International Travel, Eating & The Band: prefill

In case anyone has questions about traveling & eating with the band I wanted to simply share my latest trip.

4 weeks after surgery I went to Thailand. I had already progressed to normal food (my doctor however wants us to avoid starches, rice, Pasta, potatoes, cereals, breads - etc for up to 6 months). However, it's Thailand and while there's lots of grilled meats & fish - there is a LOT of rice!

Yes, I ate rice. No, I didn't have any problems with it. I did talk to my doctor about the trip - we decided that it would be OK to eat what I could. I would then focus on a "proper diet" when i got back. I packed some Protein shakes & protein snack chews in case i had any trouble with the food (ended up throwing eveything out 1/2 way through the trip to make room for things I purchased instead!)

In the 2nd week of the trip (5 weeks post-op) I was able to eat more and more. It was interesting in that it was very inconsistent. Some meals I'd eat a cup or more of food. Others I'd be stuffed after 1 or 2 chicken or pork satays (about 2 ounces). Overall I know I ate too much as I seemed to be full too frequently. I think it's pretty normal that as our stomachs heal we may be able to 'handle' more food than we should. Afterall, it's the band and we have to work on our diet more than with some other WLS.

I don't think I lost any weight on the 2 week trip (hard to tell as travel always bloats me & it's now that time of the month). My clothing is definitely looser though.

Overall, my energy level was fine the entire time. I have my first fill on Thursday so looking forward to continuing this journey.