hello all,

So I'm closing in on surgery in July, and I've heard from a number of folks about what they can/can't eat now after surgery. For instance, one guy I know told me he can eat baked zite, but not angel hair Pasta. macaroni and cheese with elbows is ok, but mac and cheese with shells comes up. I'm just trying to learn more as I head for surgery, so can you tell me... what surprises have you encountered/ lessons have you learned since banding when it comes to what goes down and what doesn't agree?

and while we're at it, can you specify what slider/cheater food is? Maybe I'll know what specifically to stay away from...

thank you all!

Stan

I was banded last may 25, so closing in on my 1 year bandaversary. I am below my goal weight and my band is tight. I can't eat rice, a lot of pastas, soe breads. I get stuck on scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, I get stuck on meats that are too dry and stringy, and I will not try cookies and milk together again. I am okay with not being able to eat the carbohydrates and starches. It will just depend on how you chew, how fast you eat and how tight your band is. Good luck.

It all depends on the day for me, I mostly stay away from bread Pasta and scrambled eggs.

Slider foods are foods that go right through your band. Anything really soft, ice cream, yogurt, Soup are sliders. Also, crunchy things seem to be sliders, chips, Cookies. Basically all the good stuff. Eat healthy, protien and veg those are the foods that are not sliders.

The biggest problems I have with hard Protein, is the dried/stringy kinds of meat. Also, I have to be VERY careful re-heating in microwave, as a nice piece of steak or chicken (for example) rapidly becomes too altered in some fundamental way, that I can not eat it without PBing, even with cautious tiny nibbles. I don't know what the physical change is, yet it does happen to me.

Dry dense protein doesn't work well for me. And I don't eat meat with a lot of lubricating dressings, most of them are far too sweet besides being not actually a food but rather a condiment. Molasses/corn syrup based BBQ sauce tends to make me puke, I was on insulin shots for far too long to enjoy any of that kind of high-carb sugar bomb.

Mainly, my desire to eat much in the way of Pasta, pizza etc is pretty much nearly absent. I might eat A piece of pizza once a month, throwing away most of the crust.

I can and do eat breads in general....but typically only 1 piece a few times a week. Rice usually isn't a problem if steamed, but again the micro version leads to distress. I can enjoy such as a pasta salad, maybe 3 oz at a time, a few times a month.

One continuing issue, that works mostly to my advantage, is to not get TOO hungry in a way that makes me break into eating too rapidly. I can predict a PB episode if I eat too fast. Period.

And it is a pure delight to be comfortably satisfied with around 1 cup intake per meal.

I am at restriction and can eat any food I want. I eat chicken most days. I've only had a probelm once eating a reheated piece of turkey. I've gotten stuck on baby carrots a couple times but because I was really hungry and ate to fast. And that was before I was at restriction. I have baby carrots everyday for lunch (with hummus).

My doctor says if you can't eat 3 oz of solid Protein you are too tight. Am I loosing slower because I don't want my band so tight that I can't eat certain things? Who knows. I want to live a normal life and not worry about having a stuck episode in front of coworkers.

That said I choose not to eat certain things because they are high in calories and low in nutrition: rice, bread, crackers

I have pretty good restriction (9cc in a 14cc band) and find that how I'm eating is more crucial than what I'm eating, in terms of getting stuck. If I take too large a bite, don't chew properly, or eat too quickly, I'm headed for a stuck episode with just about anything. But if I slow down, take a proper sized bite, and chew properly, I can eat most anything.

If there is a food that doesn't seem to matter, and that usually gets stuck, it's bread. So I usually eat sandwiches without the bread. Or I'll toast it. For some reason, toasted bread rarely gets stuck, where plain bread usually does.

Stuck episodes for me are the sensation that I feel the food isn't moving easily through the band. I put down my fork, relax and let things work themselves through. Within a minute or two the item has passed through, and I can continue with my meal. I have never PB'ed, and only slimed once. And that was due to my own reaction to getting stuck one of the first times. (Salsa and chips at a Mexican restaurant.) I have since learned how to deal with being stuck, and it's pretty simple. But now I'm much more cautious when I eat.

Don't rule out slider foods as a source of good nutrition. Sometimes you need to eat something healthy and filling without a lot of effort. If that's a slider, then it's not necessarily a bad thing. My go-to food is Wendy's Chili. It's small portion is 220 calories and 18g of Protein. Quick and easy. Even my Nutritionist is on board with it, and she's a seriously tough nut. There are bad sliders, certainly, like ice cream and such, but you don't need to avoid good sliders, if they fit into your eating plan.

Dave

xlstan,

I was banded last July and have lost 100 lbs. Single greatest thing I have ever done, except for my wife and kids. I had all of the same questions and fears, but I think you need to look at it as what foods will I want to eat vs what foods will I not want to eat. You can eat anything but you may have a reverse action to it.... ie pbing. For instance I LOVED McDonalds before the band and how I dont ever care if I go back. Reason being I dont like bread, or fries and their nuggest suck. So I can eat it but it makes me feel like crap, so I choose to not eat there. I have found myself liking spicier and tarter things more and more. I am willing to try foods that I normally wouldnt. Just dont think its a diet, there no foods you cant eat, just foods you wont want to. I have to agree with what Jack and dale have said.