Answer this question before you read my response!

1) Why is salad not a good choice for banded patients?

Answer:

Everyone thinks that salad is a healthy choice, but as a bandster, it is very important that you unlearn this. SALAD IS NOT A BAND-FRIENDLY CHOICE. In the first place, it violates the number one rule of Lap-Band eating: Protein First, since salad is served first. But here are a few other reasons to avoid it on a regular basis and tips for doing so.

• Most salad is VERY LOW in nutrition. The plain iceberg lettuce that is the foundation of many salads is mostly Water and some Fiber, which can be tough on a band.
  
• If you choose a salad, the greener and darker the better. Choose the mixed field greens or spinach salad.
  
• Eat the tomatoes. They are high in a nutrient called lycopene that may help lower certain cancer risks.
  
• The salad dressing can pack a big caloric punch! Choose the vinaigrette if possible. Avoid the creamy and cheesy ones, like ranch, buttermilk, or peppercorn, that are very high in fat. Even their low-fat versions still have a lot of calories.
  
• If you just can’t give up ranch dressing, then ask for the dressing on the side and use just a little bit.
  
• Ask them to bring the salad with the main meal and eat your protein first. Chances are, you won’t feel like eating the salad afterwards.
  
• Ask if you can substitute the iceberg salad for something else with protein in it, like bean salad.
  

The preceeding was an excerpt from my new book, Ultimate Lap-Band Success: the Support Surgeon's Guide to Getting the Most From Your Gastric Band. If you found it helpful, you can order the book directly from my website at www.morefrommyband.com/resources. I will also autograph it for free! Or you can email me at morefrommyband@gmail.com to get a 15% savings!

Best of Luck,

Dr. Vuong

ROFL! Tell it like it is, Jachut!

Jachut's da bomb! :scared2:

Heck, I eat my protein in a salad first, usually diced roast skinless chicken breast 3 oz.. And the cheese 3 oz., if I am not full I then eat the greens and veggies. Not hard to eat salads with the band but that is just my experience.

It depends what you put on the salad. I love a good salad with ranch, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, bacon, chicken, croutons....MMMMmmmmm! The lettuce is just a means for me to put all my favorite fattening toppings on. What I am saying is I DID have to give up salads because I can't stand all the healthy stuff on it!!!! Unfortunately I have stumbled a bit since getting the band a couple of years ago. I depended on my way-too-fattening salads through my pregnancy and during a time when my band was overfilled because for some reason, salads go through the band easier for me than other foods. Consequently I have gained some weight back. My doc also does not suggest salad for his patients *shrug* but those of you who DO like the healthy stuff I say you go for it. I have given them up again and am back to losing weight. FINALLY.

Hmmm, I lost 120% of my excess. By eating SOME lettuce and SOME Protein.

Oh, and the odd tim tam now and again. Which are a carb and sugar orgy.

My doc completely supports my view that this is a lifestyle not a diet. And the founder of HIS practice has a book too - The Lapband Solution by Prof. Paul O'Brien. Wow, whodathunk it? More than one way to skin a cat?

I just object to THOU SHALT... tone of these little Dr Vuong snippets. There's no "thou shalt" about it, its all about balance, lifestyle and the long term, not some diet full of rigid rules. What if you WANT to eat the lettuce one time instead of all your protein? Is it going to kill you?

Well said Jachut!!!!

HAIR LOSS, have you been getting enough fats? If you dont take in good fats you will lose your hair and sking, nails will suffer. I never go totally fat free...not good!

My hair is finally coming back and I want it to stay that way!

I understand and agree with nearly everything you fellow bandsters have commented on with one exception - the one person who wrote that she had the lapband so she wouldn't ever have to diet again. I cannot imagine that working for anyone. I am 14 months out and am hoping to be in ONEderland by next week. I was one of those people who ALWAYS had a salad before my meal, dressing on the side, etc. But after finally coming to the realization that I still have to exercise and count calories to maintain a slow and steady weight loss, I've realized that I wasn't eating more than a couple of bites of the salad I was almost always paying extra for, so I have just started replacing the starch with extra veggies. Most restaurants do this without any extra charge or problem.

I am thinking that if the ingredients you all are mentioning that you eat in your salads were steamed,would you consider them a veggie side dish?? So either hot or cold, no matter what you call the dish - veggies are a veggie?

Penny

Interesting point Penelope, not that I'm taking issue or arguing about it, I cant remember if it was me that

said that or not, in this thread, but i've said it often enough

I had the band so I'd never have to diet again. I didnt diet. I dont diet. All I do is get full on smaller portions, I choose healthy foods about 90% of the time - but I have my treats, I drink moderately, I love some chocolate after dinner and sweet carb foods like muffins and cake will ALWAYS be my main 'problem food'. I indulge in them every now and again.

The band simply gives me portion control. In return for such dietary freedom, I run for an hour most days. Do I consider my life a "diet". No. I eat what I want to when I want to and I dont force myself out the door to exercise. I love running.

I lost 120% of my excess weight to have a BMI of 22, I am in perfect health, my cholesterol levels etc are fine (because basically I do eat a healthy diet).

So its in your definition of diet and what you considered "normal" eating pre band. If you previously ate most of your meals from a drive thru, or out of boxes and packets, you'd find my regime like a "diet". I didnt and I dont.

I dont really care how many calories I eat in a day. Its different day to day. I find if I eat a lot one day, I will be less hungry the next. My band has helped me to listen to my body.

See how there's no SHOULD's in this? You can use a lapband any way that suits you personally.

Jachut: How do you lose 120% of your excess weight? I'm confused... does that mean that you lost 20% more than you originally hoped you would?

To lose 100% of one's excess weight would mean that that person lost enough weight to take them to the top of their healthy weight range, or a BMI of 24.9. I am about in the middle of my healthy weight range at 150lb, with a BMI of 22, and its about 120% of excess weight lost, given my particular healthy range.

But I could say at the same time, for example, that I've only lost 95% of what I wanted to lose, if I wanted a BMI of 21!

AH, gotcha! Thanks for clarifying!

Hey,

First off, I understand the comments about diet sodas. My question is about naturally carbonated mineral waters. If I follow the caveman rule, they could have drank mineral Water that was naturally carbonated. Do you still consider an unacceptable drink?

Hey,

First off, I understand the comments about diet sodas. My question is about naturally carbonated mineral waters. If I follow the caveman rule, they could have drank mineral Water that was naturally carbonated. Do you still consider an unacceptable drink?

I was told not to drink anything carbonated for at least a year after banding. Then I don't know. I will have to ask my doctor. I gave up my beloved diet coke and an occasional Sam Adams lager and now drink Crystal Light. I am used to it. I enjoy my tea and coffee. Iced in the summer.

According to my doctor, who is very knowledgable anf know for lap band surgery, protein should be eaten first in order to keep you fuller longer, followed by vegetables, then carbohydrates. Lettuce greens DONT KEEP YOU FULL!! They really have no nutritional value other than being loaded with water. No real fiber is lettuce. Any green vegetable are great like broccoli, spinach, kale. So that doctor is right. Salads are not satidfying and they do get stuck. It really isnt a sound nutritional choice. Stick to protein and actual vegetables, not useless lettuce leaves.