Feeling like a failure...need suggestions/friends/help!!

[stateofzen 46]

June-

Do "wet" meats work for you? I'm thinking things like barbecue pork or shredded rotisserie chicken? I think rotisserie chicken is very band friendly and I shred the leftover meat after the first night to make things like chicken enchiladas (and if I'm tight I just eat out the middle and ignore the tortilla) or chicken salad. I also will sometimes do turkey pepperoni for a snack. I don't know if that would work with your band but it might be worth a shot.

I know there are people who swear by Greek yogurt for Protein. I'm not really a yogurt person, but it does have a lot of Protein for reasonable calories and shouldn't get stuck.

I'm telling you, this is always a work in progress, huh? I'm fighting with myself now to drink my Water. I'm very very very bad about it and now that I've (finally) starting exercising, this is a pretty big issue for me to fix.

[CarrieRN2006 1]

I appreciate everyone's kind words and wisdom. It is definitely a relief to hear that I am not the only one struggling after the surgery. meats are really hard for me too so I usually stick to shredded chickens, tuna, or crab meats. If i cut Pasta up small enough, it has seemed to be an easy food to keep unstuck. I think at this point in my journey, I am to the point that I would much rather grab for something that goes through easy like "junk" food then take the time to work on a high Protein meat. I think one of my biggest issues in this situation is that now that I am over the immediate period and back to work and my daily routine, I find it hard to take the time to plan anything so I am just grabbing at what works. I am also the type of person that hates leftovers and gets bored easily with the same foods. I noticed that a lot of people have a routine down and eat the same foods for Breakfast and lunch. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make it less boring???? Any websites/advice is welcome. I need to make this commitment to myself to take the time out of my busy day. I am a nurse and hear everyone else's stories and struggles all day. I care about people and their outcomes but somehow keep pushing myself to the back burner. We all need to put ourselves first.

[Melissannde 41]

Carrie, there's a daily thread over at Obesity Help in the Lapband Forum that people post what they're eating each day. You might get ideas from there.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/lapband/

Actually, it's not such a bad thing to get a little bored with food, we tend not to eat so much if it's the "same ole, same ole".

If this next part is "Preaching to the Choir", just skip on over it. Pasta generally isn't a good choice for weight loss. It's a high glycemic food and makes our blood sugar spike, then when the levels fall again, we're hungrier than we were before we ate the Pasta. Pasta can also have a tendency to get stuck for some people. Other high glycemic foods to consider avoiding are bread, potatoes, and rice. Of course there are individual differences in people's reactions to these foods, but it might be worth trying some changes to see if your body reacts adversely to the white carbs.

Instead of pasta, I use spaghetti squash or grated zucchini and put my meat sauce over it. Other people have reported using shredded cabbage or french style green Beans. If you must use pasta, try to go for whole wheat and cook it al dente. The longer you cook pasta, the higher it registers on the GI (glycemic index).

Instead of Rice, try using Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah). It's a south american grain (really a seed) and has all 7 types of Protein in it. I've used it in place of rice when making stuffed peppers.

White potatoes while not evil in themselves, have more weight loss friendly cousins in the red and purple potatoes. Also sweet potatoes are lower glycemic.

You can learn more about the Glycemic Index at www.glycemicindex.com

There's a blog titled something like "The World according to Eggface" that is by a girl who had RNY.. she has lots of recipes for "bites", things that you can make and bake in muffin tins. Make a bunch and freeze and rotate them for your lunches. I make meatloaf for the family and make about 6 or 12 in muffin tin size. The family gets the regular and a muffin tin cup size is right around 3 to 4 oz.. perfect for me. When I make taco Soup or white chicken chili, a cup or two goes in the freezer for me for later.

I made Asian Glazed chicken tonight with a pan of stir-fried broccoli/onion/mushrooms/beansprouts. The glazed chicken recipe is here:

http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/your-favorite-recipes/39775-asian-glazed-drumsticks.html

I use thighs instead of drumsticks and splenda instead of sugar.. comes out very very tender. 1 thigh is about a bandster serving.

Hope some of this is helpful.. sorry if I rambled too much or said things you already know. I'm up because I was foolish and ate something I shouldn't have b4 bed.. it's finally passed on through so now I'm going to try to get some sleep. Even 2 years out we can be STOOPID. Nighters.

[June May 2]

Quonia doesnt' get stuck? I'll have to try that. I see that there is a ton of Protein in it, and I miss rice.

[Melissannde 41]

Quonia doesnt' get stuck? I'll have to try that. I see that there is a ton of Protein in it, and I miss rice.

Everyone is different. I'm sure someone somewhere has gotten Quinoa stuck, however it hasn't caused an issue for me. It doesn't swell after ingestion like other grains do.. as it is technically not a grain but a seed.

[lisafitz 18]

By petunia not having the band yet, it is hard for her to say what kind of experience she IS going to have. she is looking from the outside in at this point and cant say well this is what is going to happen and this is what you have to do. There are a lot of foods that work for some but do not work for others. God made us all different and we are going to be different with this.

I understand where Petunia and wheelchair are coming from but the problem with this is we are all here for SUPPORT and it sets a lot of people off because those words, even if they are harsh reality, are not SUPPORTIVE. People come on this forum to get encouragement and support and POSITIVE thoughts. The way it comes off is NEGATIVE. No one wants a person to tell them they are dumb, fat, and stupid. We all need help and maybe negative is the way wheelchair and petunia like their support but most of us prefer friendship and positive support.

Obviously not everyone that has had this procedure has the same experience.

[lisafitz 18]

I agree without being banded you really have no idea what it is like. Some days you can eat something and the next you can't .

One of the best things I have done was get my band I love it and it is hard, one of the hardest things I have had to do. For myself It's a learning process and an eye opener at least it has been for me. things I didn't know about myself in eating I sure found out about after I was banded.

This web site has got me though allot and it's been other people who have been banded that helped......... everyone on here. I need everyone it helps so much.

I was so great my first two years, then I started down hill. Lost 86 lbs and gained 22lbs back. Now I am back on track thanks to my band and to me and everyone on here. I lost 4 lbs now and 10lbs more to go and I am good. I got to thin looking funny to say but true I was loosing muscle mass and not looking right. Even though i was doing Zumba and weights. I look so much better healthier. Well also my port flipped and I wasn't able to hold food down or drinks and that's why I lost so much weight sooo fast. But now after my new port I am good to go and had to re train myself. here I am back to doing the right thing. I could never do this on my own I tried over and over and over again It's weird because your still on your own but you have this awesome band inside you that helps you and that is the sole purpose of this band. We have it and we are suppose to use it, we are suppose to get filled and we are suppose to do our best as best as we all can do. I know lots of people have been banded and totally didn't even try, and have gain their weight back and then some. But we have this so if we have a bad time we can go get a fill and try again. It's awesome

I LOVE MY BAND. I am always trying to do the right thing every day and for the rest of my life. Thanks to all who are on here and who are banded who understand we all need each other even if it's just to say hello and read every body's stuff it helps so much It's going to be 3 yrs Aug 5th awesome thanks for letting me rattle on lol

[Wheelchair 13]

OP... are you an RN?

[CarrieRN2006 1]

OP... are you an RN?

yes

[CarrieRN2006 1]

Melissa- Thank you for all of the amazing references in your post. I started checking them out and I LOVE eggface. She has so many recipes and helpful hints. I appreciate your encouragement/advice and preaching is different than being negative haha.

[lisafitz 18]

I don't understand the "food sitting on top of the band" statement. food isn't supposed to stay in the upper stomach all that long. What eating is supposed to do is to stretch the upper portion just enough to stimulate a nerve that conveys to the brain that we're no longer hungry.

This might be helpful to you:

http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html

I wonder if maybe your band is a tad too tight? Best of luck to you.

[lisafitz 18]

Ugh the worse is having your food stuck and it hurts I believe thats eating too fast not chewing and it hurts bad. I have to stick my finger down my throat and get rid of it. But it does it sits on top at least that's what it feels like.

What is eggface and what recipes I need recipes please..........

[lisafitz 18]

I don't understand the "food sitting on top of the band" statement. food isn't supposed to stay in the upper stomach all that long. What eating is supposed to do is to stretch the upper portion just enough to stimulate a nerve that conveys to the brain that we're no longer hungry.

This might be helpful to you:

http://drsimpson.net...estriction.html

I wonder if maybe your band is a tad too tight? Best of luck to you.

[lisafitz 18]

OMG I just read that on the web page awesome and sp great to know wow thank you so much for posting that

[CarrieRN2006 1]

the world according to eggface is the site and she is incredible! as soon as I started reading I told me husband we need an ice cream maker hahaha! She is a ton of information!!