Three months ago I sat in a small sandwich shop and ate a huge turkey sub. Turkey, cheese, and a mountain of veggies covered with mayonnaise, that was delicious. It is also just a memory.

I can no longer handle meat. My first experience was 45 days post op. My wife and I went to a steak house. I ordered a small steak and planned to take a few small bites to Celebrate liberation from the rigorous post-op diet my surgeon put me on. The steak was so juicy and tender. I chewed slowly in appreciation of solid food and swallowed the small fillet of heaven.

I threw up the moment the steak hit my stomach. Not the best start to my new lifestyle. I was in plenty of pain for the next half hour. The next day I reported back to my surgeon for my first fill. He told me that some people just can't handle some things and to say goodbye to my old friend.

A few weeks ago, I sat down with a small hump of cottage cheese and spinach with blu cheese. I sprinkled my salad lightly with tiny shreds of bacon. Again, the moment the bacon hit my belly I was in trouble. What a stomachache!

I can eat all sorts of things: sticky rice, white bread, and any vegetable, but any type of meat just gives me trouble. The long and short of this story is that I am now a vegetarian.

A couple days ago, my wife had some friends over - a gakle of 20 something grad students. As they giggled and gossiped in the living room, I rummaged about the fridge in search of cheese or some other lap band friendly meal. Sadly the fridge contained only party foods: soda, alcohol, juice (did I say food?), and fried chicken. I poked my head around the corner and asked my wife if we had anything other than meat. This caused a little commotion among the ladies in the living room. "What, he doesn't like chicken?" I heard one of them chide. My wife explained that I am a vegetarian. This pronouncement was met with a moment of angst as the room fell silent and all eyes turned to me, a 5' 10'' 25 year-old weighing almost 300 lbs even. I broke the silence with my own awkward chuckle.

I guess you had to be there.

-Chunk

Very funny Chunk! Well written! Maybe someday you will get at least chicken back. I'm really sorry about your steak. It seems so wasted, until your 300 pounds turns into 200 pounds, right? Hang in there. The Band is fickle...don't give up the hope of meat just yet! It just may be a while

haha...a lot of people dont know i have has surgery and when i eat around them they always have offered me food...when i say no, i say i dont eat that kind of food and they look at me with a blank stare......

i hope i dont become a vegge tho because i would HATE that...

Welcome to bandland....hope to see more posts from you!

Hi Chunk,

I hear ya, I am almost 4 months out and I have had 2 fills, meat is really really hard. Everything depends on the day. I can eat sometimes, McDonald's chicken nuggets, and mushed tuna salad, and crumbled lean turkey burger. You will learn the tricks.

Hey Chunk! If you need any help with vegetarian things just give me a holler. I am a vegetarian by choice (and my husband and child) for 2 weeks now, and we are loving it.

They make some very tasty fake meats (made by Bocca, Morningstar, and Gardenburger) and you could possibly get some of those to work for you.

Yes, be prepared for a lot of stares and shoulder shrugging, and people not being supportive of your choice. It comes with the territory, unfortunately.

You will find that you can get just as much Protein from the fake meats and different types of Beans, and dairy too, as you would've from just eating meat. And should you feel that you're still not getting enough, Protein shakes come in very handy too.

I have listed some vegetarian food pyramids here on the food board, and that may help you out some as well.

We are Ovo Lacto Vegetarians too, which means that we still consume eggs and dairy for now.

If you need any help just let me know. ~Kelly

Well.....sad day Chunk....I'm a big fan of red meat and I know that being banded means that may be a no go for me. Thanks for sharing your experiences because it helps me to understand as I go.

This band is just the strangest thing.I can eat any type of meat cooked any way but all vegetables and all fruit gives me heartburn and reflux.

When I eat only meat the heartburn seems way less.......

Funny CHunk!!!!

Love the name as well- is it short or changed for Chuck? thats my Fav name. Well I agree w/many that the band is fickel & don't give up on the meat deal just yet - its still way to early to tell. Salads can be very hard- you may just want to try some finely chopped chicken salad- no lettuce. Just mayo & onions(finely chopped) & s/p. I usually like adding diced green grapes with it- very filling & tasty.

Steak - well yep thats a hard one for loads of bandster. Why not try a meatloaf( i love the one at Boston Chicken- if you have them) with some tomatoe sauce? Chew it very well & take very small bites & eat slowly & enjoy I wish you luck!!

Great Story.

Thanks to everyone for all your input. I did try some tuna with (and don't tell my surgeon) a bunch of mayo. It went down well. I am thinking of trying sushi but have heard lots of scarry stuff about that.

I have only had one fill (banded ~5-4-05) and am able to eat way too much. Don't get me wrong, I have lost plenty of weight. I was once all the way up to 320, banded at 300 and am now, just 2 months later, a handsome 265.

As for the name, well Chunk is the name of one of the Goonies. Lets just say that I am a fan and find Chunk funny.

Thank you all again, see you "AROUND!"

-Chunk

What am I doing wrong? I was just banded on 7/6/05. I lost 12 lbs the first week. Now that I am going on week 3, working out at the gym 6 days a week, the scale is going up. I feel and look like I am losing. Should I just burn all scales? HELP!

Jacqui, I lost 15 pounds the first 12 days and didn't lose another ounce for about 10 weeks. I didn't gain it back, but I didn't lose ANYTHING else. I think our bodies just need to adjust a bit. don't be scared of plateaus. They happen. Just press forward and throw out the scale if you have to. It can be very distracting. I personally love mine and get on it every morning, but I find it helps and it doesn't frustrate me. I have been 199 for about 3 weeks now. But I'm not worried. It WILL come off!

Your scale WILL go up as you increase muscle mass. Keep working out, keep building muscle, put away the scale. Also, take your measurements today! Check them once a month. And you know how your clothes are fitting. Your body is morphing. Give it a minute! You JUST got banded!!!!

tHANK YOU FOR YOUR REPLY. YOU ARE CORRECT. I wish you lots of luck with your weight loss.

Jacqui

I have had sushi a few times in the last week. Based on comments from other, I have stayed away from the green seaweed wrap. However, today I got brave and gave the thin little paper a try. It didn't work out. I spent about 20 minutes PBing in the bathroom. It was terrible. After I left, I sat in the car for another 10 minutes with lots of pain. I think the paper disolved on its own, thank goodness. Still doing the vegitarian thing although I now weigh 255. Yippie!

I've been eating YVES veggie canadian bacon (made with soy) and have really liked it. I can't handle thin deli meats but this is thick and works for me. The problem I'm having (and it got alot worse with my last fill) is sweets. I can't tolerate any sweet drink (exception: I managed a little wine in about an hour). I put a much smaller dose of stevia and creamer in my coffee this morning and got sick. I threw up lemonade yesterday (too sweet).

I did go to Dairy Queen last night for the first time this year and tried ice cream. That went down but didn't taste good. I won't do that again.

I am not having issues with meat. I guess this just proves that every bandster is unique. Celeste