The next point is chewing. It is very important that food is completely chewed. Before swallowing ensure the food is a liquid. As the weight loss progresses the opening from the pouch to the lower stomach will be getting smaller. Therefore the food needs to be chewed more thoroughly. If a piece of food is too big to go through the stoma, or opening, it will get "stuck". This can be very painful.

Slower eating becomes inevitable. Eating too fast encourages bigger bites. The bigger bite means the food isn’t chewed properly and it can get stuck. As a Bandster with over 18 months in, I still find myself falling into this trap. I get excited, chatting with friends and just forget to pay attention.

A Bandster’s Eating Order

Lap Band patients have a specific order in which to eat their food. It is important that there is enough protein in the diet to keep the bodies moving properly. Therefore, the protein should be eaten first. WLS patients need 40-60 grams of protein every day. This can come in a variety of ways. Protein shakes, cheese, fish, beef, chicken, soy. The challenge comes when only certain foods can be tolerated. Also, it is important that the protein is a “hard” protein (chicken, beef, and fish) if possible. It shouldn’t all come from protein shakes and cheese.

The vegetables should be eaten second, and carbohydrates/starches last (if there is room). Proteins last longer in the pouch and take longer to process through the band allowing you to feel full sooner and maintain satiety longer.

Hard proteins are the most difficult for a Bandster to consume. The hard proteins need to be more moist, more tender and chewed more completely than any other type of food. Generally speaking, proteins are the foods that get “stuck” most often and cause spit ups. This happens because the bite isn’t small enough and/or, because the protein hasn’t been chewed sufficiently before swallowing.

For the record, beef is generally the most difficult food for Bandsters to eat. Beef is one of the most difficult foods for humans to digest. It can take several days for a piece of steak to actually work its way through the digestive track. And that’s on an un-banded person! So, if you eat a piece of steak and it isn’t chewed it up completely, it can sit in the pouch for an extended amount of time. Further, the stomach acids that help an un-banded person process beef are not present in the pouch and therefore are not there to help the body break the beef down.

Remember each and every person is different so you will have to test your own waters. Some Bandsters have no trouble with beef whatsoever; others won’t go near it. From personal experience I know that each Bandster will figure out what he or she can or cannot tolerate through trial and error. Trust me when I say that tolerances change; one day ground beef is fine and the next you realize it isn’t any longer. You must be willing and able to adapt to sudden changes in your body’s ability to process certain foods.