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

Youre supposed to eat more meat, thats where your Protein comes from, not salad. No nutritional value in lettuce. This doctor is absolutely right. Green vegetable are a better choice. But protein must be eaten first to fill you up longer. Salad doesnt fill you up unless you load it with nuts, seeds,m avacadoes, etc. What kind of a doctor tells you to eat salad instead of protein? My doctor is very well-known in lapband and never suggested salad instead of protein. Protein is what should be eaten first to keep you fuller longer.:thumbup:

You're brave Fanny, I posted a reply this morning and deleted it.

I've never heard such irresponsible advice and i agree with your comments entirely.

In the rest of the world, salad is not served first and it consists of more than just iceberg lettuce. Furthermore, things like nuts seeds and avocados contain healthy fats and increase the Vitamin and antioxidant uptake.

Not eat salad, so that you can eat more meat? I cant really believe that's desirable.

I think a big part of the problem here is in people's understanding of the word "salad". As I said from the beginning, if your definition of "salad" means "lettuce with ranch dressing" then yes, the doctor has a point. However, that is NOT the definition of "salad" that everyone uses. For most people outside the US, and I would have thought many inside the US too, "salad" includes a range of healthy vegetables that should be very much a part of a bandsters diet.

The whole obsession with Protein and "protein first" is very much a US thing too. Australian doctors were pioneers in lapband surgery and the practice has been common here for many more years than in the US, yet I have not heard of any Aussies who have had this protein idea pushed by their doctor. The emphasis here by the greater majority of the medical community is on a healthy balanced diet of lean meats, fresh vegetables and fruit and unprocessed grains, low in fat and sugars...IN ANY ORDER. You know, that basic "sensible eating diet" that we've always been told we should be following but were never able to stick to until we had the help from our band.

Edited May 22, 200917 yr by Fanny Adams

I think a big part of the problem here is in people's understanding of the word "salad". As I said from the beginning, if your definition of "salad" means "lettuce with ranch dressing" then yes, the doctor has a point. However, that is NOT the definition of "salad" that everyone uses. For most people outside the US, and I would have thought many inside the US too, "salad" includes a range of healthy vegetables that should be very much a part of a bandsters diet.

The whole obsession with Protein and "protein first" is very much a US thing too. Australian doctors were pioneers in lapband surgery and the practice has been common here for many more years than in the US, yet I have not heard of any Aussies who have had this protein idea pushed by their doctor. The emphasis here by the greater majority of the medical community is on a healthy balanced diet of lean meats, fresh vegetables and fruit and unprocessed grains, low in fat and sugars...IN ANY ORDER. You know, that basic "sensible eating diet" that we've always been told we should be following but were never able to stick to until we had the help from our band.

What she said!

Youre supposed to eat more meat, thats where your Protein comes from, not salad. No nutritional value in lettuce. This doctor is absolutely right. Green vegetable are a better choice. But protein must be eaten first to fill you up longer. Salad doesnt fill you up unless you load it with nuts, seeds,m avacadoes, etc. What kind of a doctor tells you to eat salad instead of protein? My doctor is very well-known in lapband and never suggested salad instead of protein. Protein is what should be eaten first to keep you fuller longer.:thumbup:

The part in red above -- if you've read this thread, most people have stated they DO make salads like that. Nobody would recommend making meals out of iceburg lettuce and nothing else. But to state that salads are bad is BAD ADVICE.

I don't know anybody here in bandland who only eats salads. But if I want a salad for lunch (maybe with some salmon or chicken on top), I don't feel wrong in having it, and no doctor worth his salt should dissuade people from eating them by saying they are bad and not band friendly. I have NEVER had an issue eating a salad.

what she said!

Double ditto!!

Um, maybe I'm insane but I would consider nuts seeds and avocadoes a gazillion times over a better nutritional choice than Protein shakes.

Much healthier fats in those than in meat, cheese and dairy foods. I'm not trying to stay thin so that I look good when i die of a heart attack.

I'm not trying to stay thin so that I look good when i die of a heart attack.

Hehehe... yeah, but that's just icing on the tofu cake. :thumbup:

Um, maybe I'm insane but I would consider nuts seeds and avocadoes a gazillion times over a better nutritional choice than Protein shakes.

Much healthier fats in those than in meat, cheese and dairy foods. I'm not trying to stay thin so that I look good when i die of a heart attack.

:mad::party::thumbup:

I have to agree with you hon!

Hehehe... yeah, but that's just icing on the tofu cake. :wink2:

Beth said tofu cake *LMAO*

Here is a prime example of someone writing a book to make money. I wish I would be an idiot and buy this book with him making a ridiculous claim about "why we shouldn't eat salad". Obsurd!!!

This is a pretty rude response to someone who wasn't rude at all! Keep in mind that this forum allows us all to voice our opinions but we must do it respectfully! This response was in no way respectful. Please try to refrain from posting in a defensive and rude manner. There is NO call for it!

I am not going to get into a snippet exchange with someone like you. Bully for you that you are a "triathlete training for the half-ironman distance." That still doesnt make you a DOCTOR or an EXPERT. Maybe you shouldn't ASSume so much about others. So let's just say we agree to disagree and end it at that. Go eat some salad and run a few miles.

please come see my new website

MoreFromMyBand.com - Home

you can upload a profile, share photos, post questions for certified professionals, etc...

it is a website that I am personally building, so I think that you will really enjoy it.

uh oh... now I am worried about purchasing the book- if the advice is not legitimate...

I order his book off of Amazon and it does not match up with everything my Dr. says. But some of his advice is good. :frown:

They do preach Protein first to us, but I love salads, so I just make sure they contain a protein source. Even pizza Hut now offers grilled chicken strips for their salad.

My favorite salad is a chicken caesar. I break up Romaine, cut up a hard boiled egg (protein), a chicken breast(protein), sprinkle Parmesan cheese on it(protein), light caesar dressing and fat free croutons. Dr Vuong told me in a response to my criticism that I am probably eating too much. Wouldn't give my salad any credit at all. And it doesn't get stuck, either. Sometimes I will add tomato for some color, and other times I switch to fat free feta cheese instead of Parmesan. I think I am getting in my required protein, I really do. And if I am eating too much, then how do I explain a 110 lb weight loss?

I adore salad, and I have found that my weight loss works better if I have a salad a day. My favorite that I have frequently is spinach salad with grilled chicken and lots of other veggies (peppers, mushrooms, cucumber, radishes, carrots, leek) and fat free garlic ranch dressing. I despise iceberg lettuce salad; if I have lettuce, it's usually Romaine, Bibb, or Looseleaf.