I was desperate for a small mcdonalds cheeseburger(hate all their other burgers)earlier today even though I knew itd be bad but I went for it anyway-I dont seem to be able to just quit it and I certainly can't pull off this chewchewchew thing-I mean geeeeeeeeeeez its so hard to chew things to smithereens.sighhhhh-well anyway i ended up choking it up.I could really use some mental excercises everyone else may have used.

I never told myself what I could or could not eat.I gave myself permission for McDonalds Hamburgers or anything else I wanted. I soon figured out what I could not eat, and the desire for it went away. I may still take a little bite of a hamburger, or eat a fry from one of my kids, but the want for certain foods just left me. I have now found that I like some foods that I never ate before being banded and hate other foods that I loved. I don't know when you were banded, but it just takes time. Now the chewing, that also takes time, you will figure out which foods you have to chew more than others and you may begin avoiding the foods you have to chew alot. Hope this helps some.

What's wrong with a McDonald's cheeseburger?

It's not easy to form new habits, and chewing chewing chewing is just that- a habit. Give yourself some time to get it. You'll mess up, you'll pb. Your job is not to be perfect, it's to just keep at it.

I can't tell you what mental things to try, but you might try listening to what you are saying to yourself and how you talk to yourself about your choices.

Don't worry, you have the rest of your life to get used to eating like a bandster.

Megan

Im suppose to still be on liquids/mushies-was banded on April 27th-Im off to a bad start-its just soooooooooo hard for me-Ill be glad to go back to work next week-i have too much time on my hands.

Warning!! Toughlove ahead!!

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Well, How about if you eat solids too soon you could slip your band and UNDO everything you went through surgery for? If you are still meant to be on liquids and you're eating burgers instead, this is a real possibility. Liquids are required not for 'tolerance' sake, but for the healing of your band in place. Scar tissue has to develop around the band in order to 'anchor' it in and help keep from slipping. If you begin feeding it hard solids too early, the stomach then has to begin churning and grinding far too soon which hinders the growth of scar tissue. Liquids, on the other hand, allow the stomach to NOT have to work to digest food and be still long enough to allow the 'anchoring' process.

This band will NOT do all the work, you have to meet it halfway, which means you'll have to try to make good choices at least MOST of the time, especially during the critical healing phase.

Please take care of your band, there are so many others out there who are praying for one that may never get the opportunity to have it. You're one of the lucky ones, it is up to you whether it will be a success or not. Good luck!!

Well, this sound stupid but im going to say it anyway. I know i'm not a bandster yet but i was at mcdonalds with my college buddy, Shane. He ate a big mac and large size fry and coke...

I had the 5 piece chicken selects with a regular fry and powerade...i love powerade...and shane always said that he couldnt do without coke....i can...and did at one point in my life...now i drink coke if im celebrating but im trying to think like a bandster. Oh btw dont fret go to mcdonalds and get that delicious fruit and walnut salad...ABSOLUTELY Delicious! I could see myself eating that every morning...yum yum yum

But if ur in the need to eat mcdonalds i say BUY IT and SMELL IT and TASTE IT in ur mouth even CHEW IT but then SPIT IT out. Once u get the juice going and the smell thats all it really is.

Think of it as being able to "eat" but not swallowing it. This sounds a little creepy but when i was younger i always wished i could take two bites of something and be filled instead having to eat a whole plate full of food. I even remember even when i was full i would put food in my mouth and chew and act like i was going to eat it but then spit it out ...it was like not eating and getting bigger...idk that was when i was like 10 years old lol.

But dont worry i'm eating the foods everybody wants and it aint all that. Food is over rated.... Seriously, Smells of food drive me more crazy than tastes and think of it like this, You probably had your fair share of foods. Hell i've ordered dinners my life when i was younger , went to restaurants all the time. so i've had the red lobster, father and son, benningans, chili's, chinese places, mexican places...and after awhile the love dies. I eat something now and think will i TRULY MISS THIS FOOD. I mean come on you don't live forever and think of it like this. Wouldn't u want to have the band and take life like everyday was ur last because the band wouldnt be a big burden. I know that i will stick to the band once i have it. I got a meeting next Tuesday and Uber excited....

sorry for the long post but i thought i would throw in how i felt. Trust me... eating "anything" is fun for that time but after ur wishing u never ate anything like that. It's ur nature to "gorge" on foods that are "fatty" cause that is what ur lifestyle was used to and its hard for some people to change. Stay confident and eat that soup. Remember, you'll lose ur weight and feel better that not eating foods like that will be worth it in the end. Good luck!!!

Thanks everyone and youre right-I need to just make the better choices and think of the alternative.This is just so hard.

Maybe you need some suggestions on yummy mushy foods that would help satisfy your cravings? I could use those suggestions too as I will be able to do mushies in a week or so .... in the meantime I am still on clears (ugh).

Alatina,

I know exactly what you are saying and I was banded just 2 days before you. Just to put my 2 cents in, here is how I see things. "Trust in your body and what it is telling you," that is an exact quote from my Doctor when I called him about introducing more solid things into my diet. I did the liquids and my body went haywire. Headaches, my entire body was trembling, and my vision became blurred. I called him he said move to the mushie stage, so I did. My docs mushie stage includes flakey fish, ground meats, canned meats like tuna and chicken. I did this and now feel fine but, worried about why I can still eat with ease when everyone else struggles. My point is every doctor is different with there approach on diet and sometimes they differ with each person because we are all so different. Whats good for one persons body is not always right for someone else. No one knows whats truely right for you more than your body and you. Just be very careful. I to have cravings for the old foods like pizza and burgers but, I have to just go to the nearest mirror and repeat out loud something that I read that Jack posted awhile back and again he stated it on this thread. I look in the mirror and say out lound "I WILL BEAT THIS, NOTHING TASTE AS GOOD AS BEING THIN AND HEALTHY FEELS." I repeat it as many times as I need and as loud as I feel I need to just to get it through my thick skull. Every restruant, home, and car has a mirror. Try it, you may be supprised how effective the spoken word is. I also have started keeping a food journal because I have found that it holds me more accountable for what goes in my mouth. When I get upset because I'm not losing, all I have to do is flip through the pages to see whos fault it is. Hang in there girl, you have come to far to go back to the old ways. Just remember and remind yourself often to the resons you had the band done. Your door is open to a new healthy life, you just have to learn how to walk through it. Good Luck.

thnaks so much-its just so weird I feel like an addict-addicted to food-I know I shouldnt-I know its bad but Im willing to risk it but I will just take it one day at a time.

Before I hit the solid stage, I spent a many a minute over the kitchen sink, I actually got pretty good aim at that disposal. I'd chew, chew, chew to get over that need to chew, then into the sink it went. It may not have been pretty, but I sure saved a lot of mental anguish to have eaten and taken the chance to damage my new friend, my band. I'm not a perfect bandster, but I do try hard, and my band sure lets me know, really fast, if I've made a bad choice.

You wouldn't abuse a friend, so don't abuse your band, it too is your friend.

You can have mcdonald's. I dont' know how far out you are, but I also find McD's hard to chew -- their cheeseburgers are kind of rubbery. When I was first banded, I ate with baby utensils for a week or two at home to get an appreciation for how small bites should be. I would cut my food just like I had before, but then cut it in 1/2 or 1/3 again. After that, it became easier to do it on my own--it became habit.