Hi! I’m 32 & an unbanded stay-at-home mother of 2 with a BMI of 57.6, which means I have 179 pounds to loose (Ha!) before I’d be a healthy BMI. I’ve lurked this board for quite a while now, knowing I could not afford to self-pay & accepting that my insurance has an exclusion policy for WLS. But I’ve just been given a wonderful Christmas present by my parents & grandmother!!! They’re going to pay for the LapBand!!!! :clap2: I am in such shock… Anyhow! Now that this is reality rather than a pipe dream (as it has been for 5 years!), I will ask the burning question: What do y'all eat NOW?!?

I’m not so worried about the early post-op time because that is when the doc & other support will be guiding me through this huge change. Those of you who are successful, what does an average day of food look like in the 6-months post-op range if you were to keep a food journal? And what about in the year+ post-op stage? I keep hearing it’s an egg-worth of food per-meal in the early-filled stage. But what does that MEAN on a plate? :girl_hug: And at some point down the line it becomes a cup of food…when is that, what is that? :xena_banana: :girl_hug:

Will it always be Protein powder shakes for Mommy or do healthy choices from average foods that I will continue to fix for my family become an option at some point? I can’t imagine eating ‘regular foods’ further down the line when the weight is nearly & then finally off. I can’t picture eating out, for example. And what did you EAT for Thanksgiving…?:hungry:

I cannot believe this is really going to happen!! I’ve been to 4 informational seminars & lurk around a handful of Lap-Band sites, always knowing I was a big fraud because this wasn’t an option financially. And now…:wow2: I just need to call for an appointment to get the ball rolling! Wish me luck!

Oh Zannie, quit worrying!!! Congrats on the wonderful, life giving gift you have received!!! I am not a year out, I am just over 7 months...but since I eat pretty normally I felt I could respond to your question.

On a normal day, for breakfast, I eat a container of yogurt with granola, or an egg and piece of toast, or a small bowl of cereal.

For lunch, a small bowl of soup, or half a sandwich, sometimes a taco.

Dinner--is whatever I am cooking for the family...I try to make the most of my meal off of the protein. So for instance, tonights dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and rolls. I ate several bites of a chicken thigh, nibbled at the corn and potatoes, and was full.

Today I snacked on a leftover sausage patty from yesterdays breakfast, and had a glass of eggnog, and ate some Chex Mix.

For Thanksgiving---I ate Turkey, potatoes & dressing with gravy, green beans, creamed corn, and later in the day I ate a pice of chocolate pecan pie. Now the truth of the matteris I did not eat a LOT of any of this, but I ate same as the rest of the family, and I eat much slower, so it takes me as long to eat my small amount as for them to polish off 2 plates. In the end, we are both equally full!!!

I fully realize eating like that is not always beneficial to weight loss. I however chose the band, in an effort to maintain my "normal" life as much as possible!

The difference for me lies in the fact that I am no longer hungry. Ever. I have had 2 fills, following the 2nd, I lost the hunger sensation. Now I eat when I choose. And since I am not revenous, I make smarter choices. Use to be, I was starving, and my only thought was to fix it. So I ate huge amounts of everything I could get my hands on. Not so anymore.

Good Luck---continue to research, and ask all the questions you have hidden away with!!!

This is a great support site---and we look forward to walking this path with you!!!

WELCOME!!!!

Kat

Hi Zannie

I had my surgery in October 05...I have had 4 fills since...still am not at my 'sweet' spot yet so still get a bit hungry quicker... I eat the usual a couple of pieces of toast for breakfast a pita bread with a bit of cheese for lunch and Meat and vegetables (well cooked) for tea...I don't eat red meat cause it is a bit harder to chew into the small bits you need to get it comfortably through the band but i enjoy chicken/fish/pork etc....I still can eat more than most prob 1 cup instead of the recommended half a cup but that may change on my next fill... overall I am loosing weight slowly and loving the lapband...

Best wishes

Becky :xena_banana:

Congrats, That is so wonderful of your family. I commend them. Don't worry about eating. You'll be able to eat most anything you did before you just won't want those same bad things that made you fat. I was a coca cola finatic. I don't mean diet either. I would drink about 8 to 10 per day. My surgeon allowed us to have them after 6 weeks but since I didn't have one for 6 weeks and now I can hav them I haven't had any. Just don't want them anymore. They're what made me fat and I'm not interested in any bad foods. My band won't let me hold much so I make sure my choices are for good food.

Good luck on your new journey and trust me you'l be the happiest person in this world after you get your band, get good restriction and the pounds start falling off.

What a fantastic gift. The lap band and a path to a healthier you. I am excited for you!!

It was my bandiversary yesterday!

These days I eat a totally normal diet in smaller quantities than I once did.

Today I had:

a dry fried egg and half a tomato and a very thin slice of ham for breakfast.

A cheese and salad roll for lunch

A very small bowl of meusli at 4.30 because I was starving

a sausage (cooked on the BBQ) and salad for dinner with a glass of wine

That's an average day for me. These days I'm maintaining more than losing though - I am losing but its like 2lb per month now. Which is fine by me. I probably exercise more than average - run about 30km per week, do weight training 3 x per week.

The hardest thing to comprehend before surgery is that food becomes a much less driving force....you don't suffer! I've had 2 fills and plan to have another soon (I'm 9 mo out). I have been very compliant with the rules....no carbonation, no bad carbs (white ones....potatoes, rice, Pasta, corn), no bread, no fried foods. That sounds pretty limited (because it is!) but when you are banded you just don't care that much after a few weeks. Cutting the bad carbs out does away with the cravings (keeps the blood sugar level). I eat a lot of dishes made from ground beef - chili, the inside parts of taco's, burrito's, meatloaf, casseroles - eggs, tuna/chicken salad, avacado's, peanuts/almonds, broccili cheese soup, baked fish and chicken w/sauces, grilled steak (if it's med. rare and juicy), creamed spinach, green Beans, eggplant parmasan, etc

I track all my intake on www.fitday.com and it helps tremendously! I don't count calories but I keep an eye on them....I mostly count carbs and stay under 40/50 (if I get on a stall I drop lower for a few days) and I make sure I get at least 80/100 grams of Protein each day. The biggest problem I have with calories is getting enough. If I don't get at least a 1000 a day for a few days I stall out. But you just don't get very hungry so it's an effort to get in the calories without getting too many carbs so it's important to track it and keep yourself honest.

As for protein....probably more than half of my protein comes from a high quality protein supplements (made for bariatric patients, not body builders/athletes). There ae some wonderful ones on the market but you have to hunt for them and experiment with them. IDS and nectar and Matrix are good brands and I use them both as warm and cold drinks (the warm ones can rival Starbucks). For a snack, I eat Revival soy chips and cheese dip....taste too good to be legal but they are! There are also some great Protein Bars but since the carb content is a little high in them I use them only for a Meal Replacement not a snack.

Everybody has to develop their own menu and you can eat good stuff but it's important to play by the rules.... the band is just step one in the process, the eating and good sense afterward is what makes it work.

I'm over a year out and I eat everything, just in little amounts. :xena_banana:

Congrats girl!!! You're gonna love it, LOVE IT!

I'm a year and a couple months post-op. It took me about a year to learn how to STILL not stuff myself. So usually I'll have 8 oz Protein shake for breakfast, a lean cuisine or about a cup of another kind of food (I always try to pick the healthiest thing on the menu), and some sort of chicken dish for dinner. I count every calorie and I NEVER, EVER finish my food, even if I could and I'm still a little hungry. I'ts just part of my self-help psychology for eating. Good luck!

I am only 10 months out, but I figure that's close enough to answer, right? I eat about a cup (but normally don't finish everything on my plate) of whatever I want. Totally normal food.

For lunch I just finished about 3/4 cup of tofu with brocolli leftover from my Chinese dinner last night.

Thanksgiving I ate turkey, mac and cheese, butternut squash/carrot casserole, mashed potatoes, and two tiny pieces of pie. Since I took about a spoonful of each thing, my plate totalled about a cup of food, and boy did I enjoy it!

I have been having a problem with PBing every week, but recently started following some different rules, and today I am 9 days out from my last PB. I drink wine every night with dinner and it greatly alleviates the PBing. For breakfast I stick with a Protein shake because I'm tight, and for lunch I take teeny tiny bites and chew forever. My goal is to reach one month with no PB's.

I probably enjoy food more now than before surgery, because I don't feel guilty about eating now!

I was banded in early June. I can ditto everything that Jack said. I eat just about anything in small amounts but I'm careful most times to eat healthy. I average a cup or less of food 3 times per day.

Today I had:

Breakfast - 1 shredded wheat biscuit with 1/4 cup milk

Snack - low fat yoghurt cup - didn't finish it

lunch - 1/2 cup of Lipton chicken noodle Soup with 1/2 toasted tomato and cheese sandwich

Snack - four salted rice crackers (sometimes with a bit of blue cheese)

dinner - one cup of venison stew....last few bites I forced

Like Jack says, the band restricts the amount you eat so your attitude, need and desire for large amounts of food really change.

My husband is a chef and enjoys eating out, since we do gourmet in our restaurant he opts for fast food sometimes.....we all crave the fast food sometimes. We share a sandwich which I order as fat free as possible and if the fries are the small shoe string type I eat about 10, larger ones I manage about 5. I try not to do this too often, but so far it has not sabotaged my weight loss. I am average 4 - 6 pounds per month and I'm elated about this.

Good luck, you will love your band!

Carol

Congrats on your upcoming surgery.

I had my lap band a year ago in August. It's the best thing I have ever done. I do still eat with my family and enjoy fast food, it's just MUCH less than before. I can eat a bite or two of just about anything and I do reward myself with ice cream.

There is life after weight loss surgery, you just learn to enjoy the weight loss more than the food and personally I associate hamburgers and fried chicken (stuff that got me fat) with pain and I tend to stay away from it.

Best of luck to ya!

I'm 2 years out and i've been at goal for a year. I eat a lot more than the people whom have responded that are still trying to lose weight... so eventually you do become more like a normal skinny person and less like somebody that appears to be on a drastic diet (well at least from the on-lookers point of view).

A normal day for me is....

B: 2 serves of Cereal (60 grams) with milk or a 4" plate of breakfast caserole

S: a piece of fresh fruit (eg. apricot or 1/2 apple) or shaved ham

L: 6" Sub or similar sandwich or a lean cuisine with salad or 2 rice cakes topped with LF ham, cucumber, WW cottage cheese, caramalized onions and tomato.

S: 50g cold roast chicken or 30g shaved ham & 20g brie cheese

D: 4" plate of whatever the rest of the family are having - usually fillet steak or chicken breast; steamed vegetables & brown rice or Pasta. dinner is always my smallest meal and usually i leave half of it still on my plate - I just either have trouble eating around the stress of other people complaining about their day OR i've picked so much while i was cooking that i've already eaten more than enough.

S: Chocolate; nuts; other snacky foods... only 1-2 serves though.

So really it's not so bad... your just a normal person eating what you like (apart from mushy food) and maintaing a healthy low weight. Nothing scarey, you don't have to become a health nut or anything like so many think you need to do to be successful.

Good luck for your up-coming surgery

You'll find that most folks can eat what they want, but the quantity is way down from your pre-banding days! It also depends on your restriction.

I'm at a point that I can eat whatever foods that I want, but my tastes have changed and the quantities are VERY different.

Shawn

i AM 2 YRS & 4 MONTHS OUT FROM MY LAPBAND. I EAT ANYTHING I WANT BUT I CAN EAT ONLY SMALL AMTS. TODAY I HAD I FRIED EGG & PIECE OF TOAST. LUNCH WAS CUP TOMATO SOUP & 1/2 CHEESE SANDWICH. TONIGHT WILL HAVE CHICKEN GUMBO WITH RICE, PROBABLY 1 CUP OR LESS. I AM 15 LBS BELOW GOAL. LATELY I HAVE BEEN REALLY HUNGRY & HAVE GAINED 5 LBS SO TIME FOR A FILL. PROBALBLY NEXT WEEK. OR THANKSGIVING I ATE A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING &WAS SATISFIED.

First, CONGRATS... I bet you haven't walked on the ground since you found out! I am so excited for you.

Second, I think this has been a really good thread. Just hearing what people's responses are and how they are "over" their thing with food. Thanks for all the posts.

I am being banded on Jan. 5th and so this was really interesting to me.