Hi Everyone. I have been searching through all of the posts looking for answers, but figured it might be best just to start a new thread. Please help me here if you can. I like alot of restriction, and I am satisfied where I am currently. The weight is continuing to come off, and I am feeling well, but I am hungry, and am needing help with some ideas of things to eat. I am currently at 9ml in my 10ml band, so am very restricted. I can drink fine, but cannot eat anything that is not liquified. I am hungry, and aside from soups, are there any suggestions of foods that I can eat to make sure that I am getting exactly what I need. I know what makes me happy, and being restricted (very) is where I need to be. I do know however, that it is very important that I am getting the proper nutrition. And I am failing in this department. My hydration is good, and my energy is okay, but I am going to run out of steam very quickly if this keeps up. So fellow bandsters, knowing that protein is essential, can you please give me some ideas as to what I can eat? I bought some Slim Fast shakes today, and I can tell you that I will not be drinking a second one. The smell made me want to vomit. After drinking a half cup of the stuff, I felt like I needed to vomit all night. Not because of the restriction, only because of the smell and taste. Thanks in advance for any comments and suggestions.

I have no idea....I am just the opposite, I prefer mild restriction, and increased exercise to get the weight off. I enjoy still being able to have meals with my family, and things like that.

There are a lot of shakes besides the Slim Fast---or you could make your own with Protein powders.

Is your Dr. ok with you simply drinking your entire diet? Mine insists I am too tight if I cannot eat hard Proteins without pain. I am not meaning to question the way you choose to manage your band and your weight loss---I am just asking out of curiosity, since I was under the impression that being too tight could be problematic. But by problematic, they likely mean the inability to actually eat solids, and you are ok with that!!!

Does your Dr. suggest any protein supplements in general?

Kat

Hi Health Ultimate Meal Protein powder shakes, in your blender with some fruit and splenda, work for me. I am a bit too tight, but not as tight as you. When I have been having problems getting solids down and need to cool it with liquids, that's what I have. I mix in blueberries, strawberries, peaches, even leftover coffee (not all of them at once, but the different things for variety) for shake flavoring. I like to use the plain vanilla bean shake powder. If you don't have Hi Health stores in your area, you can order it online. I'm with you on some of the other canned stuff; I give my mom Ensure but can't even stand the smell of it myself!

I also like the Campbell's Soup to Go creamy chicken. I have oatmeal with a bit of milk in it for Breakfast. Yogurt of course, and sugar free puddings for Snacks.

I have switched from slimfast to MuscleMilk Lite. It saves me 60 calories and gives me WAY more Protein.

I have great difficulty with breakfast. It took me an hour to get down 1 cup of Cereal. On mornings that I run I drink a MuscleMilk Lite so that I have the protein. Other mornings I just sit in my office and work on getting it down

Are you taking chewable Vitamins and minerals?

You can also get AnyWhey Protein Powder. It has no flavor and you can add it to your soups, shakes or whatever you are having.

Good luck getting through this "extra" tightness

wombat

Liquid Isopure drink has 40 grams protien is premixed in a 20 oz bottle, flavors are icy grape, orange frost, blue rasperry, alpine fruit punch, this will help your hunger.

Danna

The band is not meant to work properly with just consuming liquids. The band works best when we eat solid Protein that stays in our pouch. If you can't eat solid protein, then the band is most likely too tight. It takes time to "read" the signals our pouch sends to our brains about being full or satisfied. It's not the same as our old full belly feeling.

We shouldn't confuse slow weight loss or a short plateau to mean we need a big fill. Sometimes a small fill is better, as we can then consume solid protein but remain satisfied longer.

I will have a day of liquids if I reach a plateau as I find it can jump start my weight loss again, but a steady diet of liquids will not work in the long run. We are not supposed to lose weight by starvation but rather by limitation.

I was where you are, but I may have been tighter as fluids would come up from time to time.

Some don't want that kind of restriction. But like you, I do.

The band isn't rocket science and along with my doctor, I endured months and months of sliming. Not stuck, mind you...just slime. You know, the stuff your esopogas produces to get stuff down to the stomach.... everyone has it...banded or not. But with restriction the slime is more prevelant and is helpful in the process.

I don't know what to tell you. I ate normally but slimed daily. I couldn't find anything to actually go down. And I learned not to eat after 5 or 6 or else I'd be getting up to go to the sink after going to bed.

Sounds weird, but when I got really hungery...I'd eat Peanut M & Ms. They went down. Right now I can't think of anything else that went down w/o incident.

Good luck and stay close to your doctor during this time.

A site that is great for Protein drinks is Vitalady.com.

These are for bariatric patients and have a lot of protein. I buy a lot of samples for variety.

If you feel hungry a lot, you are probably low on protein. when I get like that I mix a little peanut better with my choc. shake. Really yummy.

Just be careful, I read that when we are too tight, we take in more calories that you think with the softer foods going down easier and drinking high carolorie Meal Replacements.

If you drink a lot of Protein Drinks, I would stay away from adding too much milk and just add the Water, but have more of them during the day. That is what I do, less carolories and you can have more of them.

Yogurt is a good snack and no suger added applesauce is good also.

I'd like to second what Shortgal said. If you are so tight that you can only take liquids, you are too tight. And liquids will never make you feel full, your band only works with solid foods. It's dangerous to go too long with a too-tight fill, and can lead to problems with your band down the road. Have you had an upper GI to look at your band and your restriction? You might talk to your doctor about that.

The band isn't intended to forcibly prevent us from eating food. It is supposed to work to curb our hunger, so we can eat small, sensible meals and not be hungry for 3-4 hours in between. It's easy to get into the trap of wanting lots of "restriction" to keep us from overeating, but this isn't good for your stomach in the long run if you want to keep your band for more than a couple of years. I would meet with your doctor to discuss all of this and determine if you need a little bit of an unfill. (I know your other thread said you have the nurse give your fills, no questions asked. I'm not saying the nurse isn't capable...I'm a RN myself...but she should be asking questions about what you are able to eat, whether you ever vomit, slime etc, and so on to determine if a fill is appropriate. Not doing so is at least irresponsible, at worst malpractice.) You should be able to eat solid food to meet your nutritional needs, period. The occasional day of liquids is fine, and of course after a fill, but if that is how you are getting your nutrition every day, there's a problem. good luck!

This stuff is great. At Welcome to the UNJURY Homepage. They have unflavored that you can add to anything. Your regular soups, juices, puddings, jello, sauces anything. They have flavors too. The protein count is high and the fat is 0 & only 80 calories.

Do what you have to lose, then work yourself back to regular foods when you're ready.

I was where you are, but I may have been tighter as fluids would come up from time to time.

Some don't want that kind of restriction. But like you, I do.

The band isn't rocket science and along with my doctor, I endured months and months of sliming. Not stuck, mind you...just slime. You know, the stuff your esopogas produces to get stuff down to the stomach.... everyone has it...banded or not. But with restriction the slime is more prevelant and is helpful in the process.

I don't know what to tell you. I ate normally but slimed daily. I couldn't find anything to actually go down. And I learned not to eat after 5 or 6 or else I'd be getting up to go to the sink after going to bed.

Sounds weird, but when I got really hungery...I'd eat Peanut M & Ms. They went down. Right now I can't think of anything else that went down w/o incident.

Good luck and stay close to your doctor during this time.

Grace: I have to respectfully disagree with this advice. I see you are past your goal and obviously further ahead in your weight loss journey, however advising people that are too tight that M and M's will go down when they are asking about how to get Protein in, doesn't seem helpful or healthy to me.

It seems you advise weight loss through starvation. Would getting to goal by being anorexic or bulimic advisable? I don't think so. We should be having surgery and getting to our goal weight by eating as healthly as possible. didn't we all abuse our bodies enough with food before having surgery?

Yes, sometimes this would include some days of all liquids if that is all our bodies can handle, but a steady regimen of that?

You tell her to stay close to her Dr. but this person gets fills from a local nurse that "doesn't ask questions", she just plops down her $75 and gets a fill.

I know you prefer to be VERY restricted and that's fine if that's your choice, but I think you know that's not what Dr's advise as it can lead to band slipping, not to mention sliming, getting stuck, PB's etc. so why advise people to get tight restriction?

"months and months of sliming" just isn't right or normal to me. The band might not be "rocket science" but it is science.

I have to agree with Shortgal. There is a lot more to good health than being skinny!