Greetings from a New Guy - I am 51 and will be banded on August 2. I am currently at 255 but want to get down to 175.

I have been lerking on this site for some time. I have really appreciated this forum - all the information and advise. I credit all of you for helping me decide to proceed with lap band surgery.

One question, please. I am ready to give up any food necessary, but will truly miss my "red meat." Yes, I know all the bad things. What can I say?

I reallly meat.

So my question - Is anyone eating red meat and if yes, how are you cooking, cutting and chewing to make it work?

Thanks, in advance, Drifter.

I have had problems with most red meat, so have switched to chicken. As long as it is not too dry or tough, I can eat almost any type of meat. I suppose you could tenderize a steak or eat a cut that is really tender like rib eye, or maybe some stewed or slow cooked meat so that it is really tender. Good luck on your weight loss journey! I am about 2-1/2 months post surgery and have lost about 35 pounds, so feel I am doing well! (need to update my ticker!) Hope you will do well with your band, too!!! :clap2:

Drifter,

I eat red meat. I eat it any way I like other than breaded and deep fried-just a personal preference. I eat slow, roasted-roast beef. I just had grilled sirloin steak this weekend-although I don't like and am a little afraid if there is the slightest bit of grissle, so I avoided that like the plague. I suppose the more tender the steak, the better. I eat hamburger.

I haven't had any trouble with ANY meat I've tried. That includes chicken or turkey which some bandsters also have trouble with. Sometimes meat goes down a little slowly, but I haven't PB'd or gotten stuck with it. I just chew it really well, and those meats that seem to be a little dry I make sure I have gravy or sauce to help lube it up. This banding journey is VERY individualized. You'll have to just try it and, I guess, pray that it goes all right for you. There's no guarantee that you'll be able to eat red meat but there's no definate answer that it will be off limits either.

Right now, I have 2.8cc in a 4cc band. In case you're wondering.

Drifter,

I also am a meat eater! Nothing like a big ole steak on the grill to make me a happy girl. I have no problems with any red meat, I do on the other hand have problems with chicken sometimes. Also if a pork chop gets too dry, that will give me issues. I just can't eat as much steak at one time but I can eat it every day if I wanted to. I personally prefer a tenderloin but I have eaten T-bone, and rib eye with no problems at all. Today I ate some steak that was very well done (I make mine med. usually), I just cut it quite small - dunked it in some A1 sauce and chewed very well. It went down just fine and stayed there.

Drifter I will find a way to eat steak also even if it has to be expensive cuts....That is one thing I love........I was just banded 6-12 so I have a way to go till I get steak....but I love bb qing

A nice rare juicy filet menon goes down just fine. In fact better then chicken I think. It's lower in fat then other cuts and is super tender.

I have the butcher run any cut through the tenderizer and I haven't had any problems. I also order steak med and ask for it to be butterfiled, so it cooks less time and is more tender. a bit of steak sauce or gravy and I am good to go. I take small bites and chew well and can eat just about anything. ~Mandy

For me a nice med done steak goes down very well. Better than chicken. The only thing my stomach just doesn't want as far as meat is pork like pork chops. I am able to eat sausage though...go figure lol. Just go slow, chew it well and wait a few before eating more. See if it stays down Good luck!

You guys are great. Thanks. It does sound like an individual journey, but also great to see that some of you can enjoy meat.

It also seems that better cuts of meat, cooked rare to medium are easier

Gee - that sounds rough!:hungry: :clap2:

You know, where I am now, if you had all said, "no way" I probably could have accepted that too. I am ready to make a lifelong change.

Thanks, again. Drifter

Tonight we grilled Ribeyes on the charcaol grill...yummy. I had mine cooked Med (lots of pink, no red) and cut it up into small squares, say, 1/2 in. cubed? and dipped it in sour cream topped with several splashes of Worchestershire. OMGosh. Very yummy.

I need the "food lube", and gravy would work fine.

Reheated red meat isn't so great for my band. I can do a good soupy pot roast, but not so well if it's reheated.

Ground beef is fine when well-chewed, but I find myself spitting out little wads of "unchewable" if I eat a burger, even a really good one.

Watch out for baked potato skins. I have to be careful to squish all the potato out and peel away the skin or I'll get stuck on it. Ouch.

You will come across the oddest things that your band will tolerate or not tolerate. It's kind of a crap shoot, but you learn and adjust. Losing the weight, however slowly, makes it worth it! Good luck!

I cooked some T-Bones on the grill one day. They looked so good I decided to have some. I used my Pampered Chef Chopper and pulverized the beast. I was able to eat it with no problem. I haven't had steak since then because I haven't wanted it. I grilled burgers one day and did the same thing...pulverized then ate some. I really haven't missed it as much as I thought...since I was previously a red meat carnivor.

As long as its cooked properly - just rare and juicy on the barbecue and is a decent cut, I can eat it.

Wanting dinner to be super quick one night I grilled it in the griller attached the oven and OUCH. Dry and very stuck! But I never did like meat cooked on an indoor griller. We dont use the griller for anything much except cheese on toast.