Okay, Chris said she was short on guidelines from the nutritional standpoint. I'm curious what other your teams have told you.

When I asked if I should be counting calories my NUT said that she preferred I follow a balanced diet and that if I followed her guides I would be staying between 1000 and 1200 calories a day. She showed me approximate sizes of plastic food so that I could picture how full my plate would be with her guides. She then set priorities when I told her she was crazy if she thought I could eat all that food.

For Breakfast, since I am not a breakfast eater, I asked if it was alright for me to continue with my shake I had been drinking. I found it at walmart in the produce section. It is made by Bolthouse farms and called Perfectly Protein. It has 178 cals, 29g carbs, 10 g protein in each 8 oz serving. She looked at it and the ingredients and said it was a fine substitution for breakfast. I told her I also try to drink a glass of v8 fusion light before I leave the house each day because it gives me 1/2 serving veggies and 1/2 serving fruit and only 50 cals. She approved. I don't know what she would have said if I hadn't been doing shake for b'fast. I'm curious what others have been told.

For lunch she said she wants me to have 1 starch exchange, 1/2 fruit exchange, and 1 veggie exchange. I am also allowed a fat if I want to add p'butter to my apple or put dressing on my salad. She added that I need 2 - 3 oz. of protein. She showed that the 1/2 fruit was about 1/2 banana or apple or about 8 large grapes. The veggie ended up being about 1/2 - 1 cup of veggies. 2-3 oz of protein is about 1/2 of a thin pork chop size. I like cottage cheese for lunch so that is about 1/4 cup of that.

dinner needs to be similar but I am allowed 1 fruit ex. and 1 - 1 1/2 veggie ex. as well as more protein. and 1 fat. The starch would be something like noodles or potatoes.

She didn't add in Snacks for me but said that if I need them to make them "good" choices. She suggested yogurt, string cheese, another Protein Drink. I asked her about soy nuts and she said great as long as I stay with the 1/4 cup suggested serving size. She said to make sure to portion it out before I eat any so that I don't just keep digging in the bag. Those sure do curb my crunchy cravings.

She said to continue to work to get 64 oz of Water daily. I have been fighting to get that in. Very rarely do I succeed. She did say I could count my coffee for 1/2. If I drink 16 oz. I get to count 8 oz for Fluid. I thought I had to say none. So that does help some.

So here is my plan. after my shower I pour a glass of v8 fusion (8 oz) and drink that until I leave for work. In the car I bring a shake for b'fast (8 oz) and 16 oz of coffee (8 oz) During the first two classes I drink a bottle of water (16 oz) and during my next two I work on another bottle (shooting for 8 oz). For lunch I plan on having 1/4 cup of cottage cheese, some fruit, and if I have room, some yogurt. I will change it up with the school lunch as it allows but it is really carb heavy. In the afternoon I try to get another bottle of water in (16 oz) and possibly another protein drink or soy nuts if I'm hungry. dinner will be whatever I am feeding my family. I will be sure to add more fruits and veggies to our table and work on eating them first. In the evenings I will work on another glass of v8 to add another veggie and fruit.

Since I have set this up, my fill was on Wed. I have managed to get all my liquids in and it looks like my scale is moving again. I hope to go in and weigh at my PCP's office on Fridays but didn't go today since I was just in for appt. Wed.

The fill has helped and sometimes it's hard to get the liquid in....but it's not "stuck". Just slow going.

Please add your food plan. I'm interested in hearing what everyone has been told.

TIA,

Steph

I wasn't given any strict guidelines, but the 'suggestions' were similar to yours. I was told that as long as I eat low fat, lo-cal foods that I am free to eat whatever my band will let me eat - preferably healthy of course. Weight Watchers was ok to follow but she felt that there would be too much food but to follow their general eating plan and portion size.

Danna

Steph, I was told to eat only 1 ounce of food at a time. FUn huh?? :wink: First, I was told to eat protein, then veggies, then if i guess had room for a 1/4 of an inch of some carbs, then to go for it.

Wow!

One ounce is really meager. How often are used supposed to eat the one ounce?

I follow a nutritional plan pretty much like Stephanie and keep to 1/2 cup per meal. I just realized that 1/2 cup doesn't always mean the same as 4 oz. Or am I confused?

29 lbs. gone / banded 12/12/07

C.N.

Steph I have been struggling to try and keep my calories up and found the bolthouse farms Protein drink I add it every morning with some skim milk, slim fast, lite and fit yogurt and a half a banana in my blender with some crushed ice I drink 8 oz of that every morning since I'm not a breakfast as well.

I also have been trying to get to 64 oz of Water a day I consume most of it at night, and the v-8 juice is a godsend there is no way I could eat that much food. It sounds to me like you have a great plan in place just try to mix it up a little you don't want to get bored with the same old thing everyday, it could cause you to make a wrong choice here and there.

I'm proud of you it sounds like your doing fantastic keep up the good work and keep posting.

C.N.,

I can have one ounce meals, three times a day. Boy, hope I dont overeat!!

Sheila,

One ounce meals seems really restrictive! That's 1/2 of a quarter cup. Is that forever or just during this healing phase? I know they made our stomachs small, but holy moly!

But then again, my guidelines of about a cup seem excessive. There must be a happy medium that I can find for myself. Maybe somewhere around the half cup range.

Let us know how you feel on one ounce. I'm curious how your hunger will be. Thanks for sharing though. I'm really interested in what everyone's teams say.

If you are having problems w/ serving size... check this out from the Kraft website:

Guide to Healthy Living Serving Sizes

I can't tolerate any more than 1/4 c or 2 oz. And, a liquid cup may be different than how much a dry cup holds. It is easier for meats, or more dense foods to measure weight by using a small food scale. (never knew I'd actually use that nutrition stuff I learned in college! LOL)

Mine is not so specific. 1/2 cup meals, eat Protein first (2 oz), then veggies, then if there's any room, carbs.

I love the Bolthouse farms drinks too! Especially the mocha!! YUM!! Makes me feel like I'm at starbucks. I can't have one in the morning though, too many carbs will send my blood sugar through the roof. I can do them in the afternoon or evening though.

Julie,

We were banded the same day have you had a fill yet or did they start you out with some Fluid in your band the day of surgery? I have to eat 8 oz at a meal or i'm just not satisfied. I was just curious. Also if I eat to fast or overeat I get a wicked pain in my left side and shoulder almost like the gas pains I felt post op.

I was also wondering how your incisions are doing (the port site mainly) and if you could share with me your fitness routine and how your progressing. It's nice to have someone on here banded the exact same day. Have a Great Weekend.

Kim

I know, one ounce is horribly small. I did it for the first few days and it wasnt sooo bad, but now, im eating maybe 1/4 c per meal. I cant help it, 1 ounce is too small, and until i get my fill, thats what im going to do.

My doctor wants me to take 8 bites . . . and wait to see if I'm full. My directions are protein first, then veggies/fruit, and then carbs if there is room. I also have a protein drink mid morning and mid afternoon. Let me tell you right now - 8 bites do NOT do it . . . I can eat my breakfast at 5 or 5:30 . . . and people on the trolley can hear my stomach growling on my way to work at 6:45. I'm getting all my liquids in . . . not a problem at work, but more of a battle on the weekends because I'm not looking at a clock constantly . . . I have met several of my doctor's patients at exercise and support groups - and they have ALL said they have had minimal fills . . . if any . . . I'm supposed to go in again on Thursday for my first fill . . . he told me no on the 2nd when I was there . . . and I'm going to ARGUE if he doesn't want to fill me this time. I don't mind doing what I'm supposed to do when I have my tool working with me . . . but to have the tool but not have it functioning . . . it's like a torture and a sure way to get me disinterested really fast.

I was banded on 12/17 too. So far I haven't had a fill, but I am still monitoring how much I am eating. According to my Dr., he said that once I eat more than a cup full, I can come in for a fill. Also, about that shoulder pain, I asked my Dr. when I went in on my follow up visit, he said that it's because the band is placed and is just under the diaphram and pressure from the stomach getting full causes the band to rub against it and cause that pain. But he said it will go away with the healing.

As far as my incision sites, three have almost disappeared with no scar, and my port site and another are almost gone. YAY! Little to no scarring.

I was told 1 ounce of fluids each hour to start and then after the mushie stage I could have real food. 2-4 ounces each meal. I may need to eat 4-5 times each day. But once the band gets filled then I may need to eat less.

RapKim... I do not have a fill, yet. I'm hopeful that he will inject me on my Jan 23 appt. My stomach was very small and I have a 4cc fill band, so I'm pretty restricted, just from my band, itself.

My incisions are healed completely and I'm massaging them w/ Vitamin e. They look pretty good right now.

As far as exercise, I walk regularly on my treadmill or at church w/ a friend (M, W, F) and on T/Th I do Tae-bo and Pilates at school w/ a group of friends. I also do 15 minutes of mandated activity w/ the kids at school by dancing or doing a pseudo yoga w/ them every day.

Julie,

Thanks for the tip, I need to get my butt up and get moving it is just so flippin cold here I don't want to go out...lol oh well mind over matter I guess. I just had an app. with the dietician and made my app for my first fill Feb. 11th. Thanks again keep up the good work.

Kim