I'm afraid I will miss eating! Seemsi like i will be done in 5 minutes! What do you do with the rest of the time you used to spend eating?

Is this a difficult adjustment?

Being banded March 3rd- excited but nervous.

Sadie from Colorado

The band slows you down so much, it really hasnt ever felt to me like I'm eating less. In fact I get the guilts all the time about how much I've eaten! And when I think about it, it isnt a lot, but it feels that way.

Today I had a small wholegrain roll (really a large dinner roll) with some lettuce and curried egg, and then some strawberries for lunch. It took me about 45 minutes to eat it, and I felt like SUCH a piggie for having strawberries as well as a roll!

To get that nice degree of fullness my preband saturday lunch would more likely have been a meat pie, a sausage roll and a big custard tart!

You really do adjust and eating more slowly and tasting your food means its more satisfying and you actually enjoy it a lot more.

Sadie~ I have my surgery on 3/3 also. You must have read my mind, I have been thinking about this all day. I'm going to miss food so much :thumbup: I can't imagine sitting at my computer and not grazing.

Best of luck to us.

I don't really miss eating as much as I do certain foods.

But, I know how you feel, bc pre-band I was so afraid to lose my lifestyle and the feeling of being so full and numb. I wanted to lose the weight, but I still wanted to eat. Now though, food does not rule my life. I eat bc I have to, not bc I want to. You will get there too.

Many of the reason we is it tied to emotions. You will have to work on this connection. For example, I used to graze all day at work sitting at my computer eating chex mix, pretzels or something crunchy. The more stressed, the more crunchies I would eat. After the band I couldn't do this and had to figure out why I was doing this in the first place. I realized that the reason I ate crunchy things was bc I was stressed and my jaw became really tense, almost like I was going to grind my teeth and to relieve it I ate food (lots of it...bags of chips, chex mix, etc). I kept filling up, but it never solved anything.

Anyway, I can't do that anymore so I have to learn to deal with the emotion in other ways (I'm still working on it).

*snort* Done in 5 mins. I wish. LOL I don't mean ALL the time, but sometimes when I'm in a hurry, it would be nice.

I miss eating when I think of foods I'd like to stay away from (carbs...the bad ones), but once I start eating a meal, it's such a chore I wish it was over with.

I'm a major food addict, so yes - I do miss using that addiction. It is a major adjustment. But with the restriction I have now, I have no choice if I don't want to be in pain.

For me, it was a little while, and my only salvation was working working working. I knew I ate for boredom as well as stress, comfort and anxiety, but I didn't realise how much food/time was consumed by eating for boredom:blushing:

I was banded on 2/4/08, so I'm incredibly new at this. I'm in too much pain still to care if I ever eat another bite in my life! Tell me this will end...

To be honest, most times I like how much I eat now. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I see the rest of the plate and want to push it down that little esophagus that I have.

Fact is, having a band helps the food intake and also the way we look at ourselves in the mirror and it seems to help, so lets just get used to this small meal bit and get over the overeating thing. :thumbdown:

I miss eating big Subway sandwiches the most!

to notice any old habits of turning each meal (and pre meal) (and post meal) (and between meal) (and getting ready to eat meal)(and wondering what to eat next meal) into an oink fest....

Jack, you forgot my favorite: the "I know I just ate, but turns out that wasn't what I really wanted" follow-up meal.

I was banded on Monday and it does take time to get through your broths and drinks. I thought I'd miss it, but I don't at all. When it's time to eat, it's almost like.....not again. You'll all do great, stay positive!!

Why would I miss eating?

I mean, if I ate nothing but diet food, and Protein shakes, maybe I would... But, these days I eat far better quality food, and just slightly less of it. In fact, when I was out to dinner with my SIL, who is on a diet, I actually ate more than her. SHE missed eating! :thumbdown:

So, no. I don't miss eating. And I don't miss eating junk food either. Real food is far more satisfying than junk ever was.

When you are eating smaller bites, and chewing them well, it takes you about the same length of time to eat a meal as those you are eating with take to down their entire meal. Then when you are all finished, you will simply notice that your plate still holds 3/4 of the meal you were served!

Right now, going into this it seems like we over think every little thing. Where as once you develop your new eating habits, and eat that way out of habit, you will not pay any more attention to how you eat than you did 6 months ago. When you eat out now, do you seriously concentrate on the other diners? I don't I enjoy our dinner conversation, and just eat, in my new way. The biggest differences I have found in going out are these...

I now order differently, I concentrate on quality as opposed to quantity. I will order a smaller steak, knowing it will be much tastier, there is never a question of whether it will be enough or not!

And secondly, I go out, and eat without feeling self concious. I used to think everyone was looking at me and wondering why I was eating again---I no longer worry about that.

When you realize you only have space to fit in a small amount of food, you find yourself focusing on food differently. I know I need to pack nutritional food in---not junk. But somehow your tastes change, and you find that a few bites of fresh vegetables are far more satisfying than an entire serving of canned! And a small filet is tastier than a huge sirloin.....small differences, but they count, and the taste difference is amazing!!!

My portion sizes changed dramatically, but my before sizes were massive!!! I read of people only eating 3 bites, and I laugh--I eat a normal diet, and small portions, but not ridiculously so! I would prefer to get my nutrients through my food as opposed to Protein shakes, or pills. I know the band has taught me wonderful lessons in how to eat better for my body. But miss food? Nope I still eat it! Pretty much anything I want....in reasonable quantities. Something I never learned pre band.

Kat

Honestly, I wouldn't really say I miss eating, because even with my band, I can pretty much eat anything, just in smaller portions. At first, I found myself getting a little upset because I thought something tasted so good and I just really wanted to eat more, but couldn't. But then I had a smack myself up across the head kind of V8 moment and realized that it isn't like I will never be able to eat this food again. I will have it again and be able to enjoy it again, just in smaller quantities.

The only thing I really miss is this wonderful Italian Sandwich bread that Publix has. I used to love it with roast beef, but I just can't get the bread down anymore.

I miss certain foods I can't/don't eat, boy do I long for a great big, juicy cheeseburger, with lots of mayo and bacon :thumbup:

For those of you getting ready for surgery. I was prepared to have to say goodbye to everything I loved right after surgery. While you do have to do the liquids and mushies etc., once that was over I could eat a lot of different textures if I did it slowly. I started "losing" problem foods from my diet very slowly over months as my band has been tightened. Truthfully, now I have a lot of "problem" foods but I have had a lot of time to get used to that and now it is sort of like a distant longing - like an ex-boyfriend I no longer cry over but remember fondly!