I noticed a lot of people talk about how they used to eat (calorie laden this and fatty that). I ate about 75% of the time, light/low-cal foods like FF Lays chips, diet cola,94% FF micro popcorn, light mayo, pam, lean meats,tuna in Water, ECT... and I'm still fat.

I know that I ate to much period! More calories in than burned! With my surgery tomorrow morning will eating the same type of foods work for me or hurt my progress because of familiarity? Will the band help keep me full enough?

It's all about making good food choices and following your doctor's post-op plan. Hopefully the band will help you feel satisfied longer and you will make good food choices. I would recommend that you start tracking your calories on My Fitness Pal or another app to stay within your doctor's guidelines. For me, the band helps keep me satisfied for longer periods of time and I don't really have the need to feel "full" anymore. Everyone is different though. Best wishes to you! Wishing you a speedy recovery.

diet cokes, ff chips, ff popcorn offer you nothing , plain and simple. Later down the road, will be ok once in awhile, but not a regular occurance.

Lean meats, solid Proteins of all kinds, is whats going to keep you full longer. You stick with Protein, protein, protein and you will do great.

Good luck on your journey!

Very good advice from Steph and Maddysgram. Couldn't have said it any better myself. The only snacks I have now are sf pops and sf pudding or jello. It satisfies the sweet tooth with minimal damage. If you go onto myfitnesspal and plug in the calorie count of what you've been eating, it will give you a very good idea of your current daily intake. Don't be surprised if you are consuming in excess of 3,000 calories. I was....and found myself having to lose more than 100 lbs. After you are banded, you should be in the 1,000-1,200 calorie range. That means about 3 ounces of protein per meal, 1/2 cup veggies, and 1/4 cup carbs. I've been following this plan since I was banded in January and I've lost 70 lbs. so far. Believe me, I'm not special, so if I can do it, so can you. Good luck tomorrow!

I noticed a lot of people talk about how they used to eat (calorie laden this and fatty that). I ate about 75% of the time, light/low-cal foods like FF Lays chips, diet cola,94% FF micro popcorn, light mayo, pam, lean meats,tuna in Water, ECT... and I'm still fat.

I know that I ate to much period! More calories in than burned! With my surgery tomorrow morning will eating the same type of foods work for me or hurt my progress because of familiarity? Will the band help keep me full enough?

Chips not healthy lol I agree with some of the responses its all about good food choices. If you feel you ate healthy and still didn't loose the weight it should make you question was I really eating healthy or did I think I was eating healthy. The band will limit what you can intake but if it is unhealthy stuff its not going to work. Fitness pal is a great tool to help you track your progress.

I was banded a month ago. One of the things I didn't realize and wasn't prepared for mentally is that the band basically has little to no fill right after surgery. This panicked me. Bu for the first 5-6 days you don't really want anything as you heal. From there it's strictly will power until the fills begin. My first is Thursday!

Also try to vary your post op foods as much as possible. Change flavors of Jello, broth, etc. if not by day 8 or 9 you'll contemplate how your own foot would taste!

Good luck. You've made the right decision.

fat free food has a lot of sugar... they replace the fat with sugar..look at all labels.. my nutritionists suggest we eat 10% protein ratio to calories.. in other words if it's 120 calories you should have 12 gms protein... of course after banding you should not drink soda of any kind diet or otherwise.. like steph and maddysgram said eating protein is the key..

fat free food has a lot of sugar... they replace the fat with sugar..look at all labels.. my nutritionists suggest we eat 10% protein ratio to calories.. in other words if it's 120 calories you should have 12 gms protein... of course after banding you should not drink soda of any kind diet or otherwise.. like steph and maddysgram said eating protein is the key..

You took the words right out of my mouth! Fat free usually has higher sugar content. Karen

I noticed a lot of people talk about how they used to eat (calorie laden this and fatty that). I ate about 75% of the time, light/low-cal foods like FF Lays chips, diet cola,94% FF micro popcorn, light mayo, pam, lean meats,tuna in Water, ECT... and I'm still fat.

I know that I ate to much period! More calories in than burned! With my surgery tomorrow morning will eating the same type of foods work for me or hurt my progress because of familiarity? Will the band help keep me full enough?

Like you, my life prior to the band was all about eating low fat this and reduced fat that. And trying to fill up with "bulky" low cal things like microwave popcorn, just to attempt to keep from feeling hunger. It didn't work, obviously, because the day I got banded I weighed 263 pounds.

Post-band, and once I'd gone thru reintroducing foods, what I eat is very different. I eat fat because it keeps me satisfied: I cube avocado for my salad, which I dress with olive oil, vinegar and mustard (no "lite" dressing with mystery ingredients). I drink 2% milk rather than nonfat. I eat full-fat cheese instead of plastic colored cheese. I use almost exclusively whole, unprocessed foods which means an entire category of my previous (fake diet) foods is now eliminated from my diet. This does not make me morally superior to anyone else, but it has made me thinner, with the help of the lapband.

I use my band to keep full between meals, but I also use my foods to keep full, as well. For me, that means not including any food that will "bring on hunger": sugary things, white carbs (bread, Pasta, rice), and most importantly processed foods.

the posters said it all

but let me add that even if it says fat free, low fat, sugar free, low calorie..if one eats more calories then they burn off, they will gain weight..i ate those things too....nothing like eating bbq chips and a diet coke....they did not offset other dangumit...

and the items you listed, now that i met with the nutritionist and understood (food) are nothing but pass on through and leave you still hungry foods..and like most of us dieters, that is what we ate......to be healthy.....now its just lean Proteins, veggies and fruit and drinking alot....eat when hungry/make good choices and allow the band to control the quantity you eat....pretty kewl.

The idea of avoiding foods that bring on hunger is wonderfully stated.

Before banding, that was bread and butter.carba and fat...anytime , anywhere.

Post banding, I steer clear of those foods.I concentrate on protein first, then veggies, then healthy carbs.

It is a learning curve with a few twists and turns!

You body will definitely benefit from whole natural foods, lean meat and fish, fresh fruit and veggies, healthy whole grains, a lot of water, your body will thank you for it...processed, chemical ladened foods are what made us fat in the first place....Best Wishes

Like you' date=' my life prior to the band was all about eating low fat this and reduced fat that. And trying to fill up with "bulky" low cal things like microwave popcorn, just to attempt to keep from feeling hunger. It didn't work, obviously, because the day I got banded I weighed 263 pounds.

Post-band, and once I'd gone thru reintroducing foods, what I eat is very different. I eat fat because it keeps me satisfied: I cube avocado for my salad, which I dress with olive oil, vinegar and mustard (no "lite" dressing with mystery ingredients). I drink 2% milk rather than nonfat. I eat full-fat cheese instead of plastic colored cheese. I use almost exclusively whole, unprocessed foods which means an entire category of my previous (fake diet) foods is now eliminated from my diet. This does not make me morally superior to anyone else, but it has made me thinner, with the help of the lapband.

I use my band to keep full between meals, but I also use my foods to keep full, as well. For me, that means not including any food that will "bring on hunger": sugary things, white carbs (bread, Pasta, rice), and most importantly processed foods.[/quote']

You make EXCELLENT points. We've been so programmed to look for "diet" this or "lite" that while we diet that we've lost sight of real, whole foods like our ancestors used to eat. If you haven't seen it, watch the documentary "Food, Inc." (it's on Netflx). It mentions (and shows) how different the average "Sunday dinner" chicken is today compared to the 1950's. today's chicken is like 75% larger - even the "organic" birds.

The show recommends this test - would our grandparents recognize the food? I.e. yogurt that comes in a tube. I'm pretty sure no actual yogurt is involved in those tubes.

With cancer rates, autism in children, ADHD, and other disorders soaring I can't help but wonder about the crap they put in our food. My daughter and niece are both 9 (2 days apart) and have started puberty. Our pediatrician told us that in the last 5 years he's seeing kids hitting puberty younger and younger.

I'll get off my soapbox now, but challenge us all to eat as close to a natural, whole food diet as possible.