LapBand and Snacks

Yes or no?

My surgeon's original protocol said three meals a day and no snacking. But the NUT has snack suggestions, which always bothered me with that inconsistency.

Months ago, I personally found that my appetite used to wake up if I had a scheduled snack but wasn't yet experiencing hunger. Now, however, at true green, I find myself hungry in the late morning before my planned lunch (7am Breakfast, hungry at 11am, lunch planned for 1pm, dinner planned for 6pm).

I now have a personal trainer and he wants me eating every three hours. He's not my doctor, I know. But I'm getting mixed messages from the medical team. I've lately been snacking on nuts in the late morning and late afternoon. My meals are getting cleaner but I'm still not losing weight, even though I upped my weekly exercise considerably.

So! What do you banders do, especially those who exercise?

If you snack, what exactly do you eat?

What's your eating schedule?

My view, once you are past the initial post-op phase, eat whatever way suits you. There is no right or wrong way. Personally, I have always had snacks if I wanted them. Many people always have five or even six small meals a day.

I always tried to follow my Dr.s rules, but I also listened to my body and what it was trying to tell me. If my stomach said it was hungry, I ate something healthy and moved on. Stomachs don't have the same clock as a Dr.s might , so I just tried to use common sense, eat healthy and keep my blood sugar up. Also if you're snacking on nuts twice a day that might be part if your problem. Nuts are good in protien but very high in fat and calories. Try googling high protein foods and choose something different but healthy. Good luck !

If there is more than 4 hours before your next meal. You are probably going to be hungry. I know I eat lunch at 11:30 and I usually need a snack be fore my 6:30 dinner. So I try to eat some almonds or cheese and fruit around 3:30-4

I eat what I want, when I want....(loosely said)

I do not consider myself to follow any particular diet plan....simply put, because of the Lap band, I eat about a 1/10th of what I used to eat over a 24hr period....so considering I eat so little, I try to make the best of what I do eat....

But to answer your question, yes I do snack, when I am hungry...which is very rare.

Yesterday was Memorial Day..lots of food around at backyard party....I snacked all day...but when I sit and think about what I ate over the entire 24hr period, it still adds up to 1/10th of what I would have normally eaten before surgery....

I try to eat if I'm hungry and not eat if I'm not hungry. With regard to snacking, I can be a grazer so I have to really ask myself the question, "Am I hungry right now or just in the mood to eat?" For Snacks I keep almonds in the glove compartment, purse, etc. and I start out with four. If I have those and am still hungry I either have more or figure out it's actually time for something more substantial. Like others my mealtimes vary. I can't really do a planned mid-day mealtime because some mornings I am hungry at 11:00 (rarely before) and others I'm not hungry until after what would have been lunchtime. Sometimes a couple of pieces of apple will do it for me, or a couple of dried prunes -- foods I try to have anyway.

Yeah, I guess my handfuls of almonds or peanuts is not a good portion. Never would have thought of four. Yikes.