Let's talk about diet

Shinyhappymommy · February 28, 2008

Hi guys.

I was banded February 8th. I'm beginning to have trouble with the post op diet. I find myself drawn more and more to solid foods and I think I'm getting ahead of myself. Nothing I have eaten has caused me problems, but I know I'm jumping the gun on my surgeon's guidelines.

Sometimes I feel so lost as to what I can eat, that I just try to do the best I can and some of the choices aren't the best. I'm a little embarrassed to say that I ate a muffin this morning. I chewed each bite slowly enough that it was liquidy before going down, but there's no way I can justify that a muffin is pureed foods. For dinner tonight, I had a baked potato (which would be fine, except for the carbs) and a few bites of meatloaf. After chewing, I ended up taking anything that felt too solid out of my mouth.

I need to back up a bit and stick to pureed foods for another week. The silly thing is, when I talk to my surgeon, he says only pureed foods, but then mentions that some soft deli turkey would be okay and cottage cheese is okay. Also he says that as long as I can get the food to a liquid state in my mouth it doesn't have to be run through the blender. I think those comments are what make me feel like I can move forward with more solid foods as long as I'm chewing them thoroughly.

Those of you who were banded toward the beginning of the month, what are you eating? How are things going for you guys, diet-wise?

peabody · February 28, 2008

hi there,

i was banded on the 6th, and just had my first fill yesterday. my surgeon recc after 2 days going to mushies and then after 2 weeks of mushies going to solids. i have been so surprised that salad has been on of the easiest solids to get down (the dietician said because it has such a high Water content. I hear ya about being ready or wanting to move on ahead.

for what it's worth, be careful of chicken, i have pb a ouple of times over it....i have also seen all over this board about having some sort of "gravy" or liquid to ease meats down...

as far as carbs etc. it seems that the meal plans are as varied as anything. some folks are doing just smaller portions of regular food.

then there are those of us who are carb phobic LOL and are south beach ish For me this is better because i'm currently a type 2 diabetic...who is rapidly decreasing her meds due to my surgery and weight loss

i hope this helps....but what cracks me up is that i might have 6 little ritz bits and i feel like oh no i've cheated...when before it would have been so much worse...

wishing you peace in bandland

amanda

Jeanieg6 · February 28, 2008

I'm very confused about all the differences in the diet from doctor to doctor. Why is it? Isn't this operation the same for all? why is there so much difference in the liquid/food eating from doctor to doctor? sound really weird to me. then every one has to follow their doctor's orders, but yet if I went to another doctor I'd be eating differently? I just don't understand, seems they should be all the same because it almost sounds like it doesn't matter since there are so many different amount of days for Clear liquids and then purreed foods, then mushy foods and then solids. Maybe it really doesn't matter? I'm so confused about this part, does anyone have a reasonable explanation? lol

I was told also not to get a fill for 6 weeks, why does that very also?

Good subject.

Thanks for bringing it up. :blushing:

Jeanie

jnbwilds · February 28, 2008

I'm really interested in the differences from doc to do also! I think that since everyone's anatomy is different, people react differently to the band - even when it isn't filled yet. Also, the swelling goes down at different times for everyone. So, I'm guessing some doctors take a very safe approach and have people stay on the pureed foods longer and some take a more relaxed approach.

I had surgery on Feb 6, and honestly - I'm on soft foods now and haven't had any problems. I had e-mailed my nutritionist a little over a week ago complaining of being hungry, and they recommended starting scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, deli turkey, and tuna. If I tolerated those things, I could start incorporating more normal foods as long as I chew well.

Right now I'm eating soft scrambled eggs or oatmeal for Breakfast every morning. I try do do a Protein shake for lunch to save up calories for my rough time of day (4pm-9pm) Notice I'm on-line during that time to distract me from eating. dinner is usually tuna, salmon, or chicken and some steamed veggies. I have some cottage cheese or yogurt as a snack after work. I'm trying to drink only Water and stay under 1000 calories a day.

But I'm really hungry! I have to admit that a few times I've eaten as much as 6 or 7 ounces at a time because I'm hungry and it goes down without any problem. I'm still losing weight (more slowly) but now I've been doing it on just willpower for 2 months. I'm eager to have the band take a little of the heat off of me actually!!

Eager to hear what others at this stage are eating!

Shinyhappymommy · February 29, 2008

I am doing better. Just by posting this, I kind of recommitted to sticking with the prescribed diet. I personally think 3 weeks is one week too long on the pureed foods. Oh well, what's one more week?