O.K. Quick update -

I had my surgery on Sept 2, 2010. I had my latest fill five days ago and now I'm at 8.4 in an 11cc band. I think I'm finally at my sweet spot. Which makes me happy. I feel restriction pretty much all day. But all of a sudden, I can't eat anything I used to be able to eat.

What I'm wondering is - will those of you with good restriction share what you eat to get in your proteins and vegetables? I'd rather not resort to protein shakes. But I'm having difficulty with almost every kind of chicken, fish and most vegetables. I'm taking my time and chewing well, but after about three bites I start getting that uncomfortable feeling. I don't think I'm too tight, I just wondered if you all could let me know what you eat.

Thanks!

Not too tight? Really? If you can't get any meats down, how are you not too tight? I don't see how eating 3 bites of food and feeling pain is any sort of healthy or something anyone wants. I'd really say you're too tight, maybe others will disagree, I just can't imagine not being able to eat any sort of meat without discomfort.

Maybe try cottage cheese? Soft fish?

That seems too tight to me, if you can't eat solid protein... The fills just control your hunger. It's not supposed to restrict you from eating food.

That seems too tight to me, if you can't eat solid protein... The fills just control your hunger. It's not supposed to restrict you from eating food.

EXACTLY!! Seems so many people don't get this.

At my fill this week that I think has given me restriction the nurse said "If you can't eat 3 oz solid protein you are too tight. If you get GERD you are too tight. If you cough when you lay down you are too tight." Given this speech I would say you are too tight. It will be much better for you to get a slight until. Even say .2-.3. There have been many people who post that they were to tight for months which led to damaging of the stomach and REMOVAL of the band.

The only solid protein I cannot eat is white meat chicken. Dark meat is fine. Be sure you are cutting it into small pieces and taking your time to eat it. Celery is a problem unless I take out the strings. Asparagus is very fibrous, I have to chew very carefully. Tomato skins are an issue.

If you are resorting to protein shakes, you are too tight, taking bites that are too big, or not chewing well enough. I believe anytime a bandster "resorts" to liquids to get nutrition in...something is wrong.

Try sipping a hot liquid ( coffee; tea; etc.) a few mins. before eating or taking morning vitamins. Will help.

That seems too tight to me, if you can't eat solid protein... The fills just control your hunger. It's not supposed to restrict you from eating food.

^^THIS^^

I always give 2 weeks after a fill and if things don't resolve by then...I go in for a fill or unfill whatever is necessary. In the meantime, be kind to your band because every time you get stuck, you're increasing the chances of adding swelling to the mix.

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You sound too tight to me. I could eat anything I wanted to at what I considered good restriction. Some things were definitely harder than others and I didnt fancy them much, but I could eat them with care.

I am at a good restriction and I can eat all the meats I have tried so far. I am not a real big meat or veggie eater but I can eat fish, white meat chicken, and ground turkey meat...man I just realized that I haven't been eating enough vegetables cause I can't really name any for you lol! umm I had some spinich in some quiche this morning if that counts! But, since I haven't had any trouble getting anything down so far I am thinking I can pretty much eat anything with 7.3 cc's in my band.

IMHO, it is more a matter of 'how much' you can eat vs 'what' you can eat. There are a few things which episodically are more troublesome to me, but almost always these result from some error of eating....such as too much, too fast. Not chewing ~an old habit from preOp 'gulping food down' days, at times is an issue. In reality for me, that "only 3 bites" most often really means, "you are NOT hungry, why are you eating?" If I get 'too hungry' I tend to eat too fast which produces what you describe. If this pattern changes daily for you, I'm not sure you are 'too tight'. A great feature of the Band, is we can back up, go to a different food intake for a few days, and regroup. This takes a certain agility to determine what IS the problem and what to do about it. If you are not too tight at night with no regurgitation or bile taste in your throat, that's one indicator 'too tight' may not be the issue. I'm in early year 7 postOp and still learning. Cheers in your journey.

I used to have "first bite syndrome" in which it seemed I was about to 'be stuck' and have too much fill.

I learned that by taking a small nibble really, and putting down my food for a few minutes, that sensation would pass soon.

I believe I had an involuntary or unconscious tightening up of my entire esophagus, or at least the pouch end. Part of this I traced to my old habit of gulping and washing every bite down with Fluid. As I learned how to phase that habit out of my behavior, I got less and less of such incidents.

Try the 'very small nibble' and wait a few minutes....until your pouch tells you it's ready for another nibble.

And don't be alarmed if you really find you AREN'T hungry as much as you though. 2 or 3 bites can be quite satisfying during a particular phase of adapting to a new kind of eating behavior.

I believe I am at proper restriction now. I am rather tight in the early morning so I start with a shake (I get up and out by 6 am). At 10:30 when my break is, I can get real food down without too much difficulty (eggs, Greek yogurt, or high Protein oatmeal). lunch around 1pm about 3 ounces chicken, some lettuce or other veggies like brocolli. A shake when I get home from work (4pm) to keep the protein up and prevent hunger while I am waiting for hubby to get home for dinner. Dinner at about 6:30 pm and it is 3 ounces of protein--usually chicken, fish, pork, high end cuts of beef and turkey (everything cut very small, but hamburger still gives me some issues). I try to do a full serving of veggies and if room then a little whole grain starch.

Honestly if you can only get 2-3 bites of food down, you may be too tight.

Thank you all for your advice - but I actually think I'm OK. I figured out what was going on. While I am definitely more restricted... the problem wasn't the Proteins themselves, but how they were prepared, or what I was eating with them. For example, I had some grilled chicken, but ate it with some steamed veggies, including cabbage and broccoli. I also had a quesadilla a day or two later. I think the problems were with the cabbage, and perhaps the tortilla. Same goes for the fish - It was cod, but it was breaded.

I had to rethink how I was preparing my proteins, and what I was eating with them, and now I'm doing just fine. It was kind of one of those "duh" moments. Now it seems obvious, but I was beginning to think that maybe I was too tight.

Live and learn.

PackersFan, another thing to consider is that a fill can take up to 2 weeks to "hit". You mentioned being fine and then 5 days later having trouble eating. Personally I have grilled chicken 90% of the time so not being able to eat that would be a major red flag.

Im 7 mos out and I still can't eat chicken..Too tight ? I think not, I can eat 3 ounces of sirloin and a quarter cup of potatoes in one sitting. Everybodys banding is diffferent. Am I gonna complain about it? Nope thats just one less thing I have to worry about over eating on..LOL Sure wish my band couldn't tolerate cheetos..LOL

I had my fill on 2/22. The Dr. put in .8 cc, I only have about 4.0 cc's. Since I got the fill I am trying to decide if I need to get some removed. My problem I think is that I am tight in the a.m. I am able to eat a few bites in the a.m. I start getting hungry about 11:00, I am able to eat almost all of my lunch, which is 4 ozs. of chicken most days. By the time I get home to eat dinner which is about 7:00 p.m. I am starving and have no problems. I also noticed since the last fill I really have to eat small pieces and chew, chew. I have thrown up a couple of times, but I know it is because I have not chewed properly, the pieces are too small and I was hungry. So I am learning this process and realize every day is different. It normally gets better in about two weeks. So good luck everyone and make sure you chew, chew and eat slowly in between bites.