So - EAT! (JeanM - do you want to join in?)

This was sparked by a reply JeanM made earlier today.

Now those of you who know JeanM and I from on here will know we work our bands in very different ways. We have in the past done joint  threads to show how our two approaches can be equally successful.

But there is one thing on which we both agree - if you are hungry - EAT.

For me, food is not my enemy. I love food! It tastes wonderful, it keeps me healthy, it is at the centre of my family life (meals round the table etc) and my social life.

HUNGER is my enemy. If I get hungry (and I include both real physical hunger and head hunger) then I think about food. I want food, I obsess about food. And I will quite likely give in and eat, probably something quick and easy and fattening.

So if hunger strikes - I eat before it takes control. For example, I came home from work early yesterday at about 4. I had had lunch at 1:30 and didn't plan on dinner until 6ish. I felt hungry. I could have grabbed something quick but instead I had an extra meal. I grilled myself 3 fish fingers (sticks to you, i think!). A controlled amount - each is 80 cals according to the packet. I was so not hungry at 6 that we had dinner at 7.

Filling, took away hunger, controlled and not much more than a less satisfying snack. (I define a snack as being a finger food of about 100-200 clas max; a meal is more substantial.)

Some days I have 3 meals and 3 snacks; others I may have 5 meals!

My daily totals (if I ever count which I rarely do) are not much different! Perhaps varying by 100-200 cals.

As always, this works for me (and Jean!)- it may not for you! But just be aware it is an option!

Kate

 I'm in the same frame of mind... if you are hungry... eat. If you are not... don't. That's what my doctor told me and that's what I stick to.

I don't obsess about a schedule or regulated eating. I eat like my skinny friends.... they eat if they are hungry. Otherwise, they stay away! 

hi Kate,

I think for new bandsters, or perhaps just talking about myself, I am kinda afraid to really eat..  I mean, even aside from the fact that I am still on full liquids/mushies, I would be a bit afraid to eat right now.  I look for that scale to move right out the gate, to make sure that I did the right thing maybe??  I know this will change for me and yes when i am hungry I am going to eat!!! But there is so much psychological stuff going on right now that I have still not gotten down pat.

I enjoy yours and Jeans posts very much and gives me so much hope as I continue this journey!! Thank you!!

Donna

Donnamarie....don't be afraid, eat what you have been told is ok at this stage.  The scale won't budge until you are on solids and eating mostly dense protein and low carb veggies, fruits and grains.  Just take it slow when you do get to eat and it will be fine.  Hang in there, the psychological stuff is important...just work on that for now.
Steph

 thanks so  much for this post!! from the beginning 10 months ago I was told 3 meals a day no snacks!! unless you really really need one... i am one who every day has something for a snack.. healthy of course , and not a meal! it helps me and i have to agree if your hungry eat!! for me it has helped! i personally have tried waiting 20 min or so doing something to GET my mind off of feeling hungry but then when that didn't work i said OK time to go a head and have that snack, other wise u feel hungry and water just doesn't help when u r really hungry..at least for me! 

In addition to what Kate has said in her original post, with which I agree 100%, I want to make the following comments.

1. The eat when you're hungry rule can't really be followed until after you're on solid food. In the early post-op phases, you must follow your surgeon's instructions to the letter in order to allow your stomach to heal and your band to settle into place. The early post-op phases are NOT about weight loss. They're about healing.

2. When you're on solid food, denying your physical hunger is not healthy. It's a reaction trained into us by years of traditional deprivation style dieting. One of the reasons I had band surgery was to stop that endless, useless cycle of diet - feast - diet - feast. "Normal" people eat when they're hungry without agonizing over it. That's the way I eat now....and it works well as long as I eat sensibly, in response to PHYSICAL hunger cues.

3. When I let myself get too hungry, I run into trouble in 3 ways:
    > When I finally get to eat, I'm too eager to eat carefully, so I tend to get stuck or have some
       other negative eating event.
   >  When I let the hunger get on top of me, I go on obsessing about food for hours, even after
       I eat - probably because of that emotional sense of deprivation.
   >  Often when I let the hunger get on top of me, I go on being physically hungry for the rest
       of the day even after I eat a healthy meal.

Jean

I was also told no snacks...ever.  But this is the one time I went against my surgeon's protocol.  I am working out intensely and I wa****ting a brick wall and couldn't much faster or longer than I was.  I was told by a co-worker that I needed to add a snack about 30-40 minutes before my workout to give my body a little fuel and energy.  So I added 3-4 apple slices and a teaspoon of peanut butter.  What a difference that made.  I was able to workout harder and I started to lose weight again.  Yes I also will have a snack now if I feel I want or need one.  As long as it's not a 400 calorie candy bar...there's no harm. 

My doc is all for snacks as long as they are healthy .  I was never much of a snacker and because I stalled on my weight loss I had to add snacks no choice in the matter because of the amount of exercise I do now  I had to bump up my calories .

I eat two to three snacks a day now and that helps with the weight loss and that also keeps your metabolism going through the day .

My surgeon was also dead set against "snacks" and insisted I eat 3 meals a day ONLY.  Well, I knew from the get-go that that wasn't going to work for me.  It was the ONLY instruction from my clinic that I ignored.  It actually still surprises me that they were so adamant about this rule.  I think 3 meals only a day may work for some people, but it doesn't for me (and obviously a lot of others).  Next time I go for a fill - which will be several months from now, since I'm in a great spot right now - I may ask why they are so dead-set against snacks or several small meals.

Normal-weight people eat exactly that way - if they're hungry, they eat.  They don't obssess, and they don't eat a loaf of bread if one or two pieces will satisfy them.  Hunger IS the enemy, so staying on top of it (without going over the edge, which is where the band helps most) is the answer.

Good morning everyone!  Like Kate, I eat when I am hungry (and occasionally when I am not).  My nutritionist encourages small snacks as long as they are at least in the ratio of 1 gr protein to 2 gr healthy whole grain carb and under 100 calories...

If I get too hungry, I do tend to eat too fast or not chew properly or wolf down the nearest slider food, so I keep an Atkins Advantage bar in my purse...half of it is a perfect snack on the go.

The idea behind having our surgery is to eat normally, and normally people have little snacks between meals, especially in the long break between lunch and dinner.

Thanks for the post Kate....