Archives for December 2013

Better Protein Choices – No Sliders

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“Debbie, if you are still hungry between meals after getting your lap band, it could be too many slider foods. Oatmeal, soup, runny tuna (all foods I listed that I’ve been eating) are all slider foods. That means they slide through the stoma with virtually no effect on the vagus nerve.”

This nerve is located at the top of your stoma and is activated by food hitting it, which happens quicker with the Lap Band because of the small stoma size above the band.  The vagus nerve is what needs to be told that you have eaten and that you are full.  If this nerve is not “awakened” when you eat, then it doesn’t know that you are eating regularly and thinks you are starving.  When this happens, your body will start conserving energy (“Fat”) not realizing you are trying to lose it.

This advice, along with the instructions from my patient advocate I mention in my last post ( http://www.debbieposton.com/snacking-not-required/) , really made me re-think my protein choices and the “in between” stuff.  Things like omelets,  chicken, fish, meats, deli meats, brown rice, veggies, hamburger are harder for the esophagus to push through the band/stoma. The peristalsis contractions are higher which theoretically help us to feel satiety sooner and longer.  Foods that slide through don’t require the contractions as much… so give less satiety.

So I decided to try changing up my diet and focusing on more solid proteins in my meals and going without snacks in between meals.  This is a hard choice for us “banders” because the more solid the food is, the more chance we have of it getting stuck if we don’t follow the rules of eating slowly and chewing thoroughly.  I personally, find it hard sometimes, to slow down because easier the food goes down, the more I can go back to eating like a normal person.  However, that is NOT what I signed up for!  So after giving myself the big girl pep-talk, I decided to stop being that person who makes excuses and start using this new tool to its fullest potential.

I tracked the calories of each but didn’t really focus on keeping them low on purpose…

Typical breakfast: (approx 250-325 cal)

  • Egg omelette with chopped ham, sprinkle of low fat cheese, peppers & onion.
  • Egg sandwich with slice of Canadian Bacon, slice of low fat Provolone cheese on a 100   Cal multi-grain english muffin

Typical Lunch: (approx 270 cal)

  • Lunchable – these are quick to pack in a lunch for work but don’t get the big ones with the cookie n junk!)  Just the deli meats and cheeses
  • Salad with chicken – Wendy’s or Subway are my favorites (Subway now offers a chopped salad that makes it much easier for us to eat)

Afternoon snack (170 cal):  Protein bar for that 3pm drop

Dinner (approx 350 cal): baked protein and veggie with brown rice or something similar

I have found that since changing up my routine and focusing more on protein at my meals and documenting what time I eat, I can make it closer to 4 hours now before wanting to eat again.  Also, I have lost 2.4 lbs in 1 week!  That gives me more encouragement than I’ve had recently…

Scheduled 3rd fill is on Thursday, 12/19/13 …hopefully this will get me closer to that “Green Zone” and I will be able to stay full between meals.

I have learned this week that I still had a WeightWatchers mentality, eating small, low fat, low carb, meals 6 times a day.  My sister had gastric bypass and this is also how she eats.  The Lap Band is different and I need to understand that I must now learn to do what’s right for me and not what someone else is doing.  Thanks Barbie, my patient advocate, for the advice!!