I got banded a little over a week ago and at the seven day mark, my doc says that it is okay to have mushies. Well, it seems as though everyone has a different definition of a "mushy". Some say its only oatmeal, soft eggs, yogurt, Soup, etc. Others say that it can be regular food, only blended. I'm still not sure of how much of each i'm supposed to be eating. For example, I ate a whole packet of oatmeal for Breakfast. Mind you, it took me about an hour and a half and having to re-heat like 3 times, but is this normal?

Should I be hungry like this? I've made some extra finely chopped egg salad, but how much should I be eating at a sitting (in oz, as I don't have a measuring cup just those oz cups they gave me in the hospital.

I don't want to stretch my pouch. I haven't thrown up or PB'd anything. Everything goes down. I have my follow-up appt in about a week and will definitely be mentioning my concerns, but in the meantime, i'm reaching out to my fellow Bandsters here.

Thanks for all your help.

PS ( i just made some baked salmon and green Beans that I would love to eat, both are really soft, but don't know if I should or how much):smile2:

Your doctor really should have given you some more guidelines!

My doctor's definition of mushy includes:

Yogurt

Cottage cheese

Mashed canned salmon or tuna

Mashed tofu

Ricotta cheese

Very soft cooked egg whites

Nonfat refried Beans

Hummus

Mashed potatoes or yams

sugar-free pudding

pureed Soups

Applesauce (add Protein if desired)

Pureed fruit

Cream of wheat type cereals (including oatmeal)

Soggy dry Cereal (no nuts, seeds, dried fruit)

I was advised to keep my portion sizes should be 4 oz or less, so 4 of your oz cups. I found it convenient to use those little Pyrex custard cups from the grocery store - the small ones hold 6 oz and the larger ones hold 10 oz, so I could judge my portion sizes easily. I know that I was up to 6 oz servings by the end of two weeks on mushies, but then I got to start solids and went back to smaller portions.

It's hard to get enough protein (for me, 60 grams) when you're eating mushies, so I typically have a 20-30g Protein shake for a snack, also.

To help with hunger, pay attention to the protein content of your mushy foods. There are yogurts with 3 g protein and yogurt with 20g protein - the latter (Fage, Oikos) will keep you feeling full longer. There are oatmeals with more protein, like Kashi. Mashed fish will have more protein than applesauce, etc.

My favorite mushy is cottage cheese with chives - after days or weeks on Protein shakes I'm dying for something that's not sweet.

My next favorite is baked ricotta - mix 1/4 cup (2 of your little cups) ricotta with an ounce each of eggbeaters and shredded mozzarella cheese, top with 1-2 oz of pasta/pizza sauce and sprinkle with a little parmesan. Microwave for 1-2 minutes.

I hope that helps - best of luck with your journey!

Oh, and the other thing that was recommended to me was that I only eat for 20-30 minutes, then stop. Generally I won't be hungry within half an hour of stopping, and if I am, I drink 2-3 cups of liquid then I don't feel hungry again :-)

Hope that helps!

Alyson, you are a life saver! I had called my doc's office and they basically told me the same confusing crap that I got in the first place. I'm pretty intelligent (at least I like to think so) and I just could not wrap my head around this whole thing. Also, how often do you eat? I'm trying to space things out about 4 or 5 hrs. I think if I just eat for about 20 minutes and space things out, I should be okay.

Thanks again!!

Now if I can just get active. I go back to work on Monday so it will take my mind off of food, food, food.

MsHooper -

My doctor's guidelines are to eat three meals a day, with 1-2 smaller Snacks if necessary. That usually translates to eating every 3-5 hours for me. When I'm well-restricted I have to remind myself to eat and only manage meals. When I'm looser I eat five times a day... My meals are usually 2-4oz Protein + 2 oz veg. My snacks are usually 1-2 oz protein + 1-2 oz veg or fruit.

Your plan sounds good to me - good luck!

Refreid Beans with cheese metled on top was great for me. I loved it. I went to Taco Bell when I was not at home and got the Pintos and CHeese(Same thing) Oh it was heaven after eating a bunch of oatmeal and yogart.

Also i overcooked my mac and cheese so the noodles were a little mushie, and it qualified. Oh I remember the first night I ate that. it was liek eating a gourmet (sp) meal.

Good luck don't push it. I think my hardest habit to break was just eating to eat. Hungry because I was bored. Now I find other things to do.

Don't worry about over eating the first time you do you'll know and never do it again. just take it slow and listen to your body it will tell you when you are full. I had no idea what that felt like until I got the lapband.