If you have a lap band, and one day you eat not so healthy foods, but obviously you aren't eating as much, is it still as bad? Just wondering!

The goal is to stick to healthy foods at smaller portions. But if you have a day where you eat crap, it's not going to hurt you. As long as you take small bites & chew well, you should be fine. But I think the key here is not to allow a day off to become anything more than one day. If you have several days a week doing this, you probably won't lose weight; might even gain, depending on what, and how much you're eating.

Different people have different philosophies about this. I am almost at goal, and at this point, my focus is more on the maintenance aspect, in other words, what can I live with for the rest of my life. I don't count calories or fat grams any longer. The only thing I even think about now is Protein because I want my hair and nails to stay healthy!! Other than that, I feel like I eat so little, I want what I do eat to be really good! I'd rather eat 1/4 of a piece of chicken parmesan than to eat a whole plain chicken breast. For me, it's easy to sacrifice quantity for quality.

I am very mindful about junk food though! Those things that are easy going down, like ice cream and mashed potatoes, will come back to haunt you and you will gain weight if you fall into those kind of eating habits, band or no band!!!

You should stick to healthy foods. My NUT says we shouldn't totally cut out anything we love because that can lead to a binge. You should strive to eat good lean Protein, fruit and veggies daily. But, if you crave and really want a sweet- eat a little bit. Like if you want cake- go buy ONE cupcake at a deli- eat the ONE and then let that be it.

I did this one day, after two bites, I had my fill of it- tossed the remainder. Honestly, it didn't taste as awesome as I expected even though it was my fav at one time. I have friends who allow themselves a "cheat" meal or a "cheat" day- I use "cheat" loosely, because this should be more of a life style than a diet. I think the goal is just make sure you aren't giving yourself "cheat" meals or days every day. Plus, you must make sure you are not over eating, because that can cause complications.

For me, I still eat what I want, but I eat healtier versions and I eat small amounts and look for healthy but just as tasty alternatives to foods I enjoy. There are so many great healthy recipes out there- google it.

If you have a lap band, and one day you eat not so healthy foods, but obviously you aren't eating as much, is it still as bad? Just wondering!

That statement sounds to me like a big old rationalization for bad behavior. Now, having said that, no one is perfect and we'll all have our moments when we do make those not so good choices. Of course less of bad food is still better than more of it but you will have better success eating healthy instead of eating poorly.

And so you are aware, I am not a restrictive food person...I eat sweets once in a while, I eat carbs regularly...albeit in small portions, I don't eat food that has no taste. But..I don't eat fast food anymore..I don't eat fried foods anymore, I watch my sodium carefully...so easy on the sauces and other foods sodium laden. No ice cream, no chips, etc. I think what's the point of eating that stuff after having made such a drastic step as WLS.

Just do your best to make healthy and reasonable choices and you will do well. Good luck!