I was banded in December and have had several fills. I am now to the point that eating is a whole new experience. Mostly unpleasant LOL.... I just dont know what to eat. The stuff I am able to eat make absolutely no sense. Like nachos for example. I can eat those all day but cant eat lettuce, chicken or scrambled eggs and the list goes on. Just makes no sense. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

I've had three fills, but am not yet quite at that restriction sweet spot. When I'm hungry and don't know what to reach for, I find Wendy's chili is a good choice. The small size serving has 220 calories, 7g of fat, 22g of carbs, and 18g of Protein. Even my Nutritionist approved it. (And she's really tough!) What I like about it is that I can eat till I feel full, then stop. Later on, when I'm hungry again, I can finish it.

Dave

Is it that you can't eat these foods or that it is not easy? At restriction food is going to go down slowly and take some work (chewing and eating slowly) but that is the idea of the lap band. If you are taking small bites, chewing well and eating slowly and absolutely can't get these foods to go down or stay down then I would say that you may be too tight. Either way, you shouldn't revert to slider foods just because they are easier (chips, ice cream, broth).

eggs should not be an issue at all, though I am often too tight to eat them in the morning. meats cooked tender should not be an issue. Non-fibrous veggies should be fine. Soft fruits too. Beans are a healthy and easy to eat food.

If you are like me you may start out your day tight and get looser as the day goes on. For Breakfast I have fruit smoothies or yogurt or occasionally I can tolerate oatmeal. For lunch I do Soup, chili, fish and other soft solids. Then for dinner I can tolerate the denser foods.

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Thank you Dave. I will try that the next time I am out and need a quick bite.

Bandster life requires more study than "grabbing a quick bite" to succeed, IMHO. One of my first 'solids' to eat was a soft poached egg. After that, such as blenderized tuna or other meats eventually. Most fish worked well. There is a TON of reading to do on the subject, and you'll have every meal every day to find what works well for you. cheers on your journey

I was banded in December as well and I am constantly struggling with what to eat. I tend to feel tight in the morning so I start with a shake, then lunch time comes and I often look everywhere for something different to eat! One good fit for me has been chicken salad with light mayo and some melba toast (crackers). I try to get some fruit in at some point or some yogurt. Then for dinner I often have something with ground turkey (like stroganof) or chicken. Since my last fill I have struggled with chicken but I find I can eat it only if I eat it very slowly and take very small bites. Sometimes I have half of a sweet potato and veges with my dinner.

With that said I am getting very bored with my "diet" and am constantly looking for new recipes. It would be nice to be able to eat all foods just in moderation....

Jenn

I was banded in December as well and I am constantly struggling with what to eat. I tend to feel tight in the morning so I start with a shake, then lunch time comes and I often look everywhere for something different to eat! One good fit for me has been chicken salad with light mayo and some melba toast (crackers). I try to get some fruit in at some point or some yogurt. Then for dinner I often have something with ground turkey (like stroganof) or chicken. Since my last fill I have struggled with chicken but I find I can eat it only if I eat it very slowly and take very small bites. Sometimes I have half of a sweet potato and veges with my dinner.

With that said I am getting very bored with my "diet" and am constantly looking for new recipes. It would be nice to be able to eat all foods just in moderation....

Jenn

I love lloyds barbequed meat. It is shredded all of it chicken, beef, pork and one tub is about four meals for me its low in calories and moist so its not so hard to go down. You should be able to eat most things except bread. Some meats except for beef need some type of moisture and lots of chewing. I am tight and eat everything. Practice makes perfect.

I found expanding my exploration into a wide variety of items limited only by my imagination and time on hand. Salads are limitless; meats I enjoyed a wide variety in the blenderizer form, as I was super tight at first even before first fill at 6 months. I still have some trouble with chicken if not very moist and I continue to cut into chicklet size pieces. Also, most meats get way to fibrous for me reheating in a microwave. There is an endless variety of soups that has caught my fancy....something I just never cared for preOp. The number one eating error I still make, is eating too fast without chewing properly....that leads to trouble. cheers to our new food journeys

I'm not banded yet but my nutritionist was discussing things I would be able to eat afterward and she said that most of her patients do well with cutting things up first, such as meat and fibrous veggies. She said a lot of people resort to dicing them up in a food processor. I don't understand either why eggs would not work though. That is weird.

I have been banded for 17 months now, I have a 10cc band with 8.25 in it. Mornings are always hard, I have a very regular diet (some would say boring but it works for me). I start my day with 8oz of pure cranberry juice and 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed. I mix it with 32 oz of water and have that consumed by 9am at the latest. (I bought the fat flush diet book and although I dont follow it religously love the diet). My breakfast is ALWAYS a shake, 30g protien. Then as the day goes on I open up. For lunch I am normally able to have anything just a small amount of it. Dinner the same.

Good food is harder to get in no matter what. I can still eat an entire bag of doritos or chips, they just melt in my mouth. I could also eat an entire box of cookies or cake, the sweets and salts still just slip down and always will I suppose so thats my weekness, it was the problem before the band and is still my problem. I still need to fix my head, too bad I coulnt have gotten surgery on my brain to just tell me I dont like that stuff anymore!

re: 'I can still eat an entire bag of doritos or chips, they just melt in my mouth. I could also eat an entire box of cookies or cake, the sweets and salts still just slip down and always will I suppose so thats my weekness, it was the problem before the band and is still my problem. I still need to fix my head,'

excellent observation....I spent plenty of time and toil there in that place of consternation and self doubt.

What made a MASSIVE difference in my own eating behavior, was coming to recognize while I *could* eat doritos/etc they simply were not satisfying ANY of the basic drives for why one actually DOES eat anything.

They are neither satisfying of hunger nor particularly any kind of taste sensation. Much like anything boring and of no stimulation on any plane, other than "sport eating" for the mere purpose of chewing and swallowing. So why do it. I decided to spend my time and attention finding something I *preferred* to eat due to something delightful or satisfying about it, no matter what effort it took to prepare or to purchase.

Why do we eat?

Why do normos eat?

Why do those of the Tribe of the Morbidly Obese continue to eat regardless of whether hunger is involved?

It is an essential to find an answer before we can escape that dungeon of dorito delusion that has imprisoned so many of us for so long.

Being a bandster is very hard!

According to my surgeon, if you're following the rules (toddler sized bites, chew well, eat slowly, no drinking with meals) and you're getting stuck on the 'good' choices, it's most likely time for a slight unfill. The bad stuff will always go down.

Don't expect the band to give you physical restriction. It doesn't work that way for everyone. Just look for a cessation of hunger after a reasonable meal (3 oz protein, 1/2-1 cup vegies) for about 4 hours. *That* is the sweet spot.

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re: "Just look for a cessation of hunger after a reasonable meal (3 oz protein, 1/2-1 cup vegies) for about 4 hours. *That* is the sweet spot" You've identified a Most Important discovery that We of the TOTMO clan must understand. That 'lack of hunger' must be identified and our old compulsive habits better have something else to occupy that time or we remain too vulnerable to converting that previously unknown sensation ("non hunger") into another kind of eating frenzy.