One Week After Stomach Banding

by Anonymous

Hungry - end of week one.

I was banded last Friday, today is Wednesday. I am very, very hungry tonight.

I ate vanilla wafers & oatmeal :( I know I should not have, but one more cup of broth & I am going to scream!

My concern is that I am hungry and it's just the first week. WTH? Everyone tells me how they are NOT hungry. I am so disappointed.

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In order to curb hunger, you need to abide by 2 very important gastric band diet principles:

1. Include small amounts of protein at every meal.


2. (Once you progress to solid foods), make sure you choose foods that are "bulky."

Protein slow digestion and helps curb hunger. Broth doesn't have much protein, so if that's all you've been eating, it's understandable why you're hungry!

You can drink high protein shakes in the liquid stage and they will be more filling than broth. You can also blend 1-2 tablespoons unflavored protein powder into reduced fat cream soups.

Once you "officially" progress to pureed/soft food stage, you can eat yogurt (nonfat Greek yogurt is particularly high in protein), eggs, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, tuna salad, and fat free refried beans as protein sources.

Read more about the diet progression here.

In the long run, "bulky" foods will sit in your pouch longer than "mushy" foods and will therefore fill you up and curb hunger for longer periods of time. Read more on "solids vs mushies" here.