my problem was quantity rather than food quality. As I get closer to my goal weight, I will return, gradually, to that way of eating & trust the band to do its job.

This is my doctor's aim, as well. At goal, I will "eat what I want." But what I want does not really include commercially prepared foods or fast food or many other things others routinely eat. I have long been a clean-eating proponent---and will continue with that.

The no sugar, no white flour rule? It's an easy one for me to abide by---except on Thanksgiving. I will always have pecan pie on Thanksgiving, just like I always have. Three bites of pecan pie is NOT what got me here!

To me, just cutting out certain foods until I reach my goal has done the trick. I hestitate to call it a diet and it is not a strick regimented diet but in the beginning, I didn't eat pasta, rice, bread, sweets etc. And I follow the no carbonation rules and when to drink liquids between meals very strictly. No alcohol for me either. Now that I am closer to my goal and I am working out very hard on a regular basis, I have let up on my original rules a little. I still don't eat pasta and rice but I just don't really want them. I have integrated some breads back into my eating like whole wheats and grains. I also have a sweet occasionally and found out that I can eat just one piece of chocolate and not feel like I have to have the whole box. Who Knew?

BetsyB I agree, and that's why I made the point that

"eating what you want" means different things to different people - like you I am by nature a fairly clean eater who had more of a problem with quantity than quality. My body doesnt direct me very often to eat vast amounts of crap food - I've never eaten a lot of McDonalds, pizza, other fast foods, never been a chocoholic, etc. So I can "eat what I want" and stay reasonably within the general requirements that you must follow to lose weight.

At the end of the day we all require a calorie deficit to lose and for some people, what you do to achieve that feels more like "diet" than it does to others.

Yep, we're totally on the same page. Only you are at the place I want to be!

I think to be successful with the lapband, you really need to diet to some extent. The lapband helps...but your brain needs to do a lot of work too....

My doctor's office told me "no carbs" but the sample eating record & food list both include things that have carbs! So I've been confused and doing my best. I mostly eat Protein (eggs,cheese, yogurt, chicken) with a few blueberries or 1/3 banana here and there, plus Protein shakes.

I can live just fine without rice, oatmeal, potatoes, Pasta and bread (tho I really really love bread) but crave fruit and vegetables, things I have always been told to concentrate on eating while watching my weight.

Using Sparkpeople.com, I'm keeping track of calories, carbs, fat, Fiber, and protein. Tho my carbs are high according to the doctor, they're not even registering on the bottom of the "healthy for you at this stage" carb range. For now, this is the best I can do, especially since a lot of things just don't stay down well.