What do you eat?

[BeckyC73 0]

It's good to see what real people are eating.

I'm only 3 weeks out and feeling no restriction. The dietitians at the Center for Bariatric Surgery say I should only be eating 1/4 cup food 3 times a day and no Snacks, but I feel like that's just not enough. I'm hoping that it will be better when I get a fill in 3 weeks. I'm frustrated because I'm eating about 900-1200 calories a day but I haven't lost any weight for 2 weeks. :thumbup: It's so frustrating because I was losing about 4 lbs/week on the pre-op diet. I feel like "why did I do this to myself if I'm not even losing weight?" :tt1:

[JHYLER 0]

3 weeks out i was still on liquids i did not start adding solid foods until 6 weeks out. But 40z was all i could have. I eat a lot of Tomato Soup made with skim milk, slim fast shakes, yogourt, Jello, sugar free pudding and at six weeks i added soft food and deli lunch meat (mainly turkey), cottage cheese. I still do not eat steak or any meat that has a lot of fat.

[okiegirl79 1]

I was banded three months ago and I think this is the norm called so lovingly as "Bandster Hell"

I have had three fills bringing me to 5.8 ccs in a 10 cc band and am just now getting some sort of restriction. Everyone is different and it come may much sooner but be mentally prepared that it may take a while.

Hang in there! It's tough!

[JHYLER 0]

My doctor's quote is this you have a band on your stomach and now you have to band your head to think about eating different. I am at 4.5 cc and he said I he went any tighter I would not be able to swallow and that I needed to make sure I exercised.

[okiegirl79 1]

Wow..that doesn't seem like very much at all! My friend has 7.5 ccs in her 10 cc band and is now at her sweet spot. I guess that goes to show you how everyone really is different with their restriction levels.

However, I want to get to the point if restriction..that is the point of having the band. If I could have done it all by myself I would not have gotten the band in the first place.

[snowboundbutterfly 0]

Allot of folks don't do Protein Drinks, because of the high calories etc.... I have to because I don't get enough Protein in if I don't. I have simply lost my appetite.(sp).... not sure why.I told my husband I think it is no longer fun to eat because it's become a job lol..but I always thought I ate because I was bored, sad, happy but not that it was fun, but now I wonder..but it's not that it is a bad thing right? I had my surgery Dec-1-09 I had my first fill yesterday Jan-13-10 and I have lost 32.5 pounds. That is counting the 2 week presurgery diet too. I am very happy with my loss so far but I think I need to keep reading here and finding healthy recipes.< /p>

I do protein with a banana in the mornings..

lunch is a healthy choice chicken meal-one without noodles of course.

dinner is chicken or pork and a veggie of sort.

and I try to get another Protein Drink in that evening.

If I want a snack it is usually always sugar free Jello or pudding... my drink is G2 low calorie gator ade or crystal lite.. I am not big on plain Water.< /p>

Edited January 14, 2010 by snowboundbutterfly

[jojo256 0]

Today I had a protien shake for Breakfast, I make mine with skim milk. For lunch I ate a package of tuna with low fat mayo, lemon juice, pickle relish. For dinner I had a can of mexican chicken Soup but I added baked white meat chicken and cooked sweet potatoes.

[rhondalou117 1]

Personally, I am really tight when I first get up, so I have a protien shake until my band warms up.

shake A: scoop of whey protien-chocolate, 1 cup chocolate slender soy, 1 tablespoon flax seed, 4 frozen strawberries, 1 cup ice and a squeeze of honey

or shake B: 1 scoop of whey protien-chocolate, 1 tsp intant coffee, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 cup slender soy-chocolate 1 cup of ice

then 2 small meals and occasionally a snack.< /p>

[rhondalou117 1]

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/share-ideas-what-did-you-eat-today-36828/

[mbranham0306 0]

I used to eat breakfast--1 egg with 1 slice 2% cheese and a few bacon bits. Now I can't eat breakfast when I first get up. I have a vanilla carnation instant breakfast. (I get up at 4:30 am) then around 8am I'll have a Protein bar. lunch at noon--I always bring leftovers from supper---meat, veggie or taco salad, etc. Then I have a Protein Bar at around 4pm and supper at around 6 or 7pm. Supper is always Protein meat of some kind and a veggie. I'll have a sugarfree popcicle for dessert.

My doctor also told me no Protein shakes after I got off the mushies, I do drink the instant breakfast in the mornings because I just can't eat in the mornings that early. It works for me. I also use recipes I've had for years--I just convert everything or leave out what I can't eat. I'm always making new things. I can't eat bread so I don't have sandwiches--I can eat toast but never do since I don't eat breakfast. The only steak I've found I can eat is the eye of round--it's very lean and has no grissle in it.

For Christmas I made baked beans---I used a can of no salt pinto Beans, onions, green pepper, bacon bits, splenda brown sugar blend (2 tb), 1/2 c. ketchup, squirt of mustard and sugar free pancake syrup...... it was awesome and lasted me awhile and I've actually got some in the freezer. Don't be afraid to use regular recipes and change the ingredients---sometimes you experiment and it doesn't work but you just try something different---trust me this will make your weight loss go much better!

[ElfiePoo 109]

My doctor's quote is this you have a band on your stomach and now you have to band your head to think about eating different. I am at 4.5 cc and he said I he went any tighter I would not be able to swallow and that I needed to make sure I exercised.

You might want to print some stuff off and take it into your doctor. He apparently believes he installed willpower and the ability to deal with constant hunger when he installed the band.

If you are still able to eat to excess and are hungry sooner than 4 hours, you need a fill. The band is meant to give us physical restriction and it can't do that unless it's filled adequately for you.

If that was my doc and I was hungry and able to eat to excess, I'd tell him 'give me another fill...I'll chance not eating'. I have a 12cc band and at 7.5 I have restriction, but they told me not to get too complacent since they rarely see anyone at their sweet spot before they hit 8 cc's.

.

[Diamondgirl81 0]

I've been banded since Decemeber 17th and moved onto to soft solids since about two weeks out.

Breakfast - 1 Protein shake or 1 scrambled egg w/ salsa

lunch - 4oz of tuna or some other Protein source

snack - 2oz cottage cheese, hummus, or low-fat cheese stick

dinner - 4 oz of protein, usually a Veggie Burger or grilled chicken

Desert - not every night. Skinny Cow dippers for about only 80 calories, 2 grams protein

I trully needed to get more veggies in. Other than that just trying to get all my Vitamins and Water in.

Best,

Lauren

[Cocoabean 430]

You might want to print some stuff off and take it into your doctor. He apparently believes he installed willpower and the ability to deal with constant hunger when he installed the band.

If you are still able to eat to excess and are hungry sooner than 4 hours, you need a fill. The band is meant to give us physical restriction and it can't do that unless it's filled adequately for you.

If that was my doc and I was hungry and able to eat to excess, I'd tell him 'give me another fill...I'll chance not eating'. I have a 12cc band and at 7.5 I have restriction, but they told me not to get too complacent since they rarely see anyone at their sweet spot before they hit 8 cc's.

.

I am curious what the doctor based the statement on. If JHYLER reports not being able to eat without getting stuck or having pain, or perhaps the doc did a barium swallow, he might say that he won't go any tighter based on medical findings. If it is purely based on the amount of fill in the band, then I'd argue the point as well.

I also like the statement that we need a band on our brains. That would go a long way to help me to get the last bit of weight off!

[JHYLER 0]

I am not hungry it is just that I have been at 57lb weight loss for a few months and I am not loosing any weight and my dr is very strict and I understand what he is saying when he said you have to band your brain to change your eating habits. I didn't take it in a bad way and I do have restriction at 4.5cc. So I just need to change my exercise and do more meal planning now that he only wants me eating 3 meals a day at 4oz only and healthy Snacks.< /p>

[season4change 0]

I found this thread to be very interesting. I had my first fill a week ago and now I am noticing some restriction in getting the food down, not huge but I notice a difference. Still, I'm pretty much eatting what I did before. My weight loss had been pretty good in the beginning, now I'm slowing down. I faithfully chart what I eat on www.thedailyplate.com where I can monitor my protien intake and calories. I think my calories went a little low lately so I'm going to boost that up a bit to see if that helps as I've now started to walk on my lunch breaks.

Here's what I eat:

Breakfast choice of:

A) egg beaters (love the southwestern one) 2 egg equiv, sometimes I'll add 1/4 cup of Cabot's lowfat cheddar shredded cheddar cheese

:thumbup: high protien Cereal (ordered online) with skim milk

C) high protien pancake (ordered online) w/sugar free Syrup, 1/2 c microwaved frozen mixed berries & a squirt of light whip cream (my weekend treat)

Lunch choice of:

A) 1/2 can tuna mixed with lowfat mayo, celery, onions and eatten on 5-6 low fat ritz crackers

:thumbup: Soup (most of the time homemade)

C) Tossed salad w/2 oz lean ham & fat free dressing

D) leftovers from dinner

Dinner choice of:

A) Baked fish with 1 oz (dry weight) whole wheat Pasta sprinked with 1 tbsp of parm cheese

:sigh: Boneless grilled chicken breast with roasted fingerling potatoes (usually 3 whole potatoes cut in half)

C) On occasion 2 homemade meatballs and whole wheat spaghetti

D) Chili

... This is just a small sampling. I try to convert older recipies into heather ones, such as ground turkey for Chili. I didn't include veggies as these vary. However if I don't get my veggies in then I have a low sodium V-8 in the evening. Or I may have fruit instead.

Snacks choice of:

A) Lowfat Yogurt

High Protien Bar (choose the lower calorie ones with most protien)

C) Sugarfree/fat free pudding or jello

D) Cracker Barrell individually wrapped 2% low fat cheddar cheese

E) Kay's Better Balance High Protien chips (order online)

F) Small serving of nuts

I'm the kind of person who needs that inbetween meal snack or I'll get too hungry by the time the next meal comes and could grab for the wrong thing. As for protien drinks, I still have them from time to time. Sometimes I will substitute them for breakfast or lunch, especially if I'm on the go as I buy the ready to drink ones. Or I'll add them inbetween meals if my protien falls short. As for eatting out, I always check online to see if the restaurant posts their menu and I'll decide ahead of time what I'll eat. This helps me to make wiser choices. I divide the dinner in half and know in my mind that is what I will bring home for tomorrow's meal. I'm also trying new recipies that I've found on lapband.com and also bariatriceating.com. That helps with the boredom of the same old thing. Tonight I'm trying an enchillada recipe!