Week 3 confusion

[Deuces 1]

Banded 2/25/2010 :blushing:

Ok, I have done my two week liquids and all has gone well... I'm starting week 3 and I noticed I did not have a food plan for week 3, so I call the doctors office. I was told not to start anything new until I have my first post op doctors visit which is next week. This was a problem...

I was told don't eat chicken... Too late I ate chicken (Boston Market)

I was told don't eat tuna... Too late I ate tuna (Canned)

I was told don't eat chili... Too late I ate chili (Wendy's)

I did not mean to do these things, but I thought I had a green light for week 3 as long as I was eating soft foods and chewed very well.

My observations and experience:

Pay attention to what you eat and how you eat it. While eating and being distracted, I ate too fast and got some food stuck (Poor chewing).

Eat very slowly at every meal. If you eat too fast you don't allow your body to tell you its full and that's a very important sign to learn. Being too full will also feel like food is stuck.

Wait before drinking when you feel full. Depending on what you eat, if you drink it might be painful if the Water is block due to food being processed thru your LAP-BAND®. This is the same pain as food getting stuck.

Get your Protein. When your body is lacking Protein and you are doing lots of activity, you body can not burn fat as fast as your using it and you will feel tired and listless.

Be weary of being comfortable with certain foods. Even if you have eaten something before and all went well, the next time it might not. I had that experience with hard-boiled eggs. One day all went well and the next morning with the same routine all did not go well. Have a healthy respect for what you eat and use some common sense (I speak from experience lol).

Understand the difference between cravings and hunger. These are different feelings and I notice that I may still crave things (which is normal) even though I'm not hungry. I have had to learn this and not mix the signals.

Everyone is different. What works for some may not work for others such as breads, Pasta etc... Some folks can do salads and some cant, some can do steaks and some cant. You will discover this through trial and error, but don't be scared or discouraged, its just part of the process of re-adjusting your diet.

I have come to realize how important food was in my life and today its just a source of nutrition. I admire the folks who took the steps to get the surgery done because it's a life altering event and that take a lot of courage. I have found this forum to be educational, encouraging and very supportive. I'm glad to be part of this group and I will try to give as much as I have received from this forum.

[vlp1968 83]

Wow! You sure know alot for someone who had surgery fairly recently. Thanks for stating all those issues so well.