Hey all,

so i was banded on 11/23. i've been on mushy foods since..of course. I have these bouts of anxiety every now and then.. sometimes i feel like i am backed in a corner with the band. don't get me wrong. i know this was the best decision i could make. But sometimes i feel like i will have to eat this mushy forever... then i need to remind myself that it is temporary. my question is... for the most part, can you eat normal? minus a few obvious things. i am really looking forward to eating like a normal person..normal portions.. but i don't want to feel like i am on a diet the rest of my life..

thanks!!

I always feel like I am on a diet because you really have to monitor what you eat to make this a successful life change. Also, your portions will be alot smaller but that is what you signed up for. HOWEVER, if I do slip up it has been way easier for me to get back on track. I think it is totally worth it!

Of course I do not know how your body will react over time, but for myself I have accepted the fact that I will never eat like "a normal person". I will never again eat "normal portions". For my activity level, metabolism, and genetics, normal portions will make me overwieght. When I get this excess weight off, I want to keep it off this time.

If you are going to exercise like they do on the biggest loser and never stop, maybe you could someday eat "normal portions." I just know that is not a reality for myself.

Hi! I was banded just a few days after you and I am still on liquids! I wish my doc would alow mushies sooner...I dont get mushies till TUESDAY wich will be day 14 of being banded. Then I am on mushies till the 23rd of Dec when they will allow me to eat soft foods.....fish, turkey meat loaf, mashed potatoes etc. At least I can eat some of Christmas eve and Christmas day dinner.

My husband was banded 10-21 so he has been banded 45 days. He has had one fill and can eat anything he wants just gets full faster. Burgers, everything just in moderation. Once we get through the hard part we will eat again...my husband has had no problems with steak, chicken...as ong as you chew and eat slow he can eat anything AND IS LOOSING!

Hey all,

so i was banded on 11/23. i've been on mushy foods since..of course. I have these bouts of anxiety every now and then.. sometimes i feel like i am backed in a corner with the band. don't get me wrong. i know this was the best decision i could make. But sometimes i feel like i will have to eat this mushy forever... then i need to remind myself that it is temporary. my question is... for the most part, can you eat normal? minus a few obvious things. i am really looking forward to eating like a normal person..normal portions.. but i don't want to feel like i am on a diet the rest of my life..

thanks!!

So,

We were banded the same day. Mushies!, well wednesday I went to my post op and all was good. My Nut gave me chicken and fish on my mushies if I cut them small and chewed well. So this week, I have had salmon baked with spices and olive oil mayo, mashed sweet taters, and broccoli with cheese, next night, Chicken with capers, mashed taters, and cauliflower, next day, Pulled chicken with BBQ sauce, Butternut squash, and french cut green Beans, then tonight, manicotti stuffed with fat free ricotta, carrots, zucchini, and spinach covered in shrimp with baby peas and mushrooms in a cream sauce.

Sound like a lot? Every day my net calories are less than 800 and total calories under 1400. I exercise 500 calories each day. I cook using ALL the best choice ingrediants like smart balance, lite olive oil, lite mayo, light bread, sugar free everything.

Oh, I also eat all this from a salad plate and take 30 to 45 minutes to eat. I have not had a fill, so there is no blockages, and I don't feel bloated either.

Everything I am doing I have run by my DR. or are following my Nut advice.

I feel like I am eating normal, good tasting food Every day. (my wife said the Manicotti was better than a restaurant).

What I don't do is feel sorry for myself cause I can't have 2 quarter pounders with cheese, supersized, or half a large pizza. Those are not in my normal any more. Healthy, veggies, chicken and fish are my new normal and I am gonna love it.

DFG, you seem to have a great head on your shoulders, keep talking to your husband and figure this out in your head..... That is where the battle will be won!!!!

Good luck to you!!

TJ

OK maybe I need to call my doc and ask if I can start eating something. After 2 weeks of liquid pre op and now this post op diet I am starting to think this is why my energy level is so low. And tonight for the first time I am actually HUNGRY!

OK, so this is a bit off topic, and you've got to just get through the post op phase and follow your instructions, its difficult but the long term outlook can be yes, you can eat very very normally, in ways you'd never imagined.

I've worked very very hard to eat like a normal person.

That meant strictly banning myself from calorie counting, Protein obsessing, fat avoiding, good food/bad food, logging, following programs - any of what I consider dysfunctional dieting behaviour that in the long run does more harm than good.

Instead, I ate what I wanted, practiced asking myself each and every time what did I want and was there a good choice or healthier version or did I *really* want that just now or could I have it later if I still wanted it and eat something healthy instead now.

Most of the times I chose better, sometimes I didnt. When I didnt, I didnt care, I enjoyed it and moved on. I eat whatever the heck I want to basically, and my appetite does direct me towards fairly healthy foods most of the time.

What I've noticed about myself is that I need to include some fat and protein in my meal. I didnt REALLY want crap like muffins for lunch, but I chose that because I felt like I ought to eat some boring, unsatisfying salad. There's a happy medium, and you need the protein and fat (good fats of course) to satiate you, when you achieve that, the stupid head hunger stays down a lot longer.

the only thing I am strict on myself is white carbs like biscuits, cakes, muffins, donuts. Those are my real problem foods and best just avoided. And I like a glass of wine, but try not to drink daily. More like a glass 2 or 3 times a week.

I added in exercise, didnt have to obsess there, I absolutely love hard hard exercise, so that helped enormously.

Nowadays, I eat like a normal person. I skip Breakfast if i'm not hungry and dont then obsess about how that will slow my metabolism, nor do I give myself permission to make up the calories later that day. I eat 3 meals, I'm not really naturally a snacker. I eat all foods, I count nothing. I dont fuss about holidays like Christmas, everyone eats a bit more than and if you gain a pound you can lose it again. I can eat whatever anytime I like so why do I need to go crazy on Christmas day?

I feel completely free of my former food shackles and totally normal. I'm not afraid of any food, my weight stays steady and because food no longer has such an important part of my life, I dont want it inappropriately as I dont feel deprived.

For me personally, getting banded and then following a diet or unreasonable rules (I mean, there are some band rules that must be followed) would never have worked. Oh, I would have lost but I wouldnt have been "cured". I didnt want to diet ever again.

Edited December 5, 200916 yr by Jachut

Jacqui, I love your attitude. Thanks for that post and writing all that out. Us future bandsters really appreciate writings like that! Bravo!!! :wink2:

OK maybe I need to call my doc and ask if I can start eating something. After 2 weeks of liquid pre op and now this post op diet I am starting to think this is why my energy level is so low. And tonight for the first time I am actually HUNGRY!

Excited - Who is your surgeon? I also live in SD and was banded by Dr. Bhoyrul in La Jolla. I saw him and my nutritionist today and was told that I could start mushies and I was banded 11/25. I'll only have to do mushies through the weekend and can start soft foods, like fish, on Monday. I would definitely double check if I were you, but of course your doctor's orders are what's best for you.

What is "normal"? Some people can eat more than others or can eat foods that others cannot. If you start watching the amount that people eat in restaurants, you will be surprised. Skinny or fat, everyone eats different amounts. So will you.

As long as you follow orders and work hard, you will be okay. All this liquid/mushies stuff will be over soon. Hang in there.

You will eat normal foods again, just not "normal" portions.

I would never have believed I could live on 1/2 cup meal. I am doing ok, sometimes I want to eat more, and do go over my 1/2 cup portion size but my choices are now healthier then before and the food I try to avoid I don't even miss. My "new normal" has become a way of life and a surprisingly easy one.

My two cents worth.. Jachut is right on with her comments.

Here is what I can add.. soon the swelling will go down and you will find that you can eat like before but BEWARE.. take this healing period to instill some new eating habits. You will be on sole will power until your first or second fill. Once you start on the carb train, it is very difficult to control some of the eating urges. Know what triggers your "off the band wagon" eating desires. I am a stress eater.. I get my first fill on monday, and can not wait.. I have tried to discipline myself over the last few weeks by eating Protein first, chewing repeatedly, and separating out the liquids with meals as recommended. Right now I could (if I wanted to) just eat normally as you describe. But like everyone on this thread has stated you will be entering a new NORMAL as a banded person. Remember the band is a tool, work with it and it will work for you.. good luck to you..

My two cents worth.. Jachut is right on with her comments.

Here is what I can add.. soon the swelling will go down and you will find that you can eat like before but BEWARE.. take this healing period to instill some new eating habits. You will be on sole will power until your first or second fill. Once you start on the carb train, it is very difficult to control some of the eating urges. Know what triggers your "off the band wagon" eating desires. I am a stress eater.. I get my first fill on monday, and can not wait.. I have tried to discipline myself over the last few weeks by eating Protein first, chewing repeatedly, and separating out the liquids with meals as recommended. Right now I could (if I wanted to) just eat normally as you describe. But like everyone on this thread has stated you will be entering a new NORMAL as a banded person. Remember the band is a tool, work with it and it will work for you.. good luck to you..

i appreciate everyone's feedback.. Patterba and Jachut... you guys made a lot of sense.. i will definitely be following the "no diet" way of life. i cannot and refuse to make myself feel like i am always on a diet till the day i die. i will follow the normal lap-band rules.. but as far as depriving myself.. that won't happen.. i'm not talkin big mac's.. i'm talking real food. nutritious food. and maybe a few bites of dessert now and then.

thanks again everyone..

Hey all,

so i was banded on 11/23. i've been on mushy foods since..of course. I have these bouts of anxiety every now and then.. sometimes i feel like i am backed in a corner with the band. don't get me wrong. i know this was the best decision i could make. But sometimes i feel like i will have to eat this mushy forever... then i need to remind myself that it is temporary. my question is... for the most part, can you eat normal? minus a few obvious things. i am really looking forward to eating like a normal person..normal portions.. but i don't want to feel like i am on a diet the rest of my life..

thanks!!

Sure you can eat like a normal person...but it means changing your habits and lifestyle to those of a normal weight person. The only difference between a normal weight person and us is that they are not taking in more calories than they are expending. So you either have to become more active...or you have to eat less or at least no more than you expend.

It's that simple. :thumbup:

.

it's funny - the reason i finally decided to go for the band was because i had lunch with a friend who gotten the band 6 months earlier (than our lunch date).

she ate a cup of Soup (maybe pea?) and a small chicken caesar salad.

she was a big girl - like me - and was thriving on a meal that seemed balanced, healthy and delicious. sure it wasn't the cheeseburger and fries i was chowing down... yet i envied her. SHE, i thought, WAS EATING LIKE A NORMAL PERSON.

so yeah - i guess it's all relative. i know for the past 30+ years i've eaten abnormally.

now i'm on post-op liquids and can't wait for that soup and salad lunch out!