Question:
lap band

I have a lap band and have a question. Why is it that I can at endless amounts of salad (lettuce)but when I try to eat chicken or anything else I can only eat very little. Does this mean I need a fill since i can eat so much salad. Does anyone know if this is normal?    — willish (posted on April 30, 2008)


April 30, 2008
Hello, I have the same issue with salads. I can eat a lot of it, but I also have girlfriends with the band that cannot have more than a few mights. I think it is just our bodies and what we can stand. We should really be happy we can eat a lot of salad and restricted on other foods!!! I don't think you need a fill any sooner than you would regularly get it.
   — srhedger

April 30, 2008
The reason is that lettuce is soft .......plus it is made up mainly of water. So thus it takes up very little space in your stomach. However, meat on the other had, is very dense and has rougher edges which is why u can sometimes feel it going down especially if you don't chew well enough. This is why we're supposed to eat proteins first....so we'll fill up on the things that we need the most and are going to keep us from eating other things we're not supposed to. It won't hurt u to eat lots of lettuce if you're not topping it with high calorie dressings and other things. Keep in mind that iceberg lettuce practically no nutritional benefits other than some roughage. Other darker leaf greens, like romaine and spinach will actually contribut vitamins...spinach is of course high in iron but you'd have to eat a lot of it. Anyway, that's my 2cents for what it's worth.
   — cjjordan

April 30, 2008
My doctor recommended that we eat meat like chicken,pork chop,fajitas and steak nothing else. The lettuce is mushy so stay a way from mushy food and eat plain meat's.
   — 2409w.poplar_rodriguez

April 30, 2008
The reason you can only eat a little bit of protein (chicken) is that it is a solid, chunky food that you are supposed to be able to eat a little of and feel full. That is a good thing. Remember to eat foods in the right order as well. Eat all of your protein first and then move on to your veggies. Lettuce really has very little nutrition and is not a good choice. Try baby spinach instead. I know I need a fill when I feel I can eat too much (more than 4 oz in a sitting), feel very little restriction, I'm no longer losing weight and after discussing things with my surgeon and weighing in, we make that decision together. Good luck to you, Dawn Vickers, RN, BLC, CLC
   — DawnVic

May 1, 2008
Salad and vegetables are mostly water, and they chew down well and breakdown faster than things like chicken, steak, etc. I eat a lot of shrimp, for me it goes down well. I don't personally think you need a fill because if you do that you will eat less protein, you just have to practice caution in how much you eat, that is a battle we deal with every day for the rest of our lives. It is really about choice, not hunger. Patricia P.
   — Patricia P

May 1, 2008
I have RNY, but the same issue. Salad ingrediants are made mostly of water and pack down to mush almost immediately. It is completely normal. In fact, my dietician said we should be able to eat a 10 oz salad even though we may only be able to eat 3 oz of something else. As long as you are being careful to not eat fatty or high calories dressings, you can eat salad as much as you want...it has very little calories.
   — [Deactivated Member]

May 1, 2008
It's perfectly normal to be able to eat a tremendous amount of salad. Sometimes chicken is hard to digest and you get full fast because it is more substance. As long as the chicken is going done good without complications you are fine. You can check your weight and as long as you are not gaining you don't need a fill. You need protein but that does not mean you need to eat a whole lot of chicken. Salad goes down well because of the dressing and and salad has a lot of water content.
   — Icantiemyshoe

May 1, 2008
It's perfectly normal to be able to eat a tremendous amount of salad. Sometimes chicken is hard to digest and you get full fast because it is more substance. As long as the chicken is going done good without complications you are fine. You can check your weight and as long as you are not gaining you don't need a fill. You need protein but that does not mean you need to eat a whole lot of chicken. Salad goes down well because of the dressing and and salad has a lot of water content.
   — Icantiemyshoe

May 1, 2008
I wish I could eat lettuce. For me it is hard to eat but one of my favorite foods. I can eat lots of chicken. Now I think this is really strange after reading everyone else's comments.
   — dianethefunlady




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