Hi everyone! I was banded on 5/21/09 and I'll be starting solid food next week. I've been reading a lot about how many people cannot tolerate bread, chicken, steak, etc. I was wondering if there's any people out there who have had the band for a while and don't have any problems with those foods???

I think it would depend on how tight people are willing to tolerate their band being. Some like it very tight so that they can eat very little - both in terms of quantity and variety. Others prefer it to be looser so that they can eat more of a variety. I am in the latter category. Others will tell you that if you chew food well enough you should be able to eat most foods but others will tell you that no matter how much they chew a certain food they cannot tolerate it. So, in summary there are as many different replies to your question as there are bandsters and you won't know what you can eat until you try the food.

I've had the band just under a year, have pretty good restriction, and can "tolerate" anything. (I keep my band tight enough that I can eat about 1/2 cup of food and stay full for hours)

As Cleo's Mom says, some prefer their bands to be so tight that they can barely keep their own saliva down; to me that just sounds like hell.

I'm losing fine at this level; just at 33 pounds since May 7.

What you'll be able to eat post band will depend largely on you; not only your physical make up (strong esophagus, for example?) but how you use and maintain your band.