"People with bands can never eat good good food again"

Good God, I am tired of hearing awful and unfulfilling (food-wise) life with a band is, about how we will be on "diets" for the rest of our lives, that we can only have low fat, ****ty-tasting foods, we can't eat cheese or bacon (apparently the "holy grail" for DS endorsers) or ice cream or anything remotely delicious.

Fuck that. I'm almost eight years out, in maintenance mode.  I eat what I feel like eating, have significantly smaller amounts than I would have had when I was obese, and I don't feel guilty about it.


Here's what I had for breakfast: scrambled eggs with Swiss cheese, bacon and a slice of toast with butter. Iced coffee with half-and-half.

Hear anything remotely resembling "diet" there? Granted, I did not have a half-dozen eggs and a half-pound of bacon. I had what I wanted, enjoyed it guilt-free and was totally satisfied with my portion. It's now 2:30, 3 hours later and I'm still feeling. So, where is the deprivation?

I have chocolate, but I don't have a pound of it.

I have eggs, but I'll have two.

I'll have bacon, but I'll have 3 or 4 slices, well done.

I'll have popcorn at the movies, but I have a small bag and rarely eat all of it.

I'll have premium ice cream now and then, but I'll have a "real" portion, about a half-cup. But recently I have gotten addicted to Tasti D Lite, which is much, MUCH lower in fat and calories, so I can have a small cone if I want to. On a day when I haven't had anything for a few hours, I may get a medium, but that's usually too large a portion for me to finish.

Yes, I have pizza and BBQ and fried chicken and Doritos, but I have about a fourth of what I would have eaten prior to my surgery. I can have sugars and flours and carbs and pasta without worrying about dumping, having "sharts", excessively foul gas or oily diarrhea.

Now, you'll have to excuse my band and me. We're off to a birthday party/cookout in a few minutes where I'll have some pulled pork and a little macaroni salad. I will even have a (small) piece of cake - with frosting - and some ice cream, and I know I won't spend the night ****ting my brains out. As long as I don't overdo anything, I never get sick. I just eat, enjoy, and get on with my life.

Bette, I was just sitting here thinking about my first trainer.  When we first started together, she wanted me to bring in a list of what I ate over the weekend.  I thought to myself, this will be interesting as she has no experience with the way bandsters eat.  I figured I'd humor her, and who knows, she might even have some knowledge that would benefit me.

Just so happens I had made pulled pork earlier that week.  I still tend to cook big amounts of protein and then we eat off of them for days.. just fixing fresh veggies per meal.

So I had several meals listing 2 or 3 oz pulled pork, 1/2 cup some kind of veggie.    She looked at it and said.. well, you really shouldn't be eating so much pork.. but you're eating such a small amount, it shouldn't matter.   

I was amused then and it still amuses me.

I agree with what you say about food choices.  I'm not in maintenance yet.. but I'm getting quite close.  
Have a great time at your party!!

Bette,

I know exactly what you mean about the DS Holy Grail. Apparently, choosing a WLS that allows you to consume all the crap you want also makes you regurgitate a lot of crap in the form of words.

I'm also in maintenance mode and eat pretty much the same way as you do. I've been told that I eat like a bird. And I'm a very happy bird.

Jean

WHY CANT WE HAVE GOOD FOOD I STILL EAT ALOT OF THE FOODS I DID BEFORE JUST NOT AS MUCH I STILL LOVE GRILLED SHRIMP AND CRAB LEGS I DONT EAT A BURGER WITH THE BUN BUT THATS STILL OK WITH ME PIZZA THE TOP IS THE BEST PARTANYWAY.JUST HAVE TO TAKE SOME THINGS AWAY BUT NOT EVERYTHINGI HAD MY SURGEY OCT 2011 WENT FROM A 3X TO A 1X DOWN 61 PONDS OFF MY DIABETIC MEDS

As much as my band annoys me sometimes I still was always able to eat pretty much anything I wanted except bread and doughy stuff. Even with my band emptied I still have trouble with doughy things, I can eat alittle but not much. The only time I couldn't eat things was when I was too tight on a few occasions otherwise everything was fair game. I gotta agree that some of the DSers must have had other things rerouted besides their insides. Altho there are a few who seem to have avoided the problem.

Funny you say this because I am sitting here right now eating a steak burrito (with cheese, salsa, beans).  It's very yummy.  For breakfast I had fruit salad with nuts...I'm not a cereal or oatmeal kind of person.  Sounds like I can still eat yummy satifying, yet nutritious foods. 

Over the past week I also had pizza and I had a cheeseburger.  And next week I plan to have cake for my going away party. 

 I know very little about the eating habits of people who have had the other surgeries, but I know I can happily eat whatever I want.  I CHOOSE to avoid carbs, but it's my choice- heck I had garlic bread at dinner tonight because I wanted it.  Yum.  

I don't bother eating low-fat foods.  I don't really see the point.

I'm in the process of getting the band.  I should have it hopefully by the end of Sept or beginning of Oct.  To hear guys saying this make me feel better about my choice.  Thank you so much because I rarely hear good things about the band on here. 

Shhh. Don't tell anyone about the decadent bowl of chili i'm eating for dinner...

Love this post! I am 5 days post op with my band! I went for a walk with my hubby tonight, while I watered the lawn he went to the convenience store (right next door) and bought an ice cream sandwich then ate it behind the bushes while I watered the lawn. I yelled to him " you do not need to hide, I will eat one again someday!" It will just be low-fat sugar free thought.
This post gives us new bandsters something to look forward down the line!