to how much you used to eat before you were "banded". I'm curious, when I go to a restaurant like Applebee's for instance, I get a side salad, a cheeseburger w/fries and sometimes a dessert. I eat everything. And I'm not even Thanksgiving stuffed.

What did you used to eat at restaurants before and what do you eat now. Also, regular meals at home for b/l/d. Compare a former meal with a "now" meal!

Thanks!

Marieze

to how much you used to eat before you were "banded". I'm curious, when I go to a restaurant like Applebee's for instance, I get a side salad, a cheeseburger w/fries and sometimes a dessert. I eat everything. And I'm not even Thanksgiving stuffed.

What did you used to eat at restaurants before and what do you eat now. Also, regular meals at home for b/l/d. Compare a former meal with a "now" meal!

Thanks!

Marieze

I eat about 25% of what I used to.

I am on my 3rd fill. Favorite meal before: Chili's chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob - sometimes Soup or salad before, no dessert. Now: 4 boneless buffalo wings. Another measure of the difference - old - full dinner plate of food and maybe another depending on what we were having, now - dessert plate 3/4 full, 1 helping and I may not finish all of that.

Sample Day:

Before

B - Mcdonald's sausage mcmuffin, hashbrown, choc milk

L- sandwich and potato chips

D - church's chicken, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes

chips or some other snack after dinner or more dinner

Now

B - 3/4 pack of oatmeal

L- 1/4 cup of chicken salad banana

D - 1/2 grilled chicken breast, 3 tablespoons mashed potatoes

a handfull of nuts before bed if a little hungry.

hmmmm ... before:

Breakfast - 1 or 2 sandwiches from fast food, hash browns, orange juice or LARGE root beer (not diet)

snack - 15-20-40+ mini reese's Peanut Butter cups

lunch - full lunch - entree, 2 sides, roll and sometimes cobbler ... OK 'sometimes' was 2-3 times a week

snack - 15-20-40+ mini reese's peanut butter cups

dinner - if we went out, split appetizer w/ DH, had an entire entree (usually ate the entire thing plus maybe 2-3 bites of DD's food), dessert.

out to eat with dessert was very common 5-7 nights a week

NOW:

breakfast - Atkins shake

snack - 1-2 "smokies" maybe if hungry

lunch - 1/4 cheeseburger w/ spicy mustard (no bun)

snack - iSS bar (protein wafers ... yummmy) maybe if hungry

dinner - NOT out to eat, i actually cook ... and eat about a "dessert plate" of food. 4-6 ounces (6 if i'm hungry) of Protein, maybe veggies if there is room.

we save a TON on not going out to eat anymore ... i love my band.

Thanks for the replies! I guess I keep asking all these questions because it's so hard for me to believe that when banded, whenever that turns out to be, I will actually eat less.

I know when I tell people that I truly only eat 3 meals a day they don't believe it. But it's true. They're just HUGE meals!

I am so grateful for your responses. It really does give me hope. Keep em' comin!

Marieze

Oh this is good stuff!! (Losingjusme...you crack me up with your 'snacks')

BEFORE:

Bkfst: cottage cheese/berries/splenda, 3 coffees w/ cream

snack: cheese stick or handful (or two) of peanut M&M's; Diet Coke

Lunch: An entire Asian Chopped chicken salad (made for 2) at Pei Wei; iced tea

snack: More peanut M&M's or a TBSP of Peanut Butter ...or two; Diet Coke

Dinner: 1/2 basket or more of chips & salsa, 2 enchiladas verdes, some rice& Beans, sopapillas (dessert); Iced tea

NOW:

Bkfst: cottage cheese, berries, splenda and one coffee and cream

snack (maybe 3x/week): 6 almonds or 1/2 spoonfull of peanut butter

Lunch: cup of soup or 1/4 c. tuna salad and 2 saltines

Dinner: tilapia and a salad (last night we went for dinner and I 'stuffed' myself on a cup of soup and a crab cake about 3" in diameter)

Went from eating 2500+ calories a day to less than 1100...so less than 1/2. You'll hear lots of us say it makes us 'ill' to see how much other people can eat or to think how much we used to put away. It's true!! It will amaze you, too.

I eat about 15-20% of what I used to.

Before/Breakfast:

Jack in the Box super sized breakfast meal

After/Breakfast:

Protein shake

Before/Snack:

Candy bar

After/Snack:

Nothing

Before/Lunch:

Wendy's Single Cheeseburger, FF, Mega size Diet Coke

After/Lunch:

Protein Shake

Before/Snack:

Candy Bar or assorted candy/chips/whatever

After/Snack:

Nothing

Before/Dinner:

McDonald's Quarter Pounder w/Cheese, Large FF/Large Diet Coke/Dessert

After/Dinner:

Mega huge salad (Chinese chicken Salad, Tuna Salad, or Veggie Salad)

Before/Snack:

Soup, crackers, M&Ms, Corned Beef Hash, or other assorted crap foods

After/Snack:

A cookie, 10 Neccos, piece of fruit, protein shake (depending on protein and calorie count for the day), or Bell Pepper slices, but usually I finish the salad I couldn't eat at dinner.

Given that i'm not at perfect level of restriction yet, i'm not as small eater as i would like to be. But here's a good example of why i am LOVING my band so far.

The other day went to Hard Rock Cafe with friends, Ordered the Buffalo chicken Burger (or something like that). I couldnt eat the bread (i can most of the times, but i guess this one was REALLY doughy) Anyways...inside the burger is 2 chicken strips, so i ate that and left maybe 75% of the fries.

GARANTEED before the band i wouldve eaten everything on the plate, and because i wouldve been with friends would've stopped there. But in my head i could've went for some desert. And 2 hours later probably been hungry again.

So on average i would say that i eat maybe 40-50%...sometimes less than what i did before. But i'm also not at perfect restriction. So far happy with results. But that day, it really hit me when i noticed how i ate so little. And it's not to be the last to finish instead of the first.

I eat probably half what I used to. I never used to think it was that much but I find myself pretty horrified by other people's plates these days - and I dont *think* its that my perception is skewed. I think people by and large overeat.

I virtually never would have had entree main and dessert though, but I would have eaten a main and a dessert. I didnt stop when I was full, I kept going.

I could eat a quarter pounder meal - medium fries, but I never really drank softdrink, so I never did the bucket of coke thing. that always horrified me.

I used to eat 2 pieces of toast for breakfast, now I can barely eat one. A big bowl of Cereal, now I have about half the amount. I could eat 2 toasted cheese sandwiches at a time, now I cant even finish a half of one. A big salad roll was no problem, followed by a big gooey cake and a coffee if I was out, now I might have a couple of pieces of sushi.

But I nibbled constantly between meals - entire packets of chocolate biscuits etc. Now I am still prone to that - today I have a headcold, I am stressed, I have loads of assignmetn work to do, but am still working full time on teaching rounds, I have lived on coffee, the odd cookie, a muffin, and yogurt for about 3 days. Unhealthy, sugary food by and large but in really tiny quantities, I've barely eaten today and there's homemade spaghetti bolognaise simering on the stove for dinner and I doubt I'll bother, not hungry. That's as bad a habit as overeating, nothing of any nutritional value has gone into my body today.

Ok the "unbanded" fat chick in me noticed bread and rice in the "after" foods mentioned above. I have heard that you can't eat bread and rice like you did before, and rice is my favorite food. I guess it depends on each individual?

It's amazing the quantity differences. I probably eat about 1/3 of what I used to and I don't binge on cupcakes, pizza, french fries etc any longer. The quality of food has significantly improved as well - protein every meal; veggies at lunch and dinner with occasional carbs. I'm still a sucker for potatoes but now its 3-4 spoonfuls of mashed potatoes instead of a family size order of french fries from popeyes

Janie- I can have a very small quantity of bread at meals- I tend not to as it fills me up where I don't get my protein in. Haven't tried rice but again, I'm trying to stay away from the carbs when I can

well since I am in my liquids phase still, I can't do a fair comparison on what I'm eating now....but as for before typical day was:

breakfast:

weekday: two crumpets with masses of butter and cinnamon sugar

3 cups of coffee with real cream

banana

weekend:

Full English breakfast= 3 bacon, 3 sausages, 3 eggs fried in the fat, 2 black pudding, 2 potato cakes, grilled mushrooms with two slices of toast w/jam

3 cups of coffee with real cream

lunch: sandwich, chips, cheese and crackers, soda, coffee and candy bar

dinner:

salad with all the bad stuff on it. (cheese, bacon,chopped meat, veg, tons of fatty dressing)

4 pieces of meatloaf, two helping of mashed potatoes, two helpings of mac and cheese, and some small portion of green veg.

more soda

snack: a LARGE bag of chips, candy or nuts

bed snack: bowl of ice cream or a sandwich, or toast

In between I'd freely snack during the day at work too and drink masses of coffee and soda.

When I cooked it was always with fats. I couldnt use just a pat of butter, it had to be a whole knob of it. Same with cooking with drippings and oils in stead of something healthier. I rarely bought ready made foods, so everything was from scratch but that didnt make it healthier...just fattier the way I cooked it. I'm from New Orleans, lowfat just wasn't in our vocabulary.

I recognize myself too! In fact I have deja vu all over this darn board!!! That's what made me respond to this thread actually. Looking at everyone's menus and seeing myself.

I guess if we all had healthy choices on our menus then we wouldnt be here would we? lol

I was a serious, full-fledged binge eater pre band, so I truly estimate I eat 15% of the quantity I ate pre-band. I could eat 10 pieces of pizza pre-band. Now I might eat one (more likely 1/2 of the slice, then finish the toppings off that slice and throw away the crust).

When I run the numbers, they suggest I eat about 25% of my pre-band calories (i.e. it took me 4,000 cals to maintain 350+ and now I eat about 1000 cals/day). But I don't think I even eat 25% of the bulk. More like 15%.

I eat right at 50% of what I ate pre-band. While that's a good thing, I still need to be lower! My goal is 30% or less.. but I need to get a good fill.

Very interesting to read other's posts....like looking in the mirror sometimes.

pre band -

easily a whole pizza,

a whole box of rice or pasta or cereal,

bag of chicken wings,

huge steak...etc...

total binge eater, perhaps compulsive, seeming as though as soon as a package of food was opened, it was as good as gone.

Basically, "family-sized servings"

post band -

3 oz meat at a time, any meat, but no more than 2 or 3 oz.

any ice cream or soft stuff (avoided unless a treat)

single servings of anything (to control the beast within)

any more than this at one time will make me hurl and be hungrier, curiously...

huge mental challenge, to take away my crutch, eating