Hi everyone,

I need some advice, I'm about four weeks post op and according to the diet my doctor gave me, week four is when you start eating solid food. So went to dinner at my aunts house and maybe I over did it? (small piece of chicken tender, two table spoons of each rice, hummous, tabouleh)...The upper part of my stomach has been sore since. It hurts when I burp or hiccup. I can't take a deep breath, bend over, drink anything very cold without feeling some kind of discomfort. Took it really easy today. soft bran ceral, and roasted veggies for dinner.

any thoughts?

j

Jean,

Can we look at your menu in terms of what I can eat when I have any restriction at all? I'm stuck on a "chicken tender." But if it's breaded and/or white meat, I would be unable to eat it. Two TABLESPOONS of rice? I wouldn't be able to eat two GRAINS of rice. Hummous can plug me up a little, the way a banana would, if I were tight. Tabouleh? I'm okay on the parsely, but the barley (or whatever the white stuff is) would plug me up. As would any cold Cereal.

A couple bites of very-well-chewed DARK meat chicken. A piece of mushed-up, well-roasted carrot or sweet potato, some well-cooked Beans (navy, kidney, pinto, small white, lentils, butter beans, etc.).

The nicer you are to your stoma, the fewer Prilosec/Nexium/Aciphex you will buy/take, and the better you will sleep.

Take it easy,

Sue

My goodness Sue,

What in the world can you eat? Feeling much better today. Again taking it easy. I think that's good advice.

I'm just trying to figure all this out. I feel as though I'm hardly eating with just the band on. I eat max two small meals a day, small being like two cups of food a day...and this has been a difficult emotional adjustment. I'm terrified, I mean literally terrified of how much more restricted I'll be with fills. I don't how I'll handel not being able to at least eat a cup of food per sitting.

How much do people on average eat per sitting after fills?

j

My goodness Sue,

What in the world can you eat? Feeling much better today. Again taking it easy. I think that's good advice.

I'm just trying to figure all this out. I feel as though I'm hardly eating with just the band on. I eat max two small meals a day, small being like two cups of food a day...and this has been a difficult emotional adjustment. I'm terrified, I mean literally terrified of how much more restricted I'll be with fills. I don't how I'll handel not being able to at least eat a cup of food per sitting.

How much do people on average eat per sitting after fills?

j

Jean,

The "How Much" is secondary to "What" I'm eating.

I just fixed stuffed zucchini for tonight's dinner...but it has no rice or breading in it. I'll probably end up eating my portion tomorrow.

Last night, we were out, so we stopped for a very early dinner at a local restaurant chain. Husband ordered the (huge) 1/2 chicken and a mini-slab of ribs dinner. I ordered my own cup of Soup. They had three selections, and I decided against the chicken tortilla, because the tortilla can turn into glue once inside me. I debated between the tomato basil artichoke soup and the garden veggie soup...opted for the far more fattening tomato soup, because I had (yet again) been having a little reflux and wanted little to chew. My husband ate his soup and the chicken breast and a little of the ribs...and the veggies and his potato whilst I diddled with my soup. Just about the time we were ready to leave, my stoma opened itself and I nibbled on a very little meat. When we got home, I had a little more meat.

Breakfast this am was half of an organic instant oatmeal packet. I put in about a teaspoon of Peanut Butter and some soy milk...and, of course, real maple syrup to sweeten it. lunch was a few bites out of a Del Taco beef burrito. I brought it home and ate SOME of the meat filling and no tortilla. I just finished a little more chicken (I think it was my dinner) and feeling like THAT was a bargain meal, as the bread and one veggie are still in the fridge.

I don't think I'm too tight. I think I'm too old. (On a number of levels.) My brain does not get the "That's enough! Stop right there!" message. My brain gets the "Now you've done it...you've already eaten too much!" message. Esophageal motility--how fast the esophagus processes the food, moving it where it needs to go--slows with age. So, I think what happens is that it takes so long for the food to get to where it's going that I keep eating too much, too fast. The other part of the age thing is, of course, that we old dogs sometimes take a tad longer to learn new tricks.

I can eat lots of stuff. But things that get in the esophagus and sit there and start to absorb liquids and swell (breads, pastas, rice, dry meats, etc.) will make me miserable. Some banded can eat anything, but many have issues with the same foods. It's all a matter of learning what YOU can eat.

Sue

J-

I certainly understand the "being terrified of what you won't be able to eat" part. I was the same way before I had surgery and before I had a fill. But with every fill (and I've had three so far) I got to the point where I was actually READY to eat less. It's hard to explain, but you'll get it when you start to eat real food and the scale may- or may not- move. Mine didn't move but a few pounds after each fill and then I'd stop all together. By the time the doctor poked me with the needle to give me another fill, I had adjusted to the smaller meals and was ready to get the show back on the road, so to speak. Now that I have pretty good restriction, I've gotten used to the amounts of food I should prepare- even though sometimes I fall back into the habit of heaping a plate FULL...then I laugh at myself and put some back.

There are still times when I look at a plate of my favorite food that I cannot eat any more of (note- not that I "shouldn't" eat- but physically can't) and I get sad. Sometimes I get sad that I want that food more than I want to loose weight, othertimes I get sad for the preband me that would have eaten it ALL and beat myself up for it. Sometimes I get sad that I am wasting food, othertimes I get sad that I feel like I need it like a drug. But over time, the sadness is fading as I gain more control over my eating, as I learn that having my clothes feel a little looser feels better than that food would have, and I'm happy that I will never ever have to go back. The most freeing thing in the world is to look at food that you once would have eaten every little crumb of...and to just throw it in the garbage because you don't need it anymore...you're full, and satisfied and you know if you try to reheat it later it'll be too rubbery.

I'm still learning...and everyday reveals a new challenge to overcome.

Just know you aren't alone, and it gets a little harder before it get's easier...but it DOES get easier.

Good Luck!

Megan