Do You Guys Stand Up To Eat and Drink?

Bawilliams1 · April 10, 2007

I have a band that is supposed to hold 4.0 cc's. Right now I am filled with 4.2 cc's! I am tight in the morning, but in the evening after I work out I have to really try not to eat too much. I usually get up at 6:00 am. I don't try to drink anything until about 11:00 am. I stand us and sip slow. That is usually not a problem. At lunch I have a smoothie (low cal/low fat). I stand up and drink slow. The smoothie is very thick. That is usually not a problem. At dinner, about 6:30 pm, I can pretty much eat whatever I want and as much as I want if I chew very well and don't eat too fast. I am in the habit of standing up. I know the restriction would probably kick in if I ate sitting down, but I am in the habit of standing and I am afraid of PB'ing and slipping my band. I just can't believe that I can get that much food down even standing up with 4.2 cc's in the band! Maybe I need to start eating more of a variety. I usually stick to the same things and I count my calories so I don't eat too many. That would be so easy to do considering that the band lets it go through so easily in the evening. I haven't really been trying to eat any meat. I get my Protein from yogurt, cottage cheese and Protein Powder. I know those are soft foods, but I am on my second band and I am afraid of PB'ing too much and slipping my band! Does anyone else out there experience what I am going through with the looseness in the evening and the standing up? I am so confused! With my first band I had the same exact size and all that. I never got a fill above 3.0 cc's and that was too tight. It didn't matter what time of day it was or if I stood up. It was tight! Maybe this band is different because I was only 134 when I got the old band removed and the new band put on. Any thoughts out there?

DrewsLou · April 10, 2007

I think you should try sitting at the table and eating. I think you will notice a big difference in the ammount of food you are about to consume at a time. You are doing yourself a disservice by not letting your band work for you!

Good luck! :confused:

Wendell Edwards · April 10, 2007

I think you are having soft-food syndrome due to being too tight.

niki · April 12, 2007

Did you talk to your doc about this?

I don't think that having a smoothie for lunch is enough... you should be having some solid food, your stomach needs it, your band needs it, your body needs it, on the long run a soft food diet doesn't work out.

niki

Daisalana · April 12, 2007

My doctor suggests drinking liquid in the morning if I feel too tight, it helps loosen it up. Maybe because you're having so many drinks throughout the day (and standing up) it makes you too loose?

Bawilliams1 · April 12, 2007

I think you are having soft-food syndrome due to being too tight.

I agree with you. I made a decision yesterday to really make an effort to change my habits. I am having my band loosened in a few weeks to have breast implants and I was thinking that I need to really make a decision about whether or not I am too tight so that when I go back to my fill doctor after the surgery I can tell him to either fill me back to where I am now, or fill me a little less. So I decided last night to just test it out. I sat down at the dinner table with Tomato Soup first. Yes, I know that's a liquid, but if the band really is too tight to eat what is normal for a bandster, then I wouldn't be able to get the liquid down. The Soup was fine. I really tried to take in small bites and to wait between each bite. I love the Lean Cuisine Brick Oven Style pizzas! So, I cooked one. I cut it into fourths. I was able to eat 1/4 of it taking very small bites and counting each chew. I made sure to chew each bite 30 times and wait in between bites. It took me half an hour, but when I finished instead of trying to eat another piece I decided I was satisfied. I had the last piece of banana bread on my mind! I warmed it and put spray butter on it and I sat down with my tiny fork to eat it. I only ate half of it and decided to put the other half in the fridge for another time. I was so happy! I felt like a light bulb had finally come on over my head! If I sit down, take my time, take tiny bites and chew well I can do this! The only draw back is that if I want to cheat all I have to do is stand up. I don't think there's anything I can do about that. I have 4.2 cc's in a 4.0 cc band. I guess I have a small stomach. That could be a blessing in disguise for special occasions or holidays. I am just going to have to get into the habit of doing the right thing and sitting to eat instead of standing. Now that I have realized what I am supposed to be doing I think I am just fine. I can't expect the band to do all the work. Besides that, it's not like I have a ton of weight to lose. I weighed 136 this morning. I really appreciate all of the input here!

Marimaru · April 12, 2007

After your surgery your doctor will probably not just fill you right back up to where you are now. He'll probably bring you back up slowly.

I do stand up when I eat sometimes, but not all the time. What types of things are you eating for dinner?

Bawilliams1 · April 12, 2007

After your surgery your doctor will probably not just fill you right back up to where you are now. He'll probably bring you back up slowly.
I do stand up when I eat sometimes, but not all the time. What types of things are you eating for dinner?

I hope he will fill me right back up since we already know what fill level I need to be at. It has taken me 9 fills to get where I am right now. Plus, I am self pay. He's pretty aggressive with his fills and he always does them with a flouroscopic x-ray.

As far as what I usually eat, I have gotten into a bad habit of soft foods. I love to eat Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal and cottage cheese with fruit. While cottage cheese is a soft food, I do think it's a great source of Protein. It has 12 grams in 1/2 a cup. Since I have made the decision to really try to change my habits I will probably eat normal food like meat and vegetables. I will just be eating much slower, chewing much longer, and taking tiny bites. Doing that I am sure that I can eat almost anything I want. I won't be trying to eat a cheeseburger from McDonald's or anything like that. I always try to make healthy choices.

What kind of things do you eat? With my first band I really got into the habit of standing up and maybe that's why I am doing it again this time. The only difference this time is that so far no matter how tight my band is filled, food still goes through easily if I am standing. With my first band, it didn't matter if I was standing up. When my pouch got full, that was it for a few hours. Most of the time, because I ate too fast or took big bites and didn't chew enough I would end up PB'ing. If I had only taken the time to slow down and do it right I am sure I wouldn't have had that problem. Hindsight is 20/20!