I am counting down my supervised diet to qualify for insurance & following along here. I am really concerned about all the foods I see that people are having problems with. It seems lots of people can't eat steak,chicken,eggs,bread,lots of veggies, fruit with skins & rice or pasta. WHAT"S LEFT TO EAT?? Are alot of people surviving on protein shakes & soup? I like to cook but I'm not sure I'm that imaginitive to make meals out of such little choice. I've done the Atkins diet & couldn't keep it up because of the lack of selection. If you all tell me I'll never be hungry again so don't worry about it then ok....but I just want to be prepared if I'm just going to be sucking soup thru a straw for the rest of my life. Ha Ha.

I eat basically whatever I want to eat. I have had 3 fills.

I eat a lot of chicken. I don't eat bread because it has

no nutritional value. When I eat, I am thinking about Protein.

Noodles, rice, bread etc have no nutritional value. I don't

eat eggs very much because I really don't like them.

If you learn to take very tiny bites and chew until there is

nothing left to chew, you CAN eat many things.

You are probably seeing posts from people at their most restricted. It's true that all those foods can give you problems if you are really tight. But that choice is yours! I just got a slight unfill because I was not happy eating soup all the time! But that was just for a short while after a 0.5cc fill....which just turned out to be too much! I'm feeling much better now and fully expect to get back to my diet of being able to eat just about anything....AS LONG AS I CHEW VERY WELL.

As for the what else do you eat question.... you do adapt! You peel your fruit, you cook your veggies a little more or enjoy them in Soups and stews. You make sure your chicken is moist and your steak is a filet! You eat more fish and less bread. Remember....you only need to eat less than a cup of food anyway, so it doesn't much matter so much anymore!

I had all the same fears that you just mentioned....all of them. I absolutely adore my band and wouldn't trade it for all the tea in China. This feeling of finally being in control is so worth the things you may have to give up.

Would you experienced banders say that food is not as important any more?

The reason I have failed diets is because all the focus is on food. What you can and cant eat how much your portin is and when you eat.

Too much focus on food makes me want it more. Does it slack off once your at your sweet spot?

It varies for me. I still like to eat the things I like to eat...y'know? I guess I don't worry tooooo much about the calories because the quantity is miniscule compared to what I used to eat. BUT that can get away from you, too. I really DO need to watch my calories and nutrition, but I still eat the foods that I enjoy. It's kinda worked out that I'm much more careful during the week and relax a bit more on the weekend. I don't feel deprived very often. Make sense?

Yes that helps a little. I just dont want the rest of my life to be thinking about food. What can I have what cant I have how much did I just eat or did I eat enough.

That kind of thinking trigers my brain into thinking I am hungry and want more food. It is like watching comercials if I am focused on food I want it. ya know?

I agree with Terri. Sometimes I find myself focusing too much on food....what to eat, how much, when.....but I quickly remind myself that I can only eat so much anyhow....so much focus is clearly wasted since I can only eat a small portion of anything. I enjoy what I like to eat.....no question about it. The only thing that causes me problems right now is fruits and veg with skin.

Most of the time I am careful to eat what is nutritious....since I can't eat much I need to eat what is good for me. But, every once in a while I'll go for a "no no" item...not often...but just to get me over the hump of not being able to eat all the bad stuff I use to.

Carol

Yes that helps a little. I just dont want the rest of my life to be thinking about food. What can I have what cant I have how much did I just eat or did I eat enough.

That kind of thinking trigers my brain into thinking I am hungry and want more food. It is like watching comercials if I am focused on food I want it. ya know?

Well, if you're really serious that you think it could cause big problems you can certainly go for some biofeedback or behavioral modification therapy. Maybe check into that? Several bandsters have gone to therapy for their food issues. You wouldn't be alone!

It is just the one thing that I know is a downfall for me when it comes to dieting. The constant thought of food.

I think I may go for counseling.

Thanks

I don't think I focus on food as much anymore. Even if I do, I can only eat a little bit of something, unless it's ice cream.

I think being banded does change your thinking because you fill up fast.

hi cerrin,

for me the band definitely helps me to forget about food more than any other "weightloss tool" i've used in the past.

i know what you are talking about. when i went on weight watchers.,,,,the focus on food was too too much. i was "possessed" . since being banded, i took the word "diet" out of my lingo. when i say i'm on one...all i want to do is eat.

having said that...there are times we do have to exercise control with the band. my head hunger comes after dinner....

...food becomes so much less important with the band.

so i think you will be very happy when you are banded.

good luck and dont worry

It is just the one thing that I know is a downfall for me when it comes to dieting. The constant thought of food.

I think I may go for counseling.

Thanks

It sure couldn't hurt, right?? Do you have a bariatric surgeon yet? If so, ask him for a referral...I'll bet he knows a few good ones.

Best of luck to you!

Would you experienced banders say that food is not as important any more?

The reason I have failed diets is because all the focus is on food. What you can and cant eat how much your portin is and when you eat.

Too much focus on food makes me want it more. Does it slack off once your at your sweet spot?

Food is still important to me but in a different way. How it's changed:

• It's not the first thing I think of in the morning.
  
• I meet friends for drinks, coffee or wine, not dinner anymore.
  
• I don't fret about the cost of the food I buy, because I go for quality not quantity.
  
• I think a lot more about how I feed my daughter. I don't allow her nearly the amount of junk I used to. She doesn't seem to care.
  
• I talk to her about food giving us energy to move. (She's nearly 6).
  
• I get full and I'm done. I'm learning to order less, or save bits of left overs where as in the past I'd just have eaten them.
  
• I have had to remind myself to eat, it's been "hours" since the last time.

Having the band causes you to change your life. Not just adding exercise and eating less. You really will have to process your relationship with food. That's a fantastic thing too! Because it's ones relationship with food that is out of whack that makes one get fat. So, don't expect things to be the same...the same is not what you want.

And it's not atkins, south beach, weight watchers or any of the other things you may have done in the past. It's a whole new way. And that is refreshing.

Would you experienced banders say that food is not as important any more?

The reason I have failed diets is because all the focus is on food. What you can and cant eat how much your portin is and when you eat.

Too much focus on food makes me want it more. Does it slack off once your at your sweet spot?

One issue I have noticed that is a huge change for me is my focus on food, or lack of.

It used to be that at Breakfast I was wondering what to have for a snack. At the snack I was wondering what I would have for lunch, etc. Today I don't even think about it, it's a non issue.

I used to pick restaurants by their serving size. Today I don't even think about serving size, it makes no difference. I used to order off the menu according to which items had the most food. Now I look to see what has the least food. Thin people don't even think about what they will have at a restaurant until they are looking at the menu. Fat people focus on it before they even get there.

I got fat eating burgers and soda. Today once in a great while I wish I could have Diet Coke and that lasts about 1 minute or less and I forget about it. I do miss burgers and bread but it's not a huge issue for me. I probably think about it once a week and after a minute or two it's history, I forget. It's more of a passing thought than anything.

This does not happen with effort, in my opinion. It happens with time. You get to the point that you finally realize you just can't gorge on huge quantities of food anymore and you come to terms with it. When you come to terms it becomes a non issue.

Look at the difference between newbies and old timers in their posting. The newbies posts are all about... what can I eat and how much of it can I have? The old timers have to stop and think about it because it's a non issue.

The thing about the band vs. traditional dieting is that with traditional dieting you get sick of low fat, low calorie, low flavor foods and you cave and binge. The band won't cave, you *can't* binge, there is no room. If you do (and you will) binge you'll hurt, you'll slime, and you'll barf. It takes away ALL the good feelings of consuming huge quantities of food. If it isn't enjoyable to do anymore, you lose the desire to do it. And I'm here to tell you that binging is NOT enjoyable in the least.

It's too bad we can't take away the hyperfocusing on food aspect of the post op diet. I really think that is what makes it so much harder. You think about food then you want food. On the post op diet you are so focused on what you can have and how much, especially after the swelling goes down and you are hungry. If we could somehow take away that hyperfocus on food the post op diet would be so much easier. But I don't think that is possible, it's something that comes with time.

All of my friends got together last night to do crafts. Everyone brought food.

There was a big table covered with food. I ate a couple things. After that, then I had no desire to go back to the table the rest of the evening to pick at the rest of the food. I watched everyone else go back and forth to the food table though.

So I would say the band has definitely changed my relationship with food.

Terri Doodle - You seem wise - before I jump off this "band" wagon adn cancel my surgery for fear of a lifetime of pain, PBing, slime, agony, vomit bags in my purse and multiple cc changes - can I just eat very carefully - always chewing to the nth degree and make it okay?? Please say yes - right now I seem to be putting it in God's hands and yours too - no pressure, though!