Eating After Banding

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,722]

can you eat (anything) after banding and fills?

i see on here that you cant have soda or junk food or beer

and then i see some people drink soda and use straws

i am just kinda confused alittle bit. i want to make sure i do this the right way.

[1shauna1 129]

Yes, you can (so I've been told). However, as with any weight loss plan you have to eat the right foods. Protein first, then veg, then some carbs is the "right way". But I find, as with life, sometimes things don't work out that way. Going out to eat, for example. And I have found certain things for me just don't work, like deep fried foods (bye bye calamari!) and doughy breads. The band is just a tool and we have to work it properly!

[bigenuff 302]

My doc said try one new food at a time and see how u tolerate so far I can eat anything but have heard people not being able to eat bread, or chicken amongst other things.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

That's actually a 2-part question. There are foods that you shouldn't eat, because they're not healthy, contain empty calories, don't meet your nutritional goals, and/or don't provide satiety. Then there are foods that you may not be able to eat at various points (like bread, fibrous veggies, dry cooked meats, apple skins, etc.) because it's so hard to chew them enough to get them past the band.

Carbonated beverages should be avoided because the carbonation supposedly can dilate the stomach (same goes for straws) and because the carbonation can be extremely uncomfortable for a bandster. Alcohol is empty calories that loosen your inhibitions, so that eating potato chips or Cookies or whatever seems like a great idea. Alcohol and caffeine can be gastric irritants.

food tolerance is very individual and it changes often. Surgeons' and dietitians' nutritional instructions vary widely, and so do bandsters' willingness and/or ability to follow those instructions. None of us are perfect. So it's hard to come up with a single plan for "how to do it the right way". The best approach is to follow your surgeon's and dietitian's instructions. If they don't give you instructions, ask for them. If you don't understand their instructions, ask for clarification.

[honk 780]

Most doctors say you should not drink carbinated drinks as the gas may stretch the small pouch that has been created by the connecting the band around the stomach. Some have trouble using straws post op again because the amount of air that gets stuck in the pouch. The only foods I CAN'T eat are cheap doughy white breads and raw carrots. Other foods I CHOOSE not to eat: fried foods, candy, cake, ice cream.

[☠carolinagirl☠ 18,722]

thanks for all responses. i am reading/learning from each one.

jean, your book has so many high lighted parts, i think it can glow in the DARK.

[SashaWLS 412]

My doc said to avoid carbonation...

But if I desperately want something carbonated, I should let it sit for a while and then stir the hell out of it. Once it's pretty flat, I can have small quantities, infrequently...

[maryfran 19]

The reason for not drinking through a straw is because you suck air first before the liquid has a chance to get to your mouth and that can cause a bubble same with chewing gum you take in alot of air. I can't eat fried foods or most bread. I really miss eating a sandwhich but that is how it goes. I feel like giving up the things that got me in trouble in the first place is so worth the almost 70 pounds I have lost in the past 5 months. It will just take trial and error on what you can and can't eat. Good luck it is so worth it