Hey everyone.... I just found out that I am pregnant! Yays!

I can't find much ongoing info about pregnancy and being banded, so I would like to start this new thread. It would be comforting to hear from others who are going through this wonderful journey! So if you are pregnant and banded and would like to share your everyday stories it would be greatly appreciated! I cant wait to hear about it and we can grow our bellies together!

~Raynie! :clap2:

I don't have 'good' food ideas, it's just making the choice of eating good vs. bad.

I don't make the good choice much anymore. I also want mayo on everything.. and french fries.

Do as I say, not as I do.. make good choices :ohmy:

so anyhow does anyone have any good food ideas?

I have been indulging in my daily small bowl of cereal, which other than the milk and a bit of fiber, isn't doing anything special for me.

Other than that, I am making good food choices most of the time (It is only that occasional 5-10% that I am ashamed of, lol).

I am tired of same old, same old bandster choices. When I was in heavy weight loss mode, I swear I was eating the same things more or less constantly but now I am sick of them. I have really mixed up the menu quite a bit.

I have been eating salad with home-made guacamole, making egg salad, tuna salad, chicken salad from time to time with a touch of lowfat mayonnaise and lots of mustard. I have been eating a lot of protein lately whether it be chicken, steak and I have been cutting back on the fish. I want fish all the time but I know I am not supposed to eat a lot of it during pregnancy.

My family is Turkish so we eat mostly meditteranean dishes with the occasional American, Mexican, Italian food thrown in when the mood hits me.

One of my favorite standbys lately has been really good steak cut into small baby bite size pieces cooked with onions, tons of sliced portabella mushrooms, a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, red pepper paste and tomato paste with water.

I make homemade chicken enchiladas with low-carb tortillas. This is great because my family loves it and makes great leftovers (one of the few things that can be better the second time around, lol).

I have been making homemade soups, but two are the primary. One is a red lentil soup with chicken broth, shredded carrot, a whole small onion and potato pressure cooked, mixed to blend the onion and potato into the soup and served with red pepper and fresh squeezed lemon. The other is a yogurt soup with chicken broth, a little flour for thickening, a tiny bit of cleaned rice for texture, 1 egg yolk mixed in (good for texture but you can't taste it) and salt. When it is finished it is topped with fresh mint sauteed in a little butter, and red pepper flakes. It is not only yummy but is pretty in white with red and green flecks.

I make chicken with okra in a tomato based chicken stock with onions.

I pan fry salmon with fresh dill and lemon in just a tiny bit of olive oil with a sauce on the side that includes yogurt, dill and very finely chopped cucumbers.

I make a fresh homemade salad almost every day with finely chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, parsley and lettuce. Sometimes I chop some red cabbage really small. This is always topped with fresh squeezed lemon and a little olive oil. Sometimes I will put a spritz or two of grape vinegar in it. This salad is always eaten throughout dinner and is basically my filler food.

Anyway, those are the things I eat fairly often. There are not many carbs (if you forget the cereal and the carbs I have are not usually a main ingredient quantity-wise). I also do eat fats, but mostly olive oil in limited quanitties. Mostly they are whole foods that are non-processed and I think healthy for me, the baby and the rest of my family as well.

Edited December 18, 200817 yr by HeatherO

HeatherO wrote:

I have also been on a fruity yogurt kick lately. I like the Yoplait Whips or the Yoplait Light "Thick" yogurts. I like the different textures, there is plenty of calcium and not too many calories.

Hey peeps! Heather, are you eating yogurt sweetened with aspartame, as most light/fat free yogurts are? I've been looking everywhere for non-fat yogurts sweetened without aspartame and can't find any....since preggos can't have aspartame, I've been eating regular lowfat yogurt, but at nearly 220 calories per cup, thats just hard on me.

I am up about 5-7 lbs depending on the day I weigh. Not great for only 7 weeks, but I am TRULY getting hungry all the time now, so trying to make good choices. My cravings are similar to all of yours, mostly sweet stuff (powdered donuts, grapes, blueberries, yogurt and cereal) I think part of the weight gain is due to constipation and water retention...at least I hope so!

my OB says small amounts of aspertame is fine ... i use sweet and low when we go out to eat for my tea...

Same.. BCBS has a Baby Yourself program, so some nurse calls and checks up on me and talks to me every month. The first time she called, she asked if I used artificial sweeteners.. I told her I use Sweet-n-Low (Only one I like, and I like it a LOT!) and of course, she says that's the ONLY ONE that hasn't been tested (why??) and cleared, so told me to swap to Splenda, Equal, or Sugar. I tried Splenda & Equal and do not like either.. so I went to sugar for a little bit, but with the weight gain, I decided I didn't need more sugar than normal.. so I'm back to Sweet-n-Low. I don't have it every day, I have it when I get tea at restaurants, probably 4x a week.

Oh well..

Hey peeps! Heather, are you eating yogurt sweetened with aspartame, as most light/fat free yogurts are? I've been looking everywhere for non-fat yogurts sweetened without aspartame and can't find any....since preggos can't have aspartame, I've been eating regular lowfat yogurt, but at nearly 220 calories per cup, thats just hard on me.

I haven't had more than a couple of the "lights" in the thick and creamy over the past couple of months - the normal ones are 180 or so. The whips aren't light at all, but at only 140 calories I can live with that. I was also told that sugar substitutes are generally OK in small quantities.

After banding, I cut out almost all artificial sugars. I read some scary things about all of the 4-6 daily diet pops I was consuming pre-band and I thought it really isn't that healthy.

My coffee is creamer only, if I drink Juice it is the real thing just in smaller quantities, tea is also with creamer only and I just drink tons and tons of water. I will have an occasional Splenda in tea - but only half a packet. Yogurt is occasionally light but I wasn't eating it much until the past month or so. I only buy diet ice-cream but I might have bought it twice in the last year. I probably only have a couple of diet sweeteners a week at the most instead of the multitude daily I used to have.

I tried to see is Splenda was healthy with pregnancy and there was nothing conclusive anywhere. It seems like there is just not enough information out there yet.

still holding at a gain of about 3lbs- I was up almost 5 for a few days but I think it was water or something. I was craving salt a lot last week so maybe I was retaining a little. Anyhow I struggle all day to not just stuff my face. I want to!! Part is because we are snowed in and I'm bored :biggrin: and part due to cravings and the other part is just mental telling myself I'm pregnant and I 'can' eat. it's going to be a VERY long 8 months!!

back down to 217! not sure how because I ate 10mini chocolate chip cookies yesterday! being snowed in is no good for my diet :tongue_smilie: Did a preggo yoga video this am, so was not fun! then I had 2scrambled eggs with spinach, green onion and I diced up 1/2 an avocado and cherry tomatoe. It was delish:tt2: oh did I leave out the three pieces of bacon I ate?:tongue:

On the subject of the artificial sweeteners debate, I pulled this from americanpregnancy.org, the only government run, FDA approved pregnancy website in the USA. For informational purposes. On the definitions page of this same website, moderate use it described as 1-3 times weekly average use, or less than once daily on medications. Fairy, I'd think about the 4x weekly Sweet n Low use. It's my favorite sweetener too, but I've resorted to using reg sugar or 2 Splendas in it's place until baby is out. Read on:

Aspartame: (Equal or NutraSweet) Aspartame is not effective in heat nor for long periods in liquid form. It is often found as an additive to soft drinks, gelatin, desserts, pudding mixes, breakfast cereals, beverages, chewing gum, dairy products, and other foods and drugs. According to the Food and Drug Administration(FDA), Aspartame is safe for use during pregnancy and lactation. It is recommended to limit consumption to a moderate level.

Aspartame should not be used by anyone with PKU (a rare metabolic disorder), rare liver disease, or by pregnant women who have high levels of phenylalanine in their blood. Phenylalanine is a component of aspartame, and it may not metabolize correctly in anyone who has these conditions.

Sucralose: (Splenda) This is non-caloric sweetener that is made from sugar. Sucralose has been approved for use in baked goods, baking mixes, non-alcoholic beverages, chewing gum, coffee and tea products, confections and frostings, fats and oils, frozen dairy desserts and mixes, fruit juices, sugar substitutes, sweet sauces, toppings and syrups. It can also be used as “table-top sweetener.” Sucralose has no effect on blood sugar, offers no calories, and is deemed safe during pregnancy and lactation. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sucralose is safe for everyone to consume, including pregnant women.

What artificial sweeteners are questionable or NOT safe to use during pregnancy?

Saccharin: (Sweet 'N Low) Although it is not used as much today as in the past, it still appears in many foods, beverages and other substances. The FDA does consider saccharin to be safe to use for the general public. Former studies that had linked saccharin to an increased risk of developing bladder cancer have been dismissed by the National Toxicology program. But studies do show that saccharin crosses the placenta and may remain in fetal tissue, so its use for pregnant women still remains in question.

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What artificial sweeteners are questionable or NOT safe to use during pregnancy?

Saccharin: (Sweet 'N Low) Although it is not used as much today as in the past, it still appears in many foods, beverages and other substances. The FDA does consider saccharin to be safe to use for the general public. Former studies that had linked saccharin to an increased risk of developing bladder cancer have been dismissed by the National Toxicology program. But studies do show that saccharin crosses the placenta and may remain in fetal tissue, so its use for pregnant women still remains in question.

hmm interesting. I wondered about this as well. I have really cut back from adding S&L to things but I LOVE it in my sun tea int eh summer so it's gonna be hard this summer. I use like 5packets in a big ol 32oz glass sometimes twice a day!!

I do drink "skinny latte's" daily though which is a sugar free sweetner, not sure what though and I also drink propel. Wonder what is in that for sweetner?!:wub:

I've got a quick odd question. As your belly grows with your baby does anyone have pain at the port site?

good question because I had a realy wierd experience today!!!!!!

I was leaning against a counter that was hitting right where my port is. Hold that thought- I actually made hubby feel my port last night because I thought it was sticking out more lol- he get's so groosed out by it! ANyhow so I'm leanign against this counter and didn't even realize it was hitting my port until a leaned away and realized it felt funny. As I walked to my car it felt really funny almost like I knocked the darn thing loose lol- once I convinced myself I couldn't knock it loose I figured the sensation was just from mybely and everything slightly changin positions as I grow! I havn't gained any weight yet. I'm 8weeks and don't look preggo at all. I know things are changing though, I can feel it in my posture.

I've got a quick odd question. As your belly grows with your baby does anyone have pain at the port site?

mine is getting sore... i think my uterus is just stretching over it and i can feel him kicking soooo close to it...

I've started having port pain in the last few days. I'm 15 1/2 weeks.

No port pain yet . . . but back pain has been really bad. I have never been to a chiropracter in my life but have gone twice in the last month. I am really miserable sometimes and can't sleep (and I have a high pain tolerance).

This has been a problem for me since the beginning of pregnancy but it is getting progressively worse.

Has anyone else suffered with unusual back pain in early and mid pregnancy? I am starting to get worried about the third trimester.