:help: I was banded on 7/18 and made it through the Clear liquids and then the creams, etc. Now I'm on pureed food going into my second week and must stay on it for one month! I don't think I can do it. I am nauseated by the looks of the food I puree and then can't eat it. I don't think I can do this any more!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TenGal

TenGal~I am sorry to hear that you are going through a tough time now. I know it may seem like this phase will never end, but it will. Hang in there, this is a part of your recovery that is important. I remember crying thinking that I did this to make me happier and by not eating, I thought I was miserable. Just know that there are people out here that know what you are going through and are praying for your strength and recovery.

Tengal,

This is what is called Bandster Hell. It is TOUGH, it is HARD, it SUCKS, but eyes on the prize!!! You can do this, you really can. You read all about others going through it before you were banded, now you are here, it's your turn and you've just got to get past it.

Renenber when you started considering the band and it seemed so far away? Remember when you got your date and it seemed like it would never get here? Now here you are two weeks out. You can do anything if you know when it will end. It will end in a month. It will be over and you can move on to a new life.

I know you just want to chew and eat real food. But it's only one MONTH out of your life! One little month. How many years have you been fat? Can you not give a month back? Yes, you can! Don't cheat, now is the time you have GOT to let it heal, cheating now may not show up until years down the road.

TenGal,

I believe you need to do this as your doctor recommends, but if you're having significant troubles, why not talk to the Dr. about it. See if there can be some modification? I remember when I was recommended the pureed and looked into the babyfoods..they are all BROWN...yuck..or huckapuck green color. Couldn't do it. I stuck to yogert and whatnot. Funny, as I was writing that last part, I couldn't remember what I actually ate during that time frame. I interpret that as I must have gotten through it and it was not very memorable. If I can do it they you certainly can as well!!

The newer baby foods are quite good, try the organic varieties, and stay away from 1st foods, you want at least stage 2 as they taste a lot better.

I ended up tossing what I wanted to eat in the blender and eating that. It really helped. For example, on the 4th of July I tossed a grilled fat free hot dog and a small can of Beans with a little catsup and mustard and BBQ sauce to taste and whizzing it up. It was YUMMY! I also took watermelon and made a granita (like a watermelon ice) with it. Do a search for granita recipes on the net, you'd be amazed at what can be made into a granita. I found a tomato granita recipe.

I wanted mexican, so I pureed some canned white breast chicken, some salsa, a bit of refried beans and some queso. I topped it all with some sour cream, heaven. Remember, anything you want that you can blenderize (so no Doritos) can be a pureed food.

I bought loads of baby food and once I figured out I could blenderize real food, I didn't eat much of the baby food I bought. Though I really liked a lot of it. Needed salt, though.

Dressing up the pureed food with sauces like sour cream, salsa or BBQ sauce can cut down on the icky look of the blended stuff. Also I bought little tiny Rubbermaid/Tupperware type bowl containers and ate out of those. Something about seeing a plop of pureed stuff on a plate was gross, but a spoonful of it in a small bowl wasn't bad at all.

If you cannot stand the look of pureed foods, something which also grosses me out, then stay on soups and yogurts for a little while longer. The reason why you are on this crazy diet is so that your brand new hardware may properly adhere to your body as it heals. Stressing your stomach with lumpier foods now may mean that your lapband might slip later on. This would be a bad thing.

I couldn't do puree'd "real food" either. So I just stuck to things like soups that had been blended and that worked.

You can do this. It's not fun nor easy, but you CAN do it.

I'm sure it's very hard, but we're here for you! Like others have said, I just wanted to chime in and remind you that the post-op diet is in place to alow your stomach to heal so the stitches don't misplace. And the hard thing about that is you might not even know for a long time if they didn't take and you band slipped!

So talk to the doc. If they're adamant you stay on the post-op the next 2 weeks, do it! When you feel the need to eat regular food before you're supposed to, come on here and talk to us! Look at all the recipies on the forums and try something new. pureed doesn't have to be boring! You'll find all sorts of idas to try

Keep us informed, as we'll be looking out for you!

Thanks everybody for your encouragement with the pureed food stage of my recovery. I will try harder to endure.

TenGal

Oddly, I only had to stay on pureed food for a matter of days. I wonder why there's so much variability among doctors.