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So one of the things I'm still working on figuring out nearly 8 weeks after banding is what foods are worth it for me to eat. This is a new equation in my life. Before banding, I just ate. Half the time I didn't think about what I was putting in my mouth (if I did, I would have lived in a state of perpetual self-disgust) and the other half, I just didn't care. I was already fat and unhealthy, so why stress about the food that was making me that way? Clearly, I was eating too many calories, but now I'm realizing that the amount of calories I was eating may have mattered less than whether those calories were worth eating. What I mean by that is that as I make better, more sensible food choices, it is becoming clearer to me that "real food" is much more satisfying than the alternatives. "Real food" is a hot topic these days. You can find whole books about it in your local bookstore, whole pages of books on the topic, if you cruise through Amazon. For my purposes, though, when I talk about real food, I'm referring to anything that isn't processed or prepackaged. Things like eggs (pasture raised, please), meat (ditto), milk (three for three), vegetables (organic, please), fruits (yuppers), and grains (certainly in the "o" column). To many, my obsession with organics and pasture-raised animals may make me a snob or a hippie, but I'm okay with that. Even before banding, I preferred to choose those foods when possible, but now I'm realizing that the alternatives aren't worth it. I try to keep my calories at somewhere around 1000/day. I say around, because there are days I eat 850 and days I eat 1400. Mostly, I average between 1000 and 1100. Before banding, I could get 1000 calories having coffee, a piece of toast, and a single fast food sandwich, and then everything else I ate that day would be those excess calories that made me fat. Theoretically, even with the band, I could still make those food choices, but now they're just not worth it to me. Today, I would say that most of that food isn't real food, and therefore, I'd rather not eat it. This morning, I had toast and coffee for breakfast. Not the bandster's first choice, perhaps, but I find I can't eat anything too rich or too heavy in the morning without severe nausea and potential for vomiting (I've always been that way, even before banding). The difference here is that the coffee was made with real raw sugar (half a teaspoon) and organic, pasture raised half-and-half. One tablespoon of that. For a total of 37 calories. The toast was a thin slice of home-baked bread (made last night from organic flour and natural ingredients) with a teaspoon of pasture raised butter. Low in protein, but I'll have meat for lunch and dinner, so I'll have no trouble meeting my protein goal for the day. So far for the day, I've had 137 calories, less than 15% of my allowance for the day, and every single one of those calories was totally worth it. They all tasted good, none of them cost the environment more than necessary, and all of them allowed me to live with my band while feeling content and satisfied. If I'd tweaked that just a little, gotten a small nonfat latte and a bagel with non-fat cream cheese from Starbucks, for example, I'd have eaten 500 calories of food that wasn't really worth it to me. Even if the band had stopped me at half the bagel, that would still have been 250 calories (113 more than I actually ate). It would have contained less fat, but also less satisfaction and it wouldn't have tasted as good. To me, the unprocessed "real food" I ate at home was a better, healthier choice and worked with my band. True, a lot of bandsters would tell me I should have had Greek yogurt instead. Or maybe a scrambled egg. There are days when I do that, but here's my confession: I love bread. Love it. It is my favorite of all foods. I adore it more than ice cream (meh) or potato chips (one of my trigger foods and a life-long addiction for me). Give me a choice between a handful of chocolate and a piece of fresh baked bread (home-made or from a real bakery) and I will go for the bread 9-1/2 times out of 10. My brother and sister-in-law are gluten intolerant, and have cut all products containing wheat out of their diets. I'd rather cut off my own arm. Seriously, I can't live without bread. Which could be a problem for a bandster, both because of the low protein/high carb nature of bread, and because the texture of bread can have trouble passing through the band. But here's the thing. "Real" bread (the kind from the bakery or from my very own oven) passes through the band pretty well. It has fiber and texture and it tastes so good, that it's worth it to me to take small bites, chew slowly, and get it through the band. Pre-sliced generic white sandwich bread? Not real food and definitely not worth it. Also lower in fiber, higher in sugar, stickier in texture, full of chemicals, AND higher in calories. Clearly the unhealthy choice. As a bandster, I have had to reshape my priorities. Homemade bread is a priority; processed, pre-sliced bread is not. It's all about priorities. And balance. For breakfast today, I had a carb-heavy, protein-light meal. For lunch, I will have a couple of slices of roast chicken (heritage breed, pasture raised) and some veggies. Or maybe a small serving a chili with pastured ground beef. The meat cost a lot more than the supermarket alternatives, but it was locally and sustainable raised and frankly, it tastes so much better that I don't feel deprived from eating only 2-3oz of it as a time. It's so full of flavor that 2oz feels more like a meal than 6oz or the alternative. For dinner, there's either the chicken or some leftovers from an organic rabbit I stewed over the weekend in red wine and prunes. And more veggies. So worth every single calorie and so, soooooooooo satisfying. One of the reasons I got the band and not another procedure like bypass was because I wanted to be able to eat and enjoy real food, I just wanted to eat less of it. I didn't want to give up my bread (obviously) or my chocolate or my steak. I wanted a smaller slice, nibble, or cut. I'm doing that with the help of the band, and because I'm choosing real food, I'm doing it with happy tastebuds and a smile on my face. ------ I hope no one interprets this as a lecture, or me claiming to be better than anyone else. My priorities are my own. I happen to live in an area where organic, pasture raised foods are easily accessible. They're sold at my local groceries and at the weekend farmer's market in my town, less than 5 miles from my house. I also only have myself to feed and worry about. I'm not trying to budget to feed myself, a husband and three kids, let alone saving for college, paying for daycare, or providing clothes to cover bodies that seem to double in size every few months. My animals and myself are the only things I have to spend my money on, so it's easy for me to justify funding my environmental and health agenda. Everyone has to do the best they can with what they have, and no one--least of all me--should fault them for it. Make your own priorities, and then live by them. I hope it brings you the same satisfaction it brings me.

Hi guys, I am 5 weeks post op and have lost 31 pounds!!! I had the lap band with plication done on 2/17/2012 and have my 6 week visit with my Dr today. I can definitely see the weight loss in my clothing. I am down two sizes already! How's everyone else doing?

Once again I hope this is not a stupid question, but I will be starting solids next and it just happens to be my birthday!!(Day 3 of solids) I found out that it is at a greek restaurant..Nobody really knows that I have had this done, so does anyone have any suggestions that may go down easy?? I was looking for soup but it is not their specialty...

Make sure you get a vitamin with Iron in it.

I wasn't either and I survived! Good luck tomorrow and in the next few weeks!

Thank you for posting this. I was so bummed too. I wasnt put on any diet either. My surgery was last week. Good luck and I will be here . Lots of love and Best wishes sending your way. Gauri.

Hi, I just joined today. I had my consult last week. Now have to meet with nutritionist and psych. I want to lose 20 lbs before surgery. My surgeon is Dr. Larson in Lake Worth, Florida. He doesn't require weight loss, but says it is easier on your lungs if you do. I will try. I want to know if you lose your appetite, and how fast larger people lose weight. Also does anyone prefer one band over another: Realize or lap band? How is energy level after surgery? Thank you, Louisa

Ate you sure it's 3 more weeks of clears? Not just liquids? Big difference between clear liquids and full liquids. I've read somewhere here someone misread their post op instructions and was on clears far longer than the MD intended. Congrats on your weight loss!

Thank you, all of you who replied, it made me feel so much better Nikki_ProudAWife_ : thank you. i have fallen off the wagon a very long time ago, i did not quit, but sometimes i am on the urge of it. i try and try, but it does not seem to stick into my head and why? i can make an appointment with both doctors tomorrow-one for primary doctor about stress and depression and what not and the other with my lapband doctor, i wrote down a few things i want to talk to him about and possibly get a fill while i am there. there is a huge fork stuck in the road. i am a skinny person stuck in a bigger person's body who wants out. about the yoga and pilates, i have heard that it helps as well and i did want to try it, can i find videos for that on youtube? thank you! Kishis- that is true! i am going for a walk tomorrow with a couple of friends before seeing a movie. i was thinking about that. what kind of bars? Protein ones? thanks! elcee- hey, yeah those were bad days and i felt hopeless. i think that could be why as well and possibly because maybe i am scared for change? that is not good!!!! i need to change so i can live a long and happy life. i know it is not a magical wand or that getting thin over night is a possibility because i know it is not. i know it takes longer to lose the weight than it is to gain it. i know i need to definitely talk to my lapband doctor about my probs, i could really use a nutricionist, that is where most of my problems are. for breakfast, 3 days in a row i have been having carnation breakfast shake stuff that has like 11-14 grams of protein in it and like 170-180 cals i am trying not to. B-52-it could be a possibility. i feel like i have a lot going on, but i really do not i do not know how to control my mind, like it needs to be cleansed out so i CAN have control. my brother lost all the weight he needed to lose years ago and kept it off the healthy way with out surgery, why can't i have that kind of dedication, determination, motivation, commitment that he had? otherwise, i would not be like i am now. i agree, it is always harder to focus when distracted. i am not trying to point the finger or blame anybody, but i feel that it is hard to lose weight here, even my mom agrees. i need to block out everyone and everthing around me (like Skymoon from youtube did [i believe that is her user name]) i just wish i knew how to do that if it is something else going on then i honestly do not know what it is, i know if i went to bed earlier and got up earlier, i can workout in the morning like i want to because it is so much easier to get it done in the morning asherje i feel like that most of the time lol the closest i think is like a little over an hour away, i do not hear about the support groups anymore. there used to be one that was right in town, i do not know what happened to that i feel the same, i feel like i do not have the support that i should have (does that sound needy?) somebody in my cosmetology class went through a horrible break up and lost around 30+ pounds and she was kind of big, but not really big, but now i feel like the biggest person in class...well i am either way. i am a yo-yo dieter and i wish that it would just stop!! I have the myfitnesspal on my phone and ipod touch, i do not know if it really helps me or not i am going to start using it again and plan my days ahead of time

Excellent. Because what done is (done). What we shouldnt have eaten (at breakfast or dinner last night is history and never can be changed). What can be changed is NOW. Hang in there. Am here for you if you need support.