Why You Shouldn't Eat Salad

[LoneStarRedHd56 0]

I wonder how successful and healthy you will be with justifying eating anything you want. You pick out things YOU disagree with but the final reality is "Dr. V isn't telling you not to eat vegetables, but use common sense about what is good for you and what isn't." Go buy all the books in the world on nutrients but I bet if you were open-minded enough to read Dr. Vuong's book you would get the whole picture. Just because you can eat it, doesn't mean you should or it's good for you. I can find better, tastier, healthier things to fill my pouch with than salad.

As far as eating sweets, that’s fine too but it's still high calorie & low nutrition no matter how you justify eating it. I can find a better alternative like fruit to eat than candy.< /span>

Like I said before, it's changing your lifestyle and eating habits. If you want to continue eating things that made you fat, why even get the band? So we agree to disagree about salad and Protein - but all of Dr. Vuong's patients are very happy and highly successful and healthy with their weight loss and will be successful in keeping the weight off - I know because I am his patient - hope your eating habits work for you.

[kdlee 0]

Wow, there are some serious over-reactions on here. Use common sense. Think about it. He is referring to habits in the US, as this is where his medical practice is based. For those of you living in the US or that have spent any time here, how many restaurants in the US do you go to that bring you out a plate of iceburg lettuce with croutons, a couple of small wedges of Tomato and dressing, perhaps some cheese if you're lucky? That's it. The salad comes before the main meal, not with it. It happens to be almost all the restaurants I've been to. Please explain the benefit of filling up on this to me? I was instructed that I should only eat 1/2-1 cup of food at a time. Well, there I've met that restriction alone with my iceberg lettuce. Seriously, that's all he is saying. Don't fill up on the lettuce! Yes, I do agree with some of you that the presentation of the article painted salad in a bad light, but step back and read it again. He's just saying, don't eat a plain non-protein salad lathered with dressing. I love salads and eat them quite often. I add fresh veggies and lean Protein to them and often don't use any dressing at all. If I do use dressing, I dip my fork in it and it never gets poured onto my salad. That said, I didn't take what Dr. Vuong said as gospel and freak out thinking he was telling me to never put a bite of lettuce into my mouth again. Do what works, lose your weight and try to pass on the wisdom you've gained to others. After all, that's what we're all in this together for, right?

[LoneStarRedHd56 0]

Finally a voice of reason! kdlee you hit the nail on the head!

[BethFromVA 5]

all of Dr. Vuong's patients are very happy and highly successful and healthy with their weight loss and will be successful in keeping the weight off - I know because I am his patient - hope your eating habits work for you.

I had a feeling...

[LoneStarRedHd56 0]

“To disbelieve is easy; to scoff is simple; to have faith is harder.”

[maryrose 2]

Lonestar, I totally agree with you.

I don't get it.

It's common sense with our smaller pouches to not fill up on salad (icebeg lettuce expecially) and have no room for our Protein or carbs.

Why is that so hard to understand????

He's not saying eat ALL Protein, just don't fill up on iceberg lettuce that has not value...jeeze!

Edited May 14, 2009 by maryrose

[NurseMelly 0]

Like Fanny said, I've found that grilled chicken salad tends to stay with me for a long time and I feel satisfied throughout the afternoon. I got a lap band to eat like a normal healthy person, not cut out entire food groups. I suppose it would be better to eat a lean cuisine full of preservatives and crap as long as it had 20 g of Protein? ??

[MistyD65 1]

My biggest issue with this article is the way it was presented. Dr. Vuong does make some valid points about avoiding filling up with iceburg lettuce and high-fat toppings, then he points out how to make better salad choices. But the title of the article and the first paragraph - especially the all-caps "SALAD IS NOT A BAND-FRIENDLY CHOICE" - were poor choices. They brought to mind the media's hysteria-producing reports about swine flu. It is possible to educate people without making statements that appear to be absolutes.

I think most of the controversy over this article could have been avoided with a better-thought-out title and introduction.

[MacMadame 81]

I wonder how successful and healthy you will be with justifying eating anything you want.

I've lost over 100% of my excess weight and I'm a triathlete training for the half-ironman distance.

I understand you think your surgeon walks on Water, but I find most of his nutrition advice (over several articles) to be mediocre. I have done a lot of research on nutrition because -- unlike some people -- I don't just assume my doctor knows everything. Maybe you should do some independent research yourself.

[Jachut 487]

Hmmm, I lost 120% of my excess. By eating SOME lettuce and SOME Protein.

Oh, and the odd tim tam now and again. Which are a carb and sugar orgy.

My doc completely supports my view that this is a lifestyle not a diet. And the founder of HIS practice has a book too - The Lapband Solution by Prof. Paul O'Brien. Wow, whodathunk it? More than one way to skin a cat?

I just object to THOU SHALT... tone of these little Dr Vuong snippets. There's no "thou shalt" about it, its all about balance, lifestyle and the long term, not some diet full of rigid rules. What if you WANT to eat the lettuce one time instead of all your Protein? Is it going to kill you?

Edited May 15, 2009 by Jachut

[LoneStarRedHd56 0]

I am not going to get into a snippet exchange with someone like you. Bully for you that you are a "triathlete training for the half-ironman distance." That still doesnt make you a DOCTOR or an EXPERT. Maybe you shouldn't ASSume so much about others. So let's just say we agree to disagree and end it at that. Go eat some salad and run a few miles.

[Fanny Adams 7]

I agree, Misty. As I tried to say in my first response to Dr Vuong, it was the bald statement in caps that I objected to. It does give the impression that "salad is bad" and the way he "grudgingly" seems to allow that some salad vegetables might not be that bad...

[BethFromVA 5]

Just the fact that he says it's not band friendly got me. And just because a salad is served first in a restaurant does not mean it must be eaten first. My mom always eats her salad with her dinner, and she's not banded.

Besides, how many of us eat out every meal, every day? Even if we did go out on a Friday and ate that salad first, are we gonna die? Not lose any more weight? Turn into toads?

[Shamrockgirl60 1]

Yikes, I love salads, and it's one thing I can eat without a problem, yes I choose very dark leafy green, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms and some low fat feta cheese, dried cranberries and for a full dinner I have diced small pieces of white meat chicken (4 oz.) I use Walden-Farms no fat/no calorie dressings also. I vary the veggies and greens sometimes and it's filling and healthy sorry I suppose if you eat just iceburg lettuce and a Tomato it's not that healthy. I also sometimes use fat free whole wheat croutons on my salads also.

[Carrie_C 9]

I love salads! I will get grilled chicken salads, but I eat the chicken first. So I am still following the band rules. If I go to a restaurant and they serve salad first, I will save it until the rest of my meal comes and eat it last. I agree that we don't need to fill up on lettuce, but there are still ways to enjoy salads and still follow the rules.