OK, I am getting advice from a lot of people that are not on the board and know little about the surgery. They are saying that I might not lose weight.

I typically would eat in a day now (no band) and it always varies but usually comes from a restaurant...

Breakfast

2 fast food breakfast sandwiches (or 1 plus something else to fill me up)

lunch

Fast food sandwich and fries or salad with full fat dressing, or 2 tacos and chips and salsa from Tijuana flats (lots of the chips and salsa and probably some queso too, or a small hamburger and a fillet o fish, or a barbque sandwich with fries and an order of onion rings, fried mushrooms or other appetizer

Snack

Crackers and cheese,or popcorn, or a small hamburger, or some Cookies with a little icecream, or sometimes nothing

dinner

Either a footlong tuna sub (no mayo and with less tuna than they normally use)and bag of light chips, or Carrabas chicken Marsala with fettucini alfredo, bread, side salad and some of the fried calamari (I don't finish all of the chicken and pasta), or Outback Alice Springs Chicken with fries and some of the appetizer,salad and bread, or I stir fry beef with some onions and mushrooms and serve it over rice...

Then maybe a snack before bed - typically some popcorn, or a few light chips or some(15-20) crackers, or maybe a Peanut Butter sandwich and a few chips if I had a lighter dinner.

OK, that being 'confessed', lets say I have the band and it is filled to perfection and I get full easier, Even if I didn't change my eating habits (this is worse case scenario, I know that is not healthy, but please play along :huggie: ). If I had the same food options as above, and I was feeling full much faster, wouldn't a typical day again using the same foods be something like...

Breakfast - 1 fast food breakfast sandwich and wulaa - I'm full!

Lunch - A Happy meal, or 2 small tacos BAM! Full again!

Snack - about 40 pretzels, or about a cup of some baked cheetos

Dinner - A few pieces of the fried calamari, a bite of the salad, and the chicken Marsala (no pasta)

Snack - 5 crackers and some cheese

I don't drink caloric beverages and I am willing to give up the diet soda and do crystal light, skim milk, unsweet tea and Water.

Theoretically I should still lose weight right? I have heard people say that the best way to lose weight is to eat what you like but reduce portion size. I realize that this is not a good healthy day of eating, but I would think that it is better than what I eat right now and I should lose weight.

What are your thoughts on this theory?

~Kim

In the beginning, perhaps..but alas our body will catch up and adjust. Reality bites, but it's calories in vs calories burned. Simple math says that in order to maintain a 120 lb body, 1200 calories will do it. In order to maintain a 200lb body, 2000 calories will do that too. :huggie: In my world, it doesn't take long to add up to 2000 calories with a high carb diet.

Sweetie, you really need to do some serious research on losing weight after wls AND staying healthy!!!

You need to start each meal with a high Protein food or drink and IF you have room left eat some other healthful food.EVERY DAY!! EVERY MEAL!! FOREVER!! You need about 100 grams of protein every day. As for supplements or meal substitutes....find a good tasting Protein shake - they will help you stay away from the evils at the drive-thru's.

As for biscuit breakfast....too many calories and carbs and besides, good luck in being able to get down a piece of bread - it gets stuck.

"fast food'...no such thing....you need to take a good half hour to eat a meal. chew chew chew, swallow, wait, wait, wait, chew, chew, chew, etc

pretzels, cheetos....too many carbs and calories if you are going to lose weight and stay healthy

fried calamari....no fried foods if you are going to lose weight and stay healthy. otherwise sounds okay.

as for the drinks.....you are right on target. Lots of liquids (at least 1/2 gal./day), no carbonated drinks ever, no caffeine while you are healing.

Your goal should not be to be skinny but to be healthy and strong. There are many good foods out there that you can eat.....we just have to search for them and cook them .-

It is possible to still pick up food 'at the window' for breakfast.....eggs, bacon, sausage. Other meals, Wendy's chili is perfect for bandster....it goes down okay, McD's Asian salad is a good choice.

I know what I'm talking about because I ate just like you are now for waaaayy too many years. I ruined my health and am having to work like crazy now to regain it. Don't try to trick the band. Get and love it and live right and you'll be happy you did.

If you need info on how to eat and be successful, the bariatriceating.com message board is great for that purpose.

My disclaimer didn't work well... I am not "planning" to eat this way...I know that there is a % of people that don't lose and some actually gain. I am not saying I will eat like this, but theoretically wouldn't and shouldn't reducing the amount of food you eat make you lose weight? Lets say you didn't change your way of eating but you did cut each meal and snack in half. Wouldn't you lose weight?

I ask this because in the event that I do 'fail' which I don't think I will and I have some days like this, I don't want to 'not' lose a good amount of weight, and I definately do not want to gain. I have spent over $500 a pop at different diets along the years, but If I spend $17,000 (self pay) and fail, I don't know what I would do.

Initially, yes. But, as I stated, after the body begins to adjust, the weight loss will slow down due to the fact that it takes fewer calories to maintain a lesser volume of weight. So, in fact, you could (and would) stop losing and begin to gain based on the diet you outlined, simply due to the calories associated with that high carb diet.

O.K. I definitly agree with everything that Gayle just said. Plus, assumming that your band is perfectly filled, you may not be able to eat all of that food. I can't eat bread at all, and crackers are tricky. I wouldn't even attempt pretzels. I even find certain meats to be out of the question if they are too dry. I stay away from fast food completely unless I am in a pinch, and then I get a salad and take my time. If I know I'm in a hurry and don't have time to eat I grab a high protein Ensure. The truth is, I've had two fills and I couldn't eat most of the stuff on your menu even if I wanted to because it probably wouldn't go down. I eat a lot of soup with meat, and fruits and veges. I think that once your band is adjusted correctly, you'll be surprised at how much less you will eat.

Maybe in theory, but no way are your going to be able to eat even the 1/2 portion. Trust me, after the band, life WILL be different.

I see what you're saying. I think the bottom line is you have to burn more calories than you take in. If you do that you should lose weight no matter what.

Thanks for your input. I guess there are a lot of foods that I will be kissing goodbye forever.

That's still OK, I want to live longer, and look better!

~Kim

If you're properly restricted, you probably wouldn't be able to eat anywhere near the portions you've listed in your post-banding menu.

Lets say you didn't change your way of eating but you did cut each meal and snack in half. Wouldn't you lose weight?

Based on my conversations with my doc and my own experience...I don't believe anyone would lose enough weight eating this way (even if it's cut in half) to make the surgery worth the money. After surgery, the amount of food one can ingest is significantly reduced so the "QUALITY" of the food starts making a huge difference. Sure, junk food would keep a person alive but it won't help them lose weight.

In theory it should work, yes. You eat a lot of foods that will be difficult to enjoy after banding. Fingers crossed for you.

Can I just point out as an Australian - there is no such thing as Outback Alice Springs chicken, lol. In Alice Springs you'd be more likely to get witchety grubs or a steak sanga!

I've lost the weight I've lost just through eating smaller portions of what I ate before - BUT I did eat a fairly healthy diet, fast food was a once a fortnight treat, not a daily event, I just ate too much food overall and had a few too many cookie binges. I still go out to eat, I still occasionally eat fast food and I will never ever ever torture myself on a low carb diet. Regardless of whether it works better for some people than others, it is not necessary for everyone. But most of the carbs I eat now are wholegrains.

I might feel like something carb-y and cheesey for lunch but I'll make myself a toasted pita wrap full of roast pumpkin, capsicum, zucchini, some pesto, some cheese - yummy. Much better than a greasy cheeseburger.

Kim, isn't your doctor making you go to a dietician before banding??

Okay, so I went to Sparkpeople and did a quick entry with the following foods. I did the best I could with what you listed and came pretty close, except the chicken Marsala was a boxed/frozen something or other...

Egg McMuffin

Wendy's Cheeseburger Happy Meal

1 ounce RoldGold pretzels

2 ounce grilled Calamari (fried wasn't an option)

iceberg salad w/ 2 TBS Ranch dressing

Chicken Marsala

5 Ritz crackers w/ 5 ounces cheddar cheese

what I got was:

1688 claories

104 carbs

93 fat

106 protien

Not completely horrible, but you can't eat like that and lose weight well. You just can't. Maybe at first, but, like me, after a while, you'll just stall and go nowhere. It wasn't till I recently started taking a cold hard look at my intake (the quality of the food, not the quantity) that I started to quit fighting the scales.

On the other hand, my band is NOT tight, and I could eat anything on that list with no problem given enough time to chew well (okay, not the calamari...too chewy...ewww) but there is NO way I could get ALL of that in on any given day. I'd have to do nothing but eat. whew. I COULD do it, but I sure don't want to. That's a load of food to me, and I can chow down some 1600 calories a day, too.

It's a learning curve. But you can make this band work if you want to.

If you plan to exercise.....actual real exercise....then it will open up a lot of eating options for you.

Good luck with that menu, Kim. I have been banded almost 2 years, lost 97 pounds and haven't had a piece of bread (pizza, pasta, cake, rice, red meat, French fries) in all that time because it turns into a bowling ball (forget the golf ball) in the middle of my chest. Salads I can sometimes eat, other times not.

I live on skinless, dark meat chicken (not breaded or fried), flaky fish (sometimes I can eat shrimp or crab), very soft veggies, chili, meaty soups, crisp bacon, low fat yogurt, etc.

I can eat a little cereal for breakfast, but usually have a protein shake as I am very tight in the morning. Lunch is often one of those little foil packs of tuna and a couple of crackers. Dinner might be a small bowl of thick soup or one chicken thigh, or 4-6 grilled shrimp.

In restaurants, I usually order from the appetizer menu (or the kid's menu).

Don't stress so much over what you will/won't be able to eat. Everyone is different and remember that nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

Good Luck!