Just back from an appointment with the Dietician/Nutrionist this afternoon and now I have major doubts! I have done a ton of research, but she really emphasized what a MAJOR lifestyle change being banded is and now I'm waffling big time!

She gave me a tennis ball and told me that it's size was relative to the amount of food that I will ever be able to put into my tummy at one time. I'm ok with that, but she somehow made it sound like total deprivation. She said between eating small meals every two hours and drinking 8 glasses of Water, you'd pretty much be doing one or the other all day long! It sounds EXTREMELY regimented and unflexible.

She recommended going on a post band diet now for one month to see if I could handle it. I don't think I can.....

Sounds like you need to see another Dietician. Mine was awesome. She explained what will happen and what to expect but to do this you must want a major change in your current lifestyle. I gave it some thought and realised that I'm not happy or healthy the way I am and It's only me that can change that. Also I look at it this way...I ate what I liked for the first 37 years and look where that got me...time to change, my eating habits..my lifestyle..my looks and more importantly...my HEALTH. I had a few worries before and I had done like you and researched like crazy but nothing prepares you for the real thing. I know I have only been banded since the 21st March 2007 but already I know that this is going to save my life. Please don't give up on this if it's going to improve your life and make you happy...Lisa

That's such rot, honestly.

My life as a bandster is nothign like that and she sounds like she really has no idea.

For starters, a meal the size of a tennis ball will satisfy you, so its all you'll WANT to eat. You wont feel deprived at all.

I eat 3 meals a day just fine. I dont think that much about what I eat. I eat a normal diet in good amounts, I choose healthy foods and that's pretty much all there is to it. I drink when I'm thirsty, there's no need to obsess over and measure out Water. Just drink some, preferably 8 glasses a day or so. But it takes what, 10 seconds to drink a glass of water.

I spend way LESS time thinking about food and eating it than I did. Its like being set free, not an endless prison of rules, regulations and regimes.

I'd ditch her and find a nutritionist that actually knows what its like to live life banded.

Just back from an appointment with the Dietician/Nutrionist this afternoon and now I have major doubts! I have done a ton of research, but she really emphasized what a MAJOR lifestyle change being banded is and now I'm waffling big time!

She gave me a tennis ball and told me that it's size was relative to the amount of food that I will ever be able to put into my tummy at one time. I'm ok with that, but she somehow made it sound like total deprivation. She said between eating small meals every two hours and drinking 8 glasses of Water, you'd pretty much be doing one or the other all day long! It sounds EXTREMELY regimented and unflexible.

She recommended going on a post band diet now for one month to see if I could handle it. I don't think I can.....

Hum, not my experience. First off, yes I eat smaller meals. But because I have a small pouch, I'm very statisfied with them. I don't eat small meals every two hours, my instructions in fact were to eat 3 small meals a day, and maybe 1 or 2 planned Snacks, but those are optional. I do drink a lot of water, but I just have a bottle nearby and sip at it. Which I did before surgery.

I feel like, for the first time in my life, food and eating isn't the focus. I feel more like a normal person.

Going on the post band diet without a band won't really prove anything. The band creates physical changes you can't just pretend are there.

Now, you do have to make some changes. You have to eat less, and make healthy choices. The band really doesn help you do that.

She gave me a tennis ball and told me that it's size was relative to the amount of food that I will ever be able to put into my tummy at one time. I'm ok with that, but she somehow made it sound like total deprivation. She said between eating small meals every two hours and drinking 8 glasses of Water, you'd pretty much be doing one or the other all day long! It sounds EXTREMELY regimented and unflexible.

A lot of dieticians try to standardize these things, so they have something other than "there are no absolutes" to tell people, but the truth is that there are no absolutes and anytime anyone tells you "you cannot eat..." or "you will not be able to..." (unless they're saying, "You cannot eat more than you can tolerate", let it raise an eyebrow.

I eat 2 or three regular meals throughout the day. I drink when I'm thirsty, and try to have a bottle of water around at all times to sip on, but I've always done that.

Don't think of the tennis ball as deprivation. Quantity wise - may or may not be accurate. This will depend on the level of restriction you have, and can change daily, hourly... some days I can only eat a few bites. Last night I had a piece of chicken the size of a "tender", and 4 good sized slices of tofu.

She recommended going on a post band diet now for one month to see if I could handle it. I don't think I can.....

You won't be able to do it. Well, I shouldn't say that - but it would be unrealistic to think you can, or for someone else to expect you to. The band works because the small portions fill us up. The small portions aren't going to fill you up, and your body & brain retaliates against this (which is why so many people foil a diet by binging or overeating).

I don't know many people, fat or not, who could eat the same I do in a month, unless they were stranded on an island or something. They would just be too hungry.

Um, yeah. OK. Sure.

Truthfully?

Immediately after surgery - for the first several days to a week - you won't give a damn about food at all. You will barely want to drink your liquids. After that - you will start to want food - and until the time that you start getting fills - you will still be pretty darned hungry.

Even after you start getting fills - it will take more than one to get good restriction... so, maybe the tennis ball will fill you up, maybe it won't.

Now - AFTER you get good restriction - a tennis ball is probably about right. You will be perfectly satisfied with 3 tennis balls a day.

The trick is to pick healthy tennis ball sized portions instead of Taco Bell Nachos... (Me? eat nachos instead of chicken breasts? How can you imply such a thing?? LOL!)

So - don't worry about the portion sizes. The battle will be choosing the correct foods to eat - at least it is for me.

And that crap about trying the diet beforehand? Uh, yeah. Sure. Whatever.

You won't be able to do it and it will only depress you. Trust us - you will be able to manage just fine once you get some restriction. It's much easier to show self discipline when you no longer have that clawing beast in your belly demanding food 24 hours a day.

While my food choices yesterday were lacking - my portion sizes were more than adequate. I had a Protein Shake, two orders of Nachos (1 for lunch - 1 for dinner) and a no sugar added fudgecycle.

That was my food FOR THE DAY - and I wasn't hungry or even the least bit deprived. Should I have eaten better foods? YEP. Should I have eaten LESS food? Nope.

So - there it is. I think you might want to find a nutritionist that works with Bandsters. It sounds a little bit like yours does lots of ByPass people.

Good Luck!

Dustmouse, your relationship with food will definitely change. You will be able to enjoy all the foods you like but less of them. Don't feel discouraged. You will be able to eat up to a cup of food. With the proper restriction you will not be as hungry and not be able to consume as much. That is the beauty of the band. You can do this!

I do have to agree with at least trying to eat like a bandster now. Noooo, not the portion sizes (because without the band you WILL feel starved), but just making modifications to your current diet so that when you get banded, it won't be as much of a change.

I don't have a surgery date yet, but I've started eating with toddler utensils to get the smaller bites (and I really do feel fuller, faster) and the fact that it then takes me longer to eat because of it has helped me feel fuller with somewhat less food than I used to eat. I avoid all carbonation, I've given up caffeine. I know Jachut doesn't subscribe to this, and that's fine, she's doing AWESOME, but I eat my Protein first, then my veggies, then if I have room I eat my fruit/complex carbs. I have always only been a one thing at a time eater. I never start on another item on my plate until one item is finished. It's my quirk, but now I just make sure to start with the protein. I have given up all simple carbs and refined sugars and enriched flours. And I no longer crave carbs! It's AMAZING! (I also gave up most artificial sweeteners and I think that helped break the carb craving cycle.) I do eat fruits and whole grains and steel cut oats and Kashi, etc. I am NOT low-carb, but I'm trying to choose better carbs, ones that will fuel my body for longer periods. I don't drink with my meals, and I chew, chew, chew (that's the toughest). I have tried out various baby foods for the mushy stage and I've tried out different protein shake/drinks to see which ones I like and which ones I don't. But if I eat well and correctly, like I've seen Jachut say, you can get by without the shakes. Most things can go in a blender, no need to relegate yourself to only shakes and puddings and cottage cheese for weeks.

I have lost 23# without "dieting" at all, I'm just making better choices in my foods, and I log EVERYTHING I eat on fitday.com

I'm hoping all that I'm doing will make it easier to handle the changes in my life post-op.

I hope this is not a nutritionist that your surgeon recommended. If it is sounds liike she's trying to test your resolve, see just how badly you want this. Because she grossly exaggerated post -p life......well, after the first couple of months anyhow. And those two months you don't care if you ever eat again or not.

My surgeon required the pre-op diet to be two Protein Drinks and one sensible meal a day for 2 weeks. I chose to do it for a month. After two weeks of no sweets/no starches my cravings and appetite were greatly decreased and it has remained that way ever since. Getting my body de-toxed (de-carbed) has made the whole process much easier.

After a year I am eating 3 normal meals (small, yes, but fairly normal) and sometimes a coupe of Snacks a day. No carbonated drinks but lots of other liquids. I make sure I get 80-100 grams of Protein (about 1/2 from supplements) and less than 40-50 grams of net carbs.....both those things keep the hunger at bay.

Whether or not you can make the lifestyle changes depends on how badly you want to lose weight....how much you will help your LapBand. If you'll help it as much as it help you, you'll do great!

OMG I had the exact same conversation with my nutritionist yesterday and it scared the poop out of me! She said I have to live with the fact that I can never eat some of the foods I love ever again. I said, what about small quantities eaten rarely and she said no. She specifically said fried food - specifically seafood. I told her that once a year we go out as a family and get fried oysters and onion rings and would I be able to tolerate something so fatty in small quantities. I told her I would get steamers and just have an onion ring or two and she said "steamers are fine with no butter but no, you can never have even one onion ring again". I'm freaking out.

I know I have to eat better and I'm just having a difficult time giving everything up forever. Truthfully, I'm afraid I'm going "cheat" because I feel like something is forbidden. I was on Atkins for 3 years and never felt deprived because I allowed myself to eat carbs on special occasions. I just was extra careful for the following few days. I only regained the weight because I got sick, went on medicine that made me gain weight, got depressed and quit. When I did WW (in the old days), I didn't let myself cheat and I ended up eating anything that wasn't nailed down.

Tell me how you guys do it. Help me! I am really afraid and am having second thoughts. I am going to probably be self pay and I don't want to pay almost $20000 and then fail.

Cyndilou29, an onion ring and fried oysters will not kill you if you eat them once a year. You just might not be able to eat as much. I would totally ignore your dietician on this one. She is throwing you overboard to get into a binge eating or eating dysfunction. Enjoy the event and eat what you want for that one night for crying out loud!

Julie, thanks. You're my new best friend! I feel so much better on all fronts right now.

It is worth the money and I won't have to live in an onion ring free world!

Gosh, I hope it's normal to have all these doubts. I hope I'm not just a huge whiner!

Cyndi, you are welcome. I hate all or nothing attitude. Onion rings wont kill you in 1 meal so have them! Enjoy some wine with them and have fun. Being banded is not suppose to be a jail. We are suppose to be able to eat all our favorite foods just in smaller portions. Good luck being banded. I eat everything I love! Including my favorite sushi with sake!

I have got to wonder about these dieticians...

Are they directing folks based on beliefs held about bypass and not the band? (like the OP's dietician said she had to eat every two hours, and like cyndi's said about not ever eating butter/fats?)

Or are they working *for* a surgoen who also does bypass and are trying to scare these patients into getting bypass?

In any case, they are very, very sadly misinformed.

Um, yeah. OK. Sure.

So - there it is. I think you might want to find a nutritionist that works with Bandsters. It sounds a little bit like yours does lots of ByPass people.

Good Luck!

I think you may be right about her being more familiar with Bypass. She talked about dumping and I thought that was primarily a bypass issue not a Band issue. She also said you should eat protein with every meal, especially if there is a carb involved. While this sounds like a good rule of thumb, with her it sounded like an absolute. Like you can't just eat some fruit alone or oatmeal alone or anything else for the matter!

I hope this is not a nutritionist that your surgeon recommended. If it is sounds liike she's trying to test your resolve, see just how badly you want this.

She is NOT the nutritionist the surgeon recommended. For some reason, I thought the dietician and the surgeon might be in kahoots and a disinterested third party might be better. Wrong answer!

I had a few worries before and I had done like you and researched like crazy but nothing prepares you for the real thing.

Funny thing, she said the same thing. Specifically, you can read all about going through labor and delivery but until you actually do it, you don't really know what it's like. Well, I feel like trying to eat Bandster quantities pre-band is about like carrying around a flour sack baby for a day. It's not the same!

I spend way LESS time thinking about food and eating it than I did.

I dream of that! I think it would be so liberating to not be focused on food all of the time.

Thanks to everyone who took time to reply. It is so helpful to hear from you guys!!!

I'm glad you feel better about the situation, Dustmouse. After you're banded, you should make another appointment and tell her what a quack she is!