:myscared:Hi all...

I had a very strange thing happen to me last night & I wanted to put it out there for comment.

I was banded on July 27, 2006 & have been on the post-op diet as required by my surgeon---& doing very well on it, too. This week is the week for going back to a regular diet of solids so last night I decided to give it a try. I became VERY emotional about the whole thing & I can't really put my finger on why:noidea:. I don't know which I am:

a. Afraid of I'll eat everything I can lay my hands on;:hungry:

b. Afraid of regaining the weight I've lost to date;:funscale:

c. So thankful to finally be able to eat "real" food again:clap2:;

d. Afraid of not being able to stop eating;

e. I'm just food phobic;

f. Afraid I'll physically hurt myself by eating;

g. I'm just a nut case:crazy:.

My 1st fill is on Sept 9th.

:help:

Life before a fill is different. Anything you have lost in the healing period is just "bonus". Even if you add a few pounds back, no worries, it will come right back off after a fill. Sometimes the road to success has hills and isn't always downhill. Don't worry if you have to climb some of those hills.

You won't do any damage and you might not feel any restriction. The band was meant to accomodate a regular diet so move onto the solids. Your MD will not give you a fill if you can't tell him/her how you're tolerating a regular diet.

You will be glad to hear that you are totally normal. Many of us had that same mixed bag of emotions. Nothing awful will happen, believe me. Try and make good choices. Stop when you are satisfied. When the time comes, get your fill and if it isn't enough, get another one.

Good Luck!

I went thru this same thing! I think it will be important for you to set some boundaries for yourself. Find some foods that are easy to eat, high in Protein, low in carbs and stock up on those. Get rid of sugars and flour products so they aren't there to grab in those weak moments. When you are hungry, eat. But eat foods that will help you stay healthy while losing weight. Fish (unbreaded fillets, tuna), chicken, cottage cheese, roast beef.. all excellent source of protein. Just make sure you cook your chicken and roast in a crockpot so they are very tender and very juicy.

Also, slowly introduce foods back into your diet so you can determine which, if any, will cause you any problems (getting stuck, etc). Don't drink with your meals, and try not to drink for at least an hour afterwards. This will help you stay "full" longer. Take small bites, chew well, focus on taking 15-20 mins to eat your meals.

And finally, serve your meals in smaller bowls or plates and eat with a small spoon or fork. This will help you manage portions. Never hurts to measure out 1/2 cup of veggies or to use a food scale to weigh out 3-4oz of meat. I typically serve my meals in a Glad disposable container, the small rectangular one that holds about a cup. I put my veggies in first with the meat on top so I have to eat my protein before starting on carbs.

Yes, I know how you feel. I wasnt sure what or where I was going on this solid food thing. I was banded July 19 2006. I started with just Soups with solids in them. Bean with bacon and New england chowder were and are my favorites. I stuck with cottage cheese and fruit too. For Breakfast I would have yogurt and sf carnation instand meal. I decided to add my calories up to guide me . I stay between 800 and 1100 per day.

Some people say just concentrate on your portion and eat pretty much anything. Thats the whole thing about the band!!!! I needed more boundries. Just this week I am brave enough to eat lean cousins or you know those 8 to 11 oz meals that are cheap and I used to think " ok , now whats for my meal, I ve had my appetizer lol". So my advice it to take it at your own speed. PM me if I can help.

exercising about 1 1/2 hours a day and down 31 lbs. HooYah.

What a great post. Thank you for sharing that. It's a way off for me (3.5 weeks, but who's counting?) but I'm already concerned.

I don't know about you, but I've tried and failed so many times at weight reduction that I'm almost afraid that this may be just another one of those same failed attempts. I know that in my MIND, that's wrong, but my sometimes humiliating memories of failure are still there. Maybe our fear of returning to food stems from that? But it's a real fear and needs to be dealt with compassionately by ourselves.

All the advice you've gotten so far is excellent and my advice would be to just take a deep breath, take your time and enjoy. I'll see you in 3 weeks in "food land". Mangia.

i'm confused. did you have to wait a whole yr before having regular foods?

YOu may gain weight after going back to solids but you have to. You can start getting fills and that will help.

My wife went through the same thing and yes more fills will help you not eat as much.

However in my wifes case she thought the band had a leak and it was loosing the fill into the body. The port was flipped in an akward position so when we were getting fills we were not. After 3 months of this frustration we decided to have Gastric ByPass and loose the lap band.