🤔Are your meals textured enough to challenge your band?
🤔OK so what exactly are textured foods?
They are foods that you have to work a bit harder with to get them through the band. Ones that require the oesophagus to really squeeze them through the band, not ones that just slip straight through with not much effort.
These foods should be:
Solid/ Hard – not soft and sloppy
Chewy – lots of chewing required
Dry – harder to get through the band
Crunchy – a bit of a crunch can make them harder to manage
Look at your meal overall, at least one item should be of the above.
🤔But why? Surely you want to have foods that go through the band and not cause you any problems?
Well the second part is true – you don’t want foods that cause you problems but textured foods shouldn’t be a problem if you follow the 20+ rule properly.
If you still can’t manage them then your band is likely to be too tight - seek advice!
🤔So why have textured foods?
Basically you need to have the textured foods to get the most out of your band.
There are nerve endings in your stomach wall and as food passes through the band these nerve endings are stimulated. This then sends a message to your brain to say you are full. The harder something is and the more you have to bite and chew it the more “ squeezes” it takes your oesophagus to get it through the band. The the more times these nerve endings are stimulated the fuller you will feel.
So TEXTURED FOODS = FEELING FULL!
If you carry on just having soft, sloppy foods or liquids then there wasn’t much point in having the band put in the first place.
All Rights Reserved | Gastric Band Clinic