First Stuck/Slime/PB Episode

[notateechanow 7]

I know that I'm supposed to be sticking to more voluminous foods, but find myself eating lunches with cottage cheese, yogurt, and bananas most days---partly because they're so portable and easy to eat in my car, but also because they're high in Protein. What else do you eat that can give you so much protein? I have a hard time with luncheon meat--at least if it's in a sandwich. Without the bread isn't much easier, but I guess I don't chew it well. Any suggestions for more solid, high protein foods? I do have edamame when I'm home, but I need stuff for being on the road and eating out of my car.

[Cerrin 3]

I eat lunch meat by itself. But At work I make my own lunchables. with whole wheat crackers Turkey and cheese.

I also have a lot of chicken.

On our paper from the nutritionist she says if yogurt is what you like then add some granola to it or more fruit or some nuts to thicken it up some. so it is a little more substancial

I can e-mail you the scaned page from my nutritionist if you want to send me your e-mail address.

It is all about lap-band friendly meal choices.

[Fanny Adams 7]

Anyone else have the tightness only in the morning/mid afternoon? I throw up nearly everything I've tried to have before noon since my 2nd fill last Monday. (It's been a week now...) Even the Protein shakes come right back up in the morning and NO, I'm NOT pregnant! I have found that after exercising I feel so much better able to eat. I even got sick on cottage cheese this morning. I haven't gone back to my dr. because I'm usually ok by later in the day and capable of eating a really slow dinner...but that makes for a rough afternoon of trying to get down a lot of Water and some Protein. I'm just so happy to get anything that stays in at this point that nutritionally, I'm a mess. I figure it's a combination of eating too fast, not paying attention, and the band doing its job, so I'm hesitant to request my dr. to unfill. I've also learned to have all liquid from any kind of Soup prior to eating the noodles or rice in it to make sure I keep it down.

As far as stuff getting stuck, I've found that I can down a few ounces of Water to wash whatever is stuck right back out. Gross, but it works...just didn't think I'd go through all of this to pay someone to make me bulimic!!!

When I went back for my last fill, my doctor reminded me of his advice, which is contradictory to standard dietician's advice, so I guess I had forgotten it amongst all the other messages we receive. It was this:

• Don't try to eat when you're not hungry, just because it is meal time.
  
• Don't worry about trying to force in Breakfast if you are tight in the mornings - drink fluids and wait until you are hungry in the afternoons/evenings to eat.
  
• Don't try to eat until you are "full", just try to eat until you are "no longer hungry". Push the food away as soon as you stop feeling hungry. If you find that you are hungry again later, you can always go back for more, but most times you won't need to.
  
• Aim to eat like a picky 3 year old - use a small plate and be prepared to leave food on it!
  

I think the getting stuck/pb'ing thing is almost always related to eating too quickly and not chewing well enough. I think we all try to do the right thing immediately after the surgery but when we have healed and start back on solid foods and discover that, because we don't have restriction yet, we can eat just about anything, we can get complacent and not follow the rules. I know that is true for me.

Before my first fill, I chewed and chewed and was so strict with myself and had no problems. Then I accidentally forgot a few times and swallowed a bigger bite - and waited for the pain. Nothing happened! So I got lax about paying attention and the bites got slightly bigger, the chewing slightly shorter and the wait between bites slightly less. After my fill, again I tried to be "good" but didn't get the pain indicator when I made mistakes, so became even more lax. After the second fill, occasionally I would get a twinge if I was gulping food but still no real STOP NOW indicator. Now, after my third fill, I finally get what restriction, getting stuck and PB's actually mean.

I can still eat anything I want but I HAVE to pay close attention to every bite and HAVE to chew every last tiny little lump out of it or I know all about it! I have had a number of painful episodes that passed quickly without a PB, when I have not chewed completely. I have only gotten stuck to the point of having to PB to relieve the pain a couple of times, and both times have been when I was talking and not paying attention. A couple of those is all it takes to remind me what the bandster rules are all about!

I'm really trying now to follow my doc's advice - and it seems to be working because the scales are moving faster and I really feel like I am at the "sweet spot" already.

[notateechanow 7]

Fanny,

Thank you. That is really helpful for me today! I appreciate your responding! I think sometimes this is why I even use the website--to have all of you remind me of the things I've somehow managed to forget along the way since surgery.

I'm off for my fill today. Have a great day! :huh2:

[Fanny Adams 7]

You're welcome! I don't claim to have lots of answers - I'm just as new to this as all of us in this group - but my doc's advice really struck home for me last time, particularly when I realised that I had forgotten the bit about not sticking to a meal plan and not worrying about Breakfast. I, like most people I'd guess, had heard the "must eat breakfast!" message so often, that it just didn't sink in when he told me that the first time. I feel much better about managing things now.

A suggestion for your lunches that you might like to try:

On the weekends, when you have time, marinade up a half dozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs for an hour or two. I use a 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of honey, teaspoon of tobasco or 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder. Grill them or fry in a non-stick pan (with no oil) then let them cool, then chuck them into a good tupperware container and put them in the fridge. They should last about a week like that, using one a day for lunch. At the same time, chop up a couple of celery stalks and carrots and put them in another sealed container. Drain a can of unsweetened pineapple pieces and buy a punnet of cherry tomatoes.

Then each morning you can pack a really quick meal for lunch into another plastic container and you're ready for the day - lunch anywhere anytime and no utensils needed! You can try to eat this in one sitting or snack on it all day, whichever suits best - just put the lid back on when you stop feeling hungry and come back to it when you're ready.

PS: CHEW CHEW CHEW this well!! It is very bulky and will keep you full for hours but you gotta chew evey last bite! Don't try this within 2 days of being filled - my doc says liquids only for at least 48 hours then test the waters carefully as you move back to solid food.

Edited April 15, 2008 by Fanny Adams

[Cerrin 3]

Thanks fanny! I am going to try that too.

[notateechanow 7]

Ok, girls...you have to help me with this one...I've had some time to re-think your post from this morning and I wonder about only one thing. I have had problems losing weight in the past (on Weight Watchers and other plans) if I didn't consume enough calories. I completely understand what you've said about eating when I'm hungry and not going for the "full" feeling, but looking to be satiated, but will we slow down our metabolism by not eating enough? Is that even possible any more? My metabolism is clearly at a snail's pace and I'm already on thyroid medicine. I don't want to take the risk of having it go even slower...so I've always forced myself to hit at least 900 calories a day. Is this completely contradictory to what I'm supposed to be doing? I feel soooo stupid right now!!!

[Cerrin 3]

Even though I eat less WAY less then I did before I am still getting 1200 calories.

I drink a lot of milk and even though it is good for you it does have calories in it.

This might be a question to ask a nutritionist. Come to think of it mine said she wanted us to make sure if we had a stalled weight we were to check to make sure we got 1000 claories at a minimum.

[Fanny Adams 7]

My guess is that we tend to judge whether or not we at our sweetspot by how we feel when we are at our hungriest. For many, this is at night. When we put ourselves on a standard meal plan and aim for say 1200 calories a day, we have to force ourselves to eat the 600 cal throughout the day, taking them in in soft foods and liquids if we have to, because we are too tight for solid food. When it comes to night time, we have no problem with the 600 cal meal and still feel hungry afterwards. Because we feel really hungry then, we say to ourselves "make it tighter, make it tighter!" as though we were expecting NEVER to feel hungry at all. We get another fill, and then wonder why we are having even more problems with PBing and sliming in the day time, but still don't feel we are at our sweetspot, because of how we feel at night.

If instead, we listened to our bodies and didn't worry about the 600 cal throughout the day (unless we felt hungry then!), we would be able to eat a much bigger meal at night, maybe even a late night snack, and still not go over our target of 1200 for the day. We would feel satisfied at the end of the day, and not have to struggle with hunger at night OR feeling too tight in the morning.

I think the only problem would come with this if you found yourself eating nothing throughout the day AND struggling to get in over 600 cals in the afternoons and evening. If that was happening, then you would probably be too tight and need a slight unfill. On the other hand, if you are easily eating a solid breakfast, a solid lunch and a solid dinner and STILL feeling hungry at night, then yes, another fill could be the answer.

I'm not saying this is how everyone works. Quite often I am hungry in the mornings, so I eat a solid breakfast (poached egg, baked Beans & mushrooms usually - about 250 calories). I then eat a lot of fibrous veges for lunch (eg carrots, celery, etc) and some chicken. By the time dinner comes around, I am only just starting to feel hungry again and often leave half of my small child's plate. Other days it doesn't work like that and I skip breakfast and make up for it in the evening when I'm hungry.

My personal opinion is that we should be less rigid about expecting our bodies to behave the same way every day. There are so many influences - stress, time of month, salt/water intakes, different activities - that we are unlikely ever to have exactly the same physiological reactions every day. Just go with the flow for a while and learn to LISTEN to our bodies.

I'm giving that approach a bash, anyway - wish me luck with it! Good luck to all of you that are trying to work out the intricacies of living with this wonderful tool :confused:

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Ok, girls...you have to help me with this one...I've had some time to re-think your post from this morning and I wonder about only one thing. I have had problems losing weight in the past (on Weight Watchers and other plans) if I didn't consume enough calories. I completely understand what you've said about eating when I'm hungry and not going for the "full" feeling, but looking to be satiated, but will we slow down our metabolism by not eating enough? Is that even possible any more? My metabolism is clearly at a snail's pace and I'm already on thyroid medicine. I don't want to take the risk of having it go even slower...so I've always forced myself to hit at least 900 calories a day. Is this completely contradictory to what I'm supposed to be doing? I feel soooo stupid right now!!!

Everyone is different. I had a resting metabolic test taken at the doctor's office because I have a very slow metabolism. It showed I have to eat

1,000 calories a day to lose weight. A lot of people can eat more than that and still lose weight. If you are happy with 900-1,000 calories, I don't think it's a problem. Just eat healthy. Stay away from the white carbs, and

eat Protein first, then veggies then fruit and you will lose weight!

[::tracy:: 0]

my first PB/stuck/sliming ... whatever you might want to call it.

i was on my way to a job interview ... running a little behind time so i was eating and driving .... sushi.

i ended up in the toilets of place i had the job interview, for about 20 mins ... thankfully the woman interviewing me was running late.

it was very embarrassing ... every time i opened my mouth spit would come bubbling up! i have never been stuck like that since however i am now very good at regurgitating food ... isn't that just gross!!

it would seem i have lost my manners since banding ...

[Cerrin 3]

LOL yeah tracy I have definitly lost my maners forst the burping everywhere not the regurgitating food. lol

Oh and grandma would be very disapointed at how I pick at my food. lol

[::tracy:: 0]

i can relate to the picking at food ... i do that ALL the time.

[nomadem 1]

I'm not necessarily feeling much restriction---strange, I know. Maybe I do have it and don't recognize it as such. I can comfortably eat meals. I had yogurt this afternoon with a Weight Watchers Quesidilla (sp?) and had no issues. I have been really careful to watch the Water with and after meals and have found that makes a HUGE difference. I have been watching my Protein intake and not calories as much and have also found that makes a bid difference. Some days are great, others not so great. I think the days when I eat more fiberous veggies are tough. (go figure, huh?) I think I'm going to go ahead and ask for a small fill.

I have to admit, though...aside from the very first fill (with a great PA) I don't know what they've put in my band. The second fill was my dr. himself and he didn't say much. So...fill #3 tomorrow. Not looking for discomfort as it's my birthday next week and I don't want to be in pain or running for an unfill...but we'll see.

Have a great week. :rolleyes2:

hey its my birthday week too, I had a fill appt last friday at the Faulkner but forgo the fill bc Im not hungry and I lost a ton of weight in the past few weeks. That was mostly do to being too tight from my period (I think). Been feeling great for a few days now but today I ate some frozen green Beans at lunch. Its been 2 1/2 hrs of spitting, and they finally all past the band bc the pressure is gone.

[mariduke4 0]

Hi Guys

Can you please tell me what PB and slimmed means? I just had my first fill last Friday. I was banded in March. The only thing that has happened so far is after eating too fast the food felt like it was stuck in my chest...scared the hell out of me, I could hardly breath.

Just wanted to learn the lingo :-) Thanks

M