I need help

Hello all.  I never got proper nutritional directions after my surgery and now I am just lost.  I have gained a little weight and stalled.  I am desperate to get moving in the right direction again.  I dont even know what to eat though!  Please help!  Should I do protein shakes since I do eat so little?  Thank you!

How long have you been banded? Are you exercising at all? I find many lap banders fail to exercise daily, if not you need to find some type of routine that you can commit to, even if it is 30 minute walks per day.

If you are not eating much and not exercising you will stall or even gain weight. I am assuming your band is tightly restricted since you say you can't eat much.

You need to monitor your carbs and keep them less than 40gms per day, ideally keep your proteins between 70-80 grams per day or more. 

Things to eat are:

Very moist roasted Chicken -- if you can't eat moist chicken your band is too tight and you may need to get a little bit out.

Tuna

Greek Yogurt -- it's nasty to me, but many use other types of fruit like berries to make it more pleasant

Ground turkey, cooked with tomato paste grilled onions, garlic -- good source of protein.

Sauteed spinach with garlic and onions

Collard Greens

Refried beans wcheese and salsa

I find that eating moist roasted chicken will yield very quick weight loss, not sure why.

Also make sure you are not eating no more than 2-4 ounces of protein per meal

Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day to flush out fat and walk, walk, walk!

The foods that I mentioned will help you lose weight fast and keep you healthy from vitamin deficiencies.

Good luck

You need to have at least 60 gm. of protein a day and a minimum of 64 oz. of non caloric liquid a day. Those are minimum requirements but people seem to lose more if they get higher amounts of protein and fluids. Always eat protein first, then with what ever room there is left use it for veggies. If you cannot get the minimum of protein from food you should add a protein shake, or a protein snack. The shakes will not help you to feel full for long, not that we seek to feel full but more like "not hungry".

The point is that unless you are getting these things in you won't lose. During my losing phase I tried to stay between 1000-1200 calories a day though calories don't have to be counted if you prefer to work your program another way. I had to keep track of my protein online so it also gave me my caloric intake and I used that to make the best choices for meals. Remember, also, that once cleared for solid food you need to be sure to use the densest protein in order to maintain that satiety for 4 or so hours between meals.

I don't do protein shakes because I don't like them and they don't satisfy me.  Liquids go right through my band.

I work to eat  at least 60 grams of protein a day in 3 meals and 2 or 3 small snacks.

For breakfast, I have a Greek yogurt or a Luna bar or an egg or 2 ----- giving me between 10 and 20 grams

snack of low fat cheese is 8 more grams

lunch and dinner with 3 oz of protein each  and I am well over the 60 mark for the day

add in some fruits and veggies and I am satisfied

Hi Denise!

How far out are you. We can give you better ideas if we know were you are at. Our min on protein was 65 grams a day.  With a goal of 100-120 grams.  Our min on fluid is 64, my goal is to hit 100oz a day.

Nutritional directions are the bare minimum of what your surgeon or clinic should provide. Call them and ask for specifics - what foods to eat, in what quantities, and when. It's their job to help you lose weight, and that job doesn't end when you leave the operating room.

Protein shakes can help boost your protein intake, which is good, but they don't offer much in the way of satiety. Dense, solid foods like animal & fish proteins and complex carbs (veggies, fruits, whole grains) do a better job of that for me. Also, higher protein dairy foods (like Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheese) work well for me.