Newly banded! Need advice from veterans!

 The beginning will be hard.  You really have no restriction since the band was just placed.  EVERYONE goes through this, so you're not odd in any way :)

My advice is to eat when you're feeling hungry.  Try and use unsweetened almond or coconut milk with your shakes (no sugars to get your craving more food) and dannon carb smart is a good yogurt.  

Right now you're recovering from surgery and not in weightloss mode.  You need to follow your surgeon's rules exactly as he/she has laid them out for you.  You may want to have your primary doc check your blood levels and see how things are post surgery, too.  Sometimes people go hypoglycemic.  

Just keep following the rules and come here for advice.  You will do great!

Great post Guernica

 Thank you everyone!

What you're feeling is very normal in the post-op phase. We all felt that way, try not to worry. I was crazy light headed, dizzy, nauseas, weak, dry heaving it. I wasn't diabetic, but it felt like my blood sugar level was tanking.

Here's my advice, but you really need to discus this with your surgeon and PCP first.

The Head Hunger Monster has got a tight grip on your mind, and you have to beat that sucker down with a huge stick...I'm SERIOUS, I know this sounds like crazy talk, but part of losing weight with any surgery is getting control of your mind/thoughts.

They didn't operate on your brain, just your stomach.

It helped me to watch DVD's instead of T.V. because,I wasn't subjected to all those food commercials, which come on every 5-10 minutes. In the beginning, food commercials are like
" Poking The Beast. "  For example,during whatever show you happen to be watching, your brain is engaged in the plot, but as soon as a MC Donald's commercial comes on, " The Beast " awakens, and your 100% focused on hunger.  That's why I said to watch DVD's instead because there are no commercials.  Try watching a season of your favorite show on T.V, only on DVD.

Go to Walmart and buy an appetite suppressant, they have natural ones if you don't want to use the other kind.

Get out of the house.

Go for a walk.

You said you drink all day, but are you sipping every 10 minutes ? Make sure you are sipping something every 10 minutes, this helps you to feel fuller longer.

When you progress to " Regular  foods " give me a holler. I can give you tips on how to eat when out on the road. There are ways of eating " Fast Food " while keeping it healthier. I'll give you one example for now.

Carl's JR. has a Santa Fe Chicken sandwich, I order it in a lettuce wrap, instead of on a bun.
Nom  Nom  Nom. You won't be able to eat the whole thing, but who cares.

Pumpkin, what a wonderful and encouraging post. I'd be very interested in those tips that mentioned for fast food.

Thank you for the heads up and an eye opener.

I will BRB with the fast food ideas just as soon as I find my " Fast Food " thread. I'ma go look now.

I FOUND IT !

Further out from my surgery I learned that I could eat fast food while out on vacation as long as I adjusted the menu, because lets face it....planning your meals can get old & sometimes it's nice to be able to eat what the Normies eat
( with a slight tweak not tweek  )

Mc Donald's
Cheeseburger without the bun ( ask for a fork )
No fries because fries are evil
No soda, I always carried around Vitamin Water Zero
Side of scrambled eggs
Sausage,Egg, & Cheese Mc Muffin without the sausage and english muffin (ask for a fork)
Chicken nuggets ( Yeah yeah there high in calories but I could only eat 2 or 3 )

Carls JR.
Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken- ask for it lettuce wrapped instead of bread. I was never able to eat more then 1/4 of one.
No fries they are still evil

Restaurants with salad bars are a great option. Order yours in a to go container with your dressing on the side. That way your salad wont get soggy and the leftovers will last for a couple days.

Popeyes Chicken
Small side of Red Beans & Rice
Small side of Cole Slaw

Burger King
Garden Salad with side of dressing
Six Piece Chicken Fries ( again I normally ate only 2 or 3 )

Wendy's
Cheeseburger no bun ( ask for a fork ) nom nom nom

Burritos from anywhere can be opened up and eaten with a fork. Don't eat the flour tortilla or you will die of severe stuckage.

Pizza toppings can be scraped off the crust. nom nom nom I could scrape and eat two of these suckers.

I eat sunflower seeds, when I get that " Hand to mouth " urge.

If you're jones-ing for some crunch try these Garden Veggie Straws made by Sensible Portions they're only 130 calories for 38 straws and I spread out the 38 straws into two separate servings. They taste great and you get to get your crunch on Mmmm delish !
Potato, carrot, and spinach seasoned with a touch of salt


 

I am def gonna print these out.
Where do you buy those straws? Never heard of them? Can I ask how much they cost??

On your band, did you count calories/fat?

I first bought them at Costco, but I've noticed that the grocery stores are now selling them. If you google them, I bet you will come across their website, and they would be able to tell you the closest place to you that they are sold.

I never counted calories or fat. because ( for me ) keeping track of what I ate kept my mind engaged on food all the time. What works for me, is stepping on the scale everyday. I don't step on it to see what I lost, I step on it to make sure I don't gain. I allow my self to go up 5 lbs, then I hit the breaks on any unhealthy eating habits I might be engaging in. I also use Dexatrim Max for a few days to help curb the hunger, until I am in control again.

This has worked for me and I have lost 97 lbs. I know I'm weird, but it worked for me.

 you can buy the veggie straws at walmart. But they are not by the chips, they are by the rice cakes and I think those are in the cereal aisle :)
Good luck! The time right after surgery is tricky. you are learning a new way to deal with food. Keep educating yourself everychance you get !