Slider Foods

Monday, 23 March 2009 08:14

Kelly Tracy, Clinical Nutrition Specialist in Kansas City

The Lap-Band works because the small pouch over the band stretches with a very small amount of food.

This stretch tells your brain that you are full, which causes you to eat less food.  When you eat less food, you lose weight.  Some foods do not illicit this reaction because they slide through your band.  When you eat these foods, you wind up eating more food and calories because it is almost like the band isn’t there.  This makes long-term weight loss and maintenance difficult.  We call these foods “slider foods,” because they are too moist to stay in the pouch, and therefore, don’t signal stretch.

Many people will eat slider foods because they are comfortable.  Some people don’t like the feel of meat in their pouch because it can feel heavy.  Being satisfied after a few bites means that the band is working for you.  You had surgery to reduce the amount of food you eat and still feel satisfied.  Lap-band patients need to embrace the fact that they are full and satisfied after a small amount of food and try not to mix food with sauces, fluids, soups, or slippery noodles.  If you purposely consume foods that will slip right through the band, you are sabotaging your weight loss efforts.  The surgery you had is a tool to achieve the weight loss you want.  It is possible to cheat the band, and one way to do it is to eat slider foods.  I would rather you have a few bites of lean meat and two bites of vegetables than have liquid slider chili.  The chili will have quite a few more calories and will slip through the band, so you will probably be hungry much faster.

Common slider foods are soup, chili, gelatin, pudding, simple, white carbs that absorb saliva and gastric juices (pretzels, crackers, graham crackers), noodles, mashed potatoes, ice cream, applesauce, drinking fluids with meals (even meals with solid foods).

The one slider food category that I think is appropriate for Lap-Band patients is a food that is used as protein.  For example, if you can’t tolerate meat and you need protein, cottage cheese or sugar free yogurt could be used as a protein source.  It is a good idea to make at least 90% of what you eat solid.  Don’t forget to separate your solids from your liquids (do not drink and dine)!