I'm only a couple days away from surgery and I keep running this question over in my mind...

When I finally get my band tightened and I'm eating solids, what foods are Bandsters' "secret tricks?" Like... what keeps you satisfied, isn't too high in calories, and doesn't tend to get stuck in the band?

Thanks!

Dara

I have been drinking a slim-fast cappucino concoction for b'fast lately. I noticed yesterday that slim-fast only has 1g of Protein! Huh? So much for a high-protein shake (thats what the mix says!!).

My bariatriceating order still has not come in, waiting for those lil shots of Protein goodness.

Low carb slim fast has 20 grams for protein

I do the slim fast low carb, and it seems to keep my blood sugar stable so I don't crave food later.....and gives me 20g protein. I just wish they had more flavors!

I fell into the habit of getting liquid calories in between meals (shakes). I stopped losing wieght and stopped feeling full. I was only feeding my head hunger. I found that I had to learn that it was OK not to have something in my mouth all the time, and that when I get bored, there are better habits than grabbing a shake. The good part is that with the band, changing my behavior wasn't impossible! That's new for me.

I guess the biggest thing for me with the band is that I'm always learning and modifying me. I get some glipses of being a mature bandster and having my act together, but often still I'm working through behavior patterns or eating choices and upgrading what I do, what I put in my body, or how I exercise. At first, I wanted the band to just release me from food issues and be THE answer. Now I'm actually enjoying the journey and the work.

This goes against the grain but bread is the biggest filler for me. If I eat a sandwich at lunchtime I can guarantee I will not go picking before dinner. The sheer bulk of it keeps me full for hours. I do combine it with some sort of Protein but its the best lunch for me by far.

And I do way better with muesli or oatmeal for Breakfast too than I do with eggs or similar. Probably becuase you can eat more in volume for similar calories.

Can you eat a whole sandwich?

This goes against the grain but bread is the biggest filler for me. If I eat a sandwich at lunchtime I can guarantee I will not go picking before dinner. The sheer bulk of it keeps me full for hours. I do combine it with some sort of Protein but its the best lunch for me by far.

And I do way better with muesli or oatmeal for Breakfast too than I do with eggs or similar. Probably becuase you can eat more in volume for similar calories.

I thought most bandsters can't eat bread. I have heard that it is something almost everyone will have a pb with.

Yes I can eat bread, and yes, I can eat a whole sandwich. Well, 3/4 of one anyway.

That seems like you might need a fill. 3/4 of a sandwich seems like a lot. Or maybe htere's a bit of pouch dilation (been there).

I think I could eat bread if I went slowly. I just don't do carbs. a lot of bandsters have trouble with bread becasue it gets gummy and plugs the port, which is uncomfortable. I doubt if I could handle a cheap white bread, but I could probably do whole wheat....Everybody's different.

Yes I can eat bread, and yes, I can eat a whole sandwich. Well, 3/4 of one anyway.

Do you know what size your band is and how much fill you have?

I have 2.0 in a 4 cc band and I find most foods stick. I have to go really slow and chew like crazy. I wait a long time between bites until I feel it unstick. I am afraid to get any more fill because of that. I don't pb though. Only the first day after my fill, I tried to take too many pills at once.

I eat oatmeal for breakfast and it's very filling. Just one packet of the no sugar instant with milk. It holds me over for a long time. I used to hate oatmeal before surgery but now I absolutely love it. Same with fish.

Pouch dilation has worried me before due to the amounts I can eat, but I dont have it. I just dont have a lot of restriction - I've had a barium swallow under xray to check that, and my band simply isnt very tight.

I've got 2.6 in a 4ml band, courtesy of my last fill.

I dont need a fill though because I'm at goal weight and have lost quite well all the way through on 1500 to 1800 calories a day. I think I'm just lucky. I never PB (its happened to me only once) and I rarely get stuck. And I do have to follow bandster rules - chew slowly, stop at the first full signal etc, or I will run into trouble.

I've just never seen the need to not eat bread or to get a fill just because I could if I was still losing. If you're losing, you're not eating too much. That's not to say that bread isnt hard to eat and doesnt cause me a few golfballs now and then - but I find its any food that's difficult and has to be eaten VERY carefully, that fills me up the most. Obviously it doesnt move on through as quickly as other foods. I dont always choose a sandwich becuase I cant always be bothered - it sounds like pigging out or overeating, but in reality its 3/4 of an hour of teeny tiny bites and crazy chewing. I think the time it takes is what satisfied me as much as the actual item.

There *are* some things I cant eat though, lol. When I say I can eat 3/4 of a sandwich, I mean a bit of Peanut Butter between 2 slices of think wholegrain bread. I couldnt eat a Big Mac!

I think you have to do what's best for your body, and accept its idiosyncracies, know what I mean? Its just one of the oddities of mine that to get good restriction, I'd probably have to go to capacity in my band, but oddly, despite having been fat, I seem to have a very fast metabolism, perhaps its all the running I do and the fact that I am five ft 10 tall, so I have really never needed to drop to 1200 a day or even less, therefore the restriction just hasnt been a problem.

Jacqui, You are so lucky! I only have 2cc 's and everything I eat gets stuck. It doesn't seem to matter how much I chew. I chew and chew and chew and any kind of meat gets stuck. There *are* some things I cant eat though, lol What kinds of food do give you trouble?

You're also lucky that you're tall. I am only 5'2". I am really afraid that I won't keep losing. I guess time will tell.

Everybody talks about HUNGER and HUNGER PAINS, etc. I really can NOT remember a time when I WAS hungry! I'm not even sure what it would be like...I have always eaten when my APPETITE said to...i.e., my MOUTH. I sit there and then all of a sudden my mouth goes..."hmmmm cheese and crackers sounds yummy!" so off I go. I could have just eaten a 7 course meal....no matter. I can't even remember what a growling stomach sounds like.....