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

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?

Because I think he's wrong.

Obviously what you're doing is working out for you.

I know the Doctor is RIGHT, There is no nutrition only ruffage in the silly iceberg lettuce. If you eat that type of lettuce you are straining the band becasue you stomach is stretching for the lettuce, But to all you Weight Watchers people know it takes 20 mins for the food to register,,we are banded..so 20 minutes is still 20 min.

We all know when we are hungry how satisfying,,,the shake is cmpared to food,,,...absorption

:blushing::ohmy::tt1::sad:

To the Doctor-

Would Fiber powder added in Food ruin the band?

Thank you-

Laura

:w00t::w00t::tt2::w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t:

I know the Doctor is RIGHT, There is no nutrition only ruffage in the silly iceberg lettuce. If you eat that type of lettuce you are straining the band becasue you stomach is stretching for the lettuce, But to all you Weight Watchers people know it takes 20 mins for the food to register,,we are banded..so 20 minutes is still 20 min.

We all know when we are hungry how satisfying,,,the shake is cmpared to food,,,...absorption :blushing:

It USED to take 20 minutes for the food to register, but not anymore. When I start to feel tight, I stop. I don't then get tighter 20 minutes later.

Nobody is saying to replace proper foods with salads, but to say that salads are bad for you is just plain wrong. And I don't know what you mean by the salads "straining" the band because your average, fluffy salad is masticated down to nearly nothing. It certainly won't strain anything like solid foods could. And if solids aren't straining the band, a salad sure as hell ain't gonna do it.

I know the Doctor is RIGHT, There is no nutrition only ruffage in the silly iceberg lettuce. If you eat that type of lettuce you are straining the band becasue you stomach is stretching for the lettuce, But to all you Weight Watchers people know it takes 20 mins for the food to register,,we are banded..so 20 minutes is still 20 min.

We all know when we are hungry how satisfying,,,the shake is cmpared to food,,,...absorption

:ohmy::tt1::sad:

To the Doctor-

Would Fiber powder added in Food ruin the band?

Thank you-

Laura

:w00t::tt2::w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t:

Ah, exactly HOW does eating lettuce strain your stomach? Where on earth do people get these crazy ideas :blushing:

Iceberg lettuce may not be particularly nutritious but leafy greens such as spinach are. And has it ever occurred to you that you actually need roughage? And that you need more nutrients than just what are contained in Protein foods? What happened when people used to live on meat focussed diets with few vegetables? They got scurvey and gout.

Personally, I hate shakes and I dont find them satisfying. They fill you up for a minute but then they're through and i'm hungry again.

I know the Doctor is RIGHT, There is no nutrition only ruffage in the silly iceberg lettuce. If you eat that type of lettuce you are straining the band becasue you stomach is stretching for the lettuce, But to all you Weight Watchers people know it takes 20 mins for the food to register,,we are banded..so 20 minutes is still 20 min.

We all know when we are hungry how satisfying,,,the shake is cmpared to food,,,...absorption

No, I don't think the doctor is right! Salads, when done correctly, are chock-full of veggies and even veggies have small amounts of proteins! Bet ya didn't know that did ya? Little known fact.

We need a little of everything from ALL of the food groups in order to maintain our systems in the healthiest way possible.

And yes, even iceburg lettuce has something going for it, it's full of water! LOL!

My doc HATES shakes after post-op is done. I do drink them periodically if I don't have time for something proper or if I'm a little tight in the AM. It holds me over til I can eat a couple of hours later. Considering I don't usually eat Breakfast til about 9, that's not a problem for me.

My doc's theory, and he's right, is that it's a full liquid and goes right thru the band. It will hold you for a time but not the 4-5 hrs he's wanting. When I drink a shake, it only holds me for a couple of hours at the most. Where's the satisfaction in that?

I don't see how it can be called responsible to be telling your patients to eliminate whole food groups! Now, when us fatties consider ice cream to be a food group, then the doc can tell you to eliminate that! :biggrin: But to say NO carbs, or NO salads, or whatever, then I have a problem with that.

I would agree that salad is "bad" (not the word I would use-more like not nutritious enough) if it only consisted of iceberg lettuce. But most of us are describing salads with darker greens (such as Romaine, Spinach) plus a Protein source (such as chicken, egg). Granted most of us have been told to focus on protein, but to the exclusion of healthy carbs is, IMHO, unhealthy. To broadly condemn salads without specifying what he considers an unhealthy salad, is, I believe, unprofessional at worst, and bad advice at least.

When the 1 cup of food was discussed at group support, they freely admitted that salad greens crunch down so that you can eat more than a cup. I have read where some people have a problem with salads, but I think they are few and far between. As for getting stuck? Since they crunch down to nothing almost I would be surprised to hear of salad greens getting stuck. Some people have problems with chicken breasts being too dry. I grill them in either extra virgin olive oil or olive oil Pam. I get bags of them at costco and grill maybe 5 or 6 at a time and keep them in the fridge. I don't like to cook much so my chicken caesar salad is a mainstay for my evening meal. Once I add it to the Romaine, egg and cheese, I use light Caesar dressing (Marzetti) or Bolthouse Farm yogurt based Caesar Parmesan (nutritional breakdown comparable to light, though it doesn't say light on the bottle) I think it is nutritionally a pretty good meal. That chicken is so moist it is almost a slider food. I had some last night with a plum tomato cut up into small pieces and switched to Kraft fat free shredded cheddar instead of Parmesan. Yum!

Dr. Vuong should leave nutrition to the dieticians.

Edited September 3, 200917 yr by PATCHELTON

. And has it ever occurred to you that you actually need roughage? And that you need more nutrients than just what are contained in Protein foods? What happened when people used to live on meat focussed diets with few vegetables? They got scurvey and gout..

so, i was banded w/crohns, had horrible stomach issues - would go days w/out going to the bathroom (sorry tmi i know) & i just avoided salads for fear that the roughage would cause more damage - NO.

last wk i had my checkup w/my band surgeon, and while we were talking it dawned on me that i go to the bathroom EVERY day now - no flare ups. he said that was a HUGE sign that my digestive system was working on all cylinders and a mark of proper health.

i lived on carbs beforehand & while i did/do love fruit & veggies - i didn't include them in my EVERY day diet. i do now, my body actually craves it.

had grilled shrimp on romaine for lunch yesterday - kept me satisfied for 5hrs......was so good, i'm having the same today.

Sorry Doc, you're dead wrong...your statement shout be "Why you shouldn't eat iceberg lettuce" If its dark green its a must, a protein can be in the salad in beans, cheese, and other non meat options...