Ok, before surgery I had very general instructions about diet protocol for week 1,2,3...ect and was told that when i saw the Dietitian he would make more specific recommendations for my particular diet.

FYI: these general instructions were chaotic at best, not well defined... like a disorganized run on sentence that lasted 4-5 pages. So I could not wait to see the dietitian in hopes of really distinguishing parameters for my diet.

So just before week two I had my apt with the dietitian. He told me in a few days I would be starting mushy's and named greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fish, egg whites, and tuna salad as examples of foods I could have.

Ok, here is where it went SOUTH! At the end of our brief visit he repeated the above but said: tuna salad, but you absolutely cannot have the bread, so you will have to find other things that you like.

I thought really, you can't just throw me a bone and give me some hints ... I should have asked for clarification!

(He had a very dry disposition, did not make a lot of eye contact, basically did not look up from the papers he was scribbling on. Our session was 10 minutes tops & my husband, like myself, was thinking --what a waste!).

-- So I took what he said very literal! --

Boy was i W R O N G!!!

I googled what could you replace bread with when eating foods like tuna salad.... lettuce... seemed to be the winner. Did not go back and review those chaotic general instructions and thought these were my new guidelines.

Holy Smokes.... week 2, first follow-up apt with my surgeon. The day before I had a spoonful of tuna salad on a piece of lettuce (palm size) and thought I was doing great and chewing well. When my surgeon reviewed my fluoroscopy films he saw ...you guessed it... lettuce! No damage to my LB but appeared as though I was just on my own little rogue diet !!

I take responsibility: My Fault - My Lap-band!

There was no discussion about eating the lettuce but you better believe I am going to dissect those general instructions and put them into some kind of order that I can relate to; that make sense to me; that prevent this from happening in the future.

So when in doubt ASK QUESTIONS!

agree

as all doctor's are different

always best to go by what one's own doctor says

GREAT post

Everybody's doctor has different guidelines. For example, my doctor is very anti-carb... no bread, rice, Pasta, potatoes, etc.

Other than following his guidelines about when to eat Clear liquids, full liquids, mushies and solids, and following "how" to eat, concentrating mostly on Protein, I pretty much listen to my body. For example: I will eat bread, but I just make sure it's high Fiber, whole wheat. Sometimes I'll have pasta or potatoes in very small portions.

For the most part, I'm concentrating on eating healthy, losing weight, but I don't want this to feel like a "diet"... I've never been successful at dieting, hence the need for surgery.

I found my dieticians recommendations and menu planner to be very vague. It was almost as if they want you to make meals out of no more than 20 ingredients for life hahahaha.

And that is why lbt can be such a useful tool where real people are coming up with plans that work and that are safe. We share our experiences and our knowledge. Most docs/support staff are not intimate w/ the band (meaning htey dont have one) to realize the full complications to come up with a better and more thorough plan for the patient. What strikes me odd is that a doc could make heaps of $$$ if he made a book..just saying lol

Chicken salad is like one of my favorite all time foods. I've gotten pretty good at making a healthier version. Instead of the bread I eat it as a "dip" using cucumber slices as the "chips". Works awesome and I get to feel like I'm eating a bunch when I'm really not.