Just a quick question. I would like to know if eating cereal is ok or not. In a very small bowl of course. Whole grain like LIFE Cereal.

I'm three months out from surgery.

Thanks for all your input.

Well, I'm in the minority but I dont think so.

In Australia, we're encouraged to eat a healthy diet from ALL food groups and carbs are not seen as the bad guy. Nobody needs white sugary carbs but wholegrains are an important source of many nutrients and there's just no darn proof that you have to give them up to lose weight.

I dont know Life cereal, we dont have it here. I tend to like cereals that are completely unprocessed - rolled oats (not packet oatmeal) and good quality organic granola, that contains unprocessed oats, nuts, fruit etc. I do occasionally eat cereals like All Bran but cereals like that still have a fairly high GI rating which means they still do give you that insulin reaction that really bad carbs do.

But at the end of the day, I totally believe its calories in calories out and we can all fight over the health benefits of various diets, but if you eat less than you burn, it doesnt really matter what you eat from a weight loss perspective.

I think as long as you tolerate it there's no reason you shouldn't have it. I eat cereal from time to time with no problems. I really don't think eating carbs is a bad thing. I just try to eat healthy for the most part. And I like Jackie pay more attention to calories than I do anything else. As long as you are burning more than you take in you should be ok. Good luck

Thank you ladies very much for taking the time to respond! That was exactly what I wanted to know.

LJB;

Within the context of "is it bad eating it because I have the Lap Band", no, not really. Just chew it well (easy to do with life!) and eat slowly.

There are cereals that might be a little better for you than Life, though. Life IS better, though, than lots of the other REALLY bad cereal, like Cocoa Puffs, Frosted Flakes, and things like that. You shouldn't even be TOUCHING that stuff. Lap band or not! :bored:

You'll find some excellent cereals in some of the Health food stores. You're up in Oakland, so I THINK you guys have Whole Foods Markets up there. They have some Fabulous cereals. And trader Joes carries some terrifc stuff, and REALLY terrifc prices.

As far as cereals that you can buy at your average supermarket, try the Kashi Brand. They have a line of cereals that is pretty good, and the Nutritional content is a bit better than Life. Their GoLean cereal is quite popular. It has a Little less sugar, a bit less fat, half the sodium, and about 5 times the Protein.

Really, really learn to read the labels. That is KEY in picking out the good stuff from the bad. Also, if you have never tried it, try using Soy Milk instead of regular milk. It has a little different flavor, but I have found that I like it very much, and that's all we have in the house. There are a quite few brands of soy milk, probably the most popular is Silk. Give it a try, you might like it more than milk. My son tried it a few years ago, and he hasn't had regular milk since....not bad for a teenager! :thumbup:

HH

Personally I don't believe in forbidden foods, I'm very aware of my serving amounts and what my band will or will not tolerate but if I'm in the mood for fruity pebbles that I eat it without guilt. It's not what I was eating that got me in this mess it was the quantity.

So just my opinion but enjoy your life cereal!

Oh, I agree.

Once or twice since being banded, I've let the kids get CocoPops. I normally dont let my kids eat junk like that - its the sort of cereal I'll buy for a treat for school holidays.

And I've looked at the box and thought, hmmmm. Naaaah. Hmmmmm. Naaaah. Hmmmm - oh, what the heck and had a bowl. Gee I enjoyed it!

Everything in moderation and more moderation for some things than others.

I think cereal (particularly a "healthier" cereal like you indicated) is a perfectly good option, particularly with milk. Think of it this way--foods that some deem "off limits" like bread, Pasta, etc can get stuck if you aren't careful, but really are the kinds of foods that are going to keep your stomach full longer. By no means am I going to go stuffing myself with those kinds of foods, but in moderation, I think they're a really good choice.

A book I read once stressed the importance of the "solidness" of foods you're eating. Tomato juice will be less long-lasting than stewed tomatoes, which will be less long-lasting than sliced fresh tomatoes. If that makes sense. I'll be eating my cereal right along with you :rolleyes2:

I used to buy "Complete", but I can't find it anymore. It had 100% of the daily vitimans required. Now I buy "Special K". It has 10g of protein and I relly like the taste. I add fresh fruit, and I have a tasty, healty, easy to fix meal.

This may be a stupid question but I am a newbie still on mushies. Having milk with your cereal isn't going against the no eating and drinking at the same time policy? I love healthy cereals and wasn't sure if it would give me a problem once I am on whole foods...

I eat cereal all the time. Carbs are not automatically evil. You really have to read the labels though, The difference between healthy and unhealthy cereal is huge and which is which is non-intuitive. For example, granola looks and sounds healthy but it probably the highest calorie cereal you can eat. I use a very small bowl that holds less than a cup which helps.

There's really no such thing as just "carbs" for nutritional purposes. There are really good ones, bound in lots of fiber with a low glycemic index that's very good for you and provide much needed energy and raises your metabolism. And then there's white sugar, white starch and HFCS. Eating an apple and drinking a glass of apple juice might have the same calories and carbs, but they will effect you very differently.

I eat cereal, but I try to make it the healthiest I can. I buy cereal from kaysnaturals.com. They come in 1 oz packs, 100 cal and about 3g sugar. I don't even bother with milk; I eat it like a snack, maybe with some fat free yogurt (Trader Joe has Greek Yogurt with 22g protein per cup; I get plain and mix Smuckers sugar free preserves in for fruit at 10 cal a tbsp). Sometimes at home I will have cereal with soy milk, cut up fresh apple, maybe some craisins (100 cal pack). Because I tend to have low potassium I will sometimes have some dried fruit which is high in sugar but also potassium--don't have daily or frequently, just now and then).

For commercial cereal, plain (not multigrain which has more sugar) Cheerios is really low, and Trader Joe has Joe's O's which is similar to Cheerios and is also very low. I don't add sugar, just some fruit and maybe some nuts (the kind you bake with, not salted).

My doctor's office recommended the higher protein cereals such as Kashi, or adding protein powder to cream of wheat or oatmeal (I don't care for those cereals with protein powder added in). They just told me to chew well, eat only the milk that is absorbed in the cereal (usually about 1/4 c.) and pour the rest of the milk down the drain.

Cereal is the best thing every when you are craving something...want something crunchy/cold..... I keep Total around, throw some fruit on there if I want to mix it up.

I eat cereal all the time acutally it's the only thing that keeps me filled in the morning weird huh? Actually I can get stuck or rather is goes down VERY SLOW and even get the gurggling noises when eating it, mainly I think it's because I am tight in the mornings...but over all it keeps me fuller longer now that is wierd. When I ate eggs and sausage yesterday I was hungry again after 3 hours ugh it's confusing and frustrating. I ate cereal this morning and I am still full and it's 1pm already and I ate it at 9am. It really does depend on the person I guess....

Total has a Total Protein cereal that is pretty good and has 10 grams of protein in it. I eat it with skim milk which also has 10 grams of protein and no fat and I add some fruit. I would be a huge liar if I said it was my favorite thing to eat, but its ok for fast on the run breakfast (or dinner).