I'll begin eating pureed foods this Wednesday, so I'm not ready for solid foods yet. But I find I have a question about why we can't have bread, or nuts, or pasta, or steak (in some cases). Is it because digestion doesn't actually begin until the food reaches our "second" stomach and these things are harder to digest and might get stuck above the band?

Actually, I think most of those are based on you and your bands ability to tolerate it. I eat steak all the time. In fact, I am eating it now. It just has to be a good, tender cut or I cannot chew it up well enough and it gets stuck.

I also have no problem with Pasta or nuts. As far as bread goes, I can't eat soft, doughy bread because it swells up and gets stuck after I eat. However, as long as I am not too restricted, I can get down crusty breads, such as garlic bread without a problem.

So, as I said, unless your doctor has specifically told you not to eat these foods, it will be on a trial and error basis to see what works with your band and what doesn't.

My doc said no steak or pork for about six months. Ground beef is ok. Don't want to stress the pouch. I'm going to make some chili and see how that goes as soon as I get to the soft food stage. That sounds good. Right now it is seasoned broth.

The foods you listed are common problem foods with banded people. Some bandsters have no trouble with them, some do. It has to do with level of restriction and just personal experience, so you can't really say those foods are totally off limits. The reason they are a problem for some people is that they are all foods that don't really 'disintegrate' or break down when chewed a lot. Steak tends to form a big blob (sorry to be so descriptive) and never really breaks down before being swallowed. Same with white bread. To be able to swallow food with the band you have to get it to the consistency of applesauce (approximately, again, this varies from bandster to bandster) Technically, from a band standpoint, there are no foods that are off limits. It is strictly a question of what YOU can eat with the band. I have no trouble with nuts, but have big problems with beef. Everyone is different.