I am due to be banded sometime in February and I am sooo excited! I have been reading so many inspirational stories on here and have learned some tips and hints that will be invaluable. But, here's the thing... the more I read on other peoples experience, the less I know what I will be able to eat after the mushies. I've read no bread, no rice, no pasta, people have problems eating hambergur, and chicken. Even some posts where veggied have been a problem. I am getting worried that I will have no cluse what to eat and end up living on applesauce and protien shakes for the rest of my life!!!! I would love to hear some ideas on what you eat for dinner, and how do you handle cooking for you family and then not enjoying the meal with them? Thanks!

Well I eat chicken, but the dark meat. White meat won't go down.

I also take all my other meats and fish, and use a sauce on them.

Like steak sauce for Tenderloin, or BBQ Sauce for Pork,

All food is weighed or on certain sites, you can account for 1 Drumstick,

or 1 Pork chop, 1 fillet of fish.

Potatoes I usually eat 1/4 cup mashed/gravy

vegetables: as long as they are not to stringy like celery. They should be O.K..

Breads, Pasta I don't touch. Rice if in a sauce a little is O.K. too.

Hope this helps, because you will eat, don't worry about that fact.

Shirley.

Well I eat chicken, but the dark meat. White meat won't go down.

I also take all my other meats and fish, and use a sauce on them.

Like steak sauce for Tenderloin, or BBQ Sauce for Pork,

All food is weighed or on certain sites, you can account for 1 Drumstick,

or 1 Pork chop, 1 fillet of fish.

Potatoes I usually eat 1/4 cup mashed/gravy

vegetables: as long as they are not to stringy like celery. They should be O.K..

Breads, Pasta I don't touch. Rice if in a sauce a little is O.K. too.

Hope this helps, because you will eat, don't worry about that fact.

Cooking for the Family when it's things that you can't eat, you will get use to it,

because you will be making your own things.

Shirley.

For the most part I eat the same thing as my family for dinner every night. I had 3 ounce steak, 1/4 c rice a roni and some green beans for dinner tonight. Like Shirley above, I also will have 1/4 mashed potatoes or a baked potato the size of a golf ball.

You'll figure out what works for you. Because what works on one person may not work on another. I can pretty much eat anything if I eat only a small amount and eat slowly. The one thing I do miss though is snow peas. Even when I destring them, they seem to get stuck.

I read these things too, but so far I have not found anything that I cant eat. The only thing I havent tried is steak. I can eat anything else that I want, but that doesnt mean I do. I do eat some bread but I limit myself to what kind and how much. I have no problem whatsoever with chicken unless it is extremely dry. I am not a big rice eater any way but I dont think it is a problem. So nobody will be able to promise you what will be ok for you. it seems to be different for people.

I eat pretty much what I want to. I can eat the white meat in chicken. I don't have a fill in my band because I had plication with it. That might be why I can eat the white meat.

My band is almost completely full and I have not found anything yet that won't go down. I only eat white meat chicken because I don't like dark meat. I eat a small bit of rice or Pasta a few times a week. I have also had bread on a few occassions and it didn't stick. I have also had pizza- I was only able to eat a small slice though because I was satisfied.

One thing you might find that will be more important than WHAT you eat is WHEN you eat it. I don't really eat anything too solid for about an hour and a half after I wake up. I've done it a couple of times and the food goes down, but after a couple of bites, I'm done and for some reason, it makes me feel yucky. I prefer milk or a smoothie in the morning and may have a little oatmeal later on.

It really is different for everyone. So far, I have not found anything that I cannot eat. I stay away from certain things because I know they are not good for weight loss, such as most bread, Pasta and white potatoes, but I do eat an occassional wrap and love multi-grain, light english muffins for Breakfast (a lot better than my bagel and cream cheese pre-surgery). I also stay away from things that I have heard others have a very bad experience with. Shrimp is one. Rice another. Although I have had a couple pieces of sushi with brown rice.

Right now, my restriction is how much I eat, not what I eat. I just choose to limit certain things. I go for my 3rd fill this week and it may all change. But I find you need to experience it yourself.

Why not pop over to myfitnesspal.com and have a look at the lap banders group on there. Most have their diaries open and you will be able to get an idea of what we are all able to eat. Just remember that people are at different stages of their journey so may be logging for liquids or mushies. If you are not sure, do as you did here and ask.

FYI - I cannot eat breads or red meat because they get stuck. Rice is a day by day proposition. Most other foods are in smaller quantities with no issues.

good luck

I am due to be banded sometime in February and I am sooo excited! I have been reading so many inspirational stories on here and have learned some tips and hints that will be invaluable. But, here's the thing... the more I read on other peoples experience, the less I know what I will be able to eat after the mushies. I've read no bread, no rice, no Pasta, people have problems eating hambergur, and chicken. Even some posts where veggied have been a problem. I am getting worried that I will have no cluse what to eat and end up living on applesauce and protien shakes for the rest of my life!!!! I would love to hear some ideas on what you eat for dinner, and how do you handle cooking for you family and then not enjoying the meal with them? Thanks!

It is confusing, isn't it. For every person who msays they can eat French Fries, there are just as many who say they can't. A lot of it has to do with different things such as how tight are their bands, how long have they been banded, etc, and it is hard for you to know this. Someone who has been banded for a month and has vever had a fill may be able to eat a Subway Sandwich, but someone who has had 3-4 fills wouldn't dream of it!

First thing, no one here is a authority on nthe subject. What we do here, is share our pown real life personal experiences. I cannot tell you what you can or cannot do.

I can (and will) only Tell you what my own experiences have been, not what I have read or been told.

You really need to learn for yourself, then you will have your own experiences to share.

Just be aware of 2 types of people that post here.

1st: People who tell you what you MUST or MUST NOT do. We're not your Dr., and if you get into trouble then where will these people be then?

2nd;, (and this is my pet peeve) are people who tell you how it should or will be and they have not even been there themselves yet. They talk about different experiences,and what you MUST do, and when you look deeper, they are just starting out also!

This website is nothing more than one big support group, made up of people shaing their own personal experiences living with the surgery.

And when you experience something for yourself, and are not sure what it is, you'll remeber "Ok, now I know what that poster meant when he/she said......."

At my tightest, I couldn't eat bread and rice, but could eat Pasta and noodles. I couldn't eat steak or lamb or prawns but I could eat fish and chicken and crayfish. I could eat soft cooked veggies but struggled with raw veggies, even salads. I could eat a pear but I couldn't eat a mango.

It's such a personal thing. If you read the website and take everything everyone says as gospel you're going to think there isn't a thing you'll be able to eat. But that's just not true. There will likely be some things you might not be able to tolerate when your band is properly filled, but it shouldn't be most things.

And in the years since my 'losing' phase, my band has loosened and there are very few things I can't tolerate these days. Mango comes to mind as one thing that I still struggle with, but I still eat it, but just a little bit, so I can get the taste but not enough that it causes discomfort.

Well I know i'm not telling anyone what to do !

My comments have always been based on my own personal experiences.

If I have not experienced something like a slip or a problem that I know nothing about!

You won't find me giving 2 cents on it, because I don't know a thing aout it..

I am know Dr. not by far.

I have my own experience with the band, and some have not been that good.

So I learned a few things plus I listened to what my surgeons have taught me.

"I kept it between my ears !"

If old teaching worked with the band, then it's worth it to pass it along !

Sometimes you can hit on a problem, that you can't get a answer to at the Dr.'s office.

I came on hear to learn, and my surgeon directed me to this site back in 2006.

They were right ! Were all different, Very Different, and it's all hit, and miss.

What works for you won't, might not work for me. The only way you know is if you try.

Also it is a day after day adventure. What I mean is if yesterday you had a good day,

and your meal went down with NO ! problem,,,,, Today could be a whole different thing.

You could be tight, find yourself getting stuck. So you go back to fluids for a few days,

then your back on track. Some people never have a problem. Welcome to the Band !

So you will try certain foods, and in the begining they might go down, then after a few fills,

you might find yourself feeling tight or it getting stuck. This will Teach you what you can,

and can't eat. Live and Learn !

But I am sure you will eat again, even your surgeon will want you to eat, so I wouldn't

worry to much about this part. Talk to your surgeon also.