I am seven weeks post op and have had one fill. I eat 1000 calories a day and track my eating. Most of the time the food I eat goes down pretty easily, but I stay with moist/soft foods. When something does not go down well I get pretty severe chest and back pain. Does anyone else feel this? It will often happen at dinner.

Typically I eat the following:

B:3/4 cup cottage cheese 1/4 to 1/2 cup Cereal

sn 8 oz yogurt

L Lean cuisine or ww meal--200 cal sugar free pudding or carrots and hummus-ff chips

D protein/veg

sn;cottage cheese or yougurt-fruit

What do you all think?

I have the same chest pain when I eat. If my pouch gets full it feels like someone has punched me in the chest about where my ribs end & I have a big lump there. Its almost like I can feel my stomach digesting the food. It goes away after about 30 minutes. I am afraid I am eating or drinking to much when that happens...

That feeling is referred to here on LBT as the "golfball". I personally call it the 'burning golfball.' It happens, usually, when you've eaten too fast, too much, or didn't chew well enough before swallowing. Some people experience "first bite syndrome" where every time they eat, the first bite or two hurts.

Try chewing more, waiting 30 - 60 seconds between bites, and be sure to stop eating before you get FULL. You should eat until you're no longer hungry, which isn't the same thing as eating till you're full.

Good luck on your weight loss journey.

Yeah! I have to stay with the softer foods also. It has been two months for me and I am still finding out what will or won't go down easily. So I haven't been entirely successful at following the recommended eating plan. The heavier foods just don't sit well, yet. WIll that change?

I don't get a full feeling, either. Cottage cheese doesn't go down well for me. My biggest deterrent to eating is that I'm afraid of the pain!

Boo, I can do cottage cheese fine, but when I was too tight, I had trouble with it, and it's supposed to be a great mushy! Take smaller bites of the cottage cheese, or just wait it out till you lose some more and get less restricted. You'll be able to eat it again.

I didn't do well with the recommended eating plan either. Just eat what you can for now, listen to your body about the heavier foods, and track your eating so you don't eat too much while using your "soft foods technique" during this tight time. It will change.

jess-band, DonnaB gave good advice. I get the first-bite syndrome thing at dinner, too. I'll take a bite, then get up, get drinks, serve something at the table, wash a dish, whatever, till it settles. After the first few bites, I can usually eat fine. Slow, small bites, and well-chewed, that is. Eating shouldn't hurt. Slow down. Good luck!

Thanks, Kathy!

The egg drop soup saved me early on!!

It is wierd how I can eat raw carrots, but get stuck on cottage cheese! It doesn't make sense. For me, the foods that hurt are lettuce, tomatoes, cottage cheese, pinto beans, any potatoes, and some meats. It doesn't matter how small the bites are. So I am learning to not go there.

I AM learning to slow down. That has been a bad habit that I never knew I had.

Thanks again everyone!

Hi,

I was banded on March 4, 2006. At first I had some problems eating but later on it got to the point where I could eat almost anything as long as I chewed it really well and not too much with occasional PB's. Lost 20 pounds during the last few months. Just was not able to make it back to TJ until last Thursday the 6th. I think I will be losing much faster now as I have lost 6 pounds already. Having lots of problems with anything I try to eat or drink and sometimes after the first few bites and some PB's I am then able to finish eating. This even happens with tea. But as I read here I am seeing that many others are describing the same things such as the first few bites, the pain, the sliming and so forth. So I am going to definately try the breath holding. I have been PB ing every time 4-5 times or more per day with liquids, slim fast, yogurt, soup and mashed pototoes which are the only things I have tried to eat since my fill. I am thankful for all the information everyone shares on this site hopefully one day I will be able to help other too. Keep talking!

Sincerely,