I am 10 days post-op and get to go to solid foods tomorrow. I have been eating mushy/semi-solid foods since last Friday. The majority of my meals are different types of chicken in the crockpot, yogurt, and canned chicken.

The issue is that I am EXTREMELY limited on what I am allowed to eat per my surgeon. Let me give you the rundown of NO's:

NO RED meat

NO PORK

NO Beans

NO POTATOES

NO Pasta

NO RICE

NO BREAD

NO CRACKERS

NO MILK

I am limited to 3 meals a day at 20 grams of Protein per meal and no more than 5 carbs per meal. So, does anyone have any suggestions on foods that you eat that would fall into the category of what I can eat?

Does no milk mean no dairy period? I have Greek yoghurt with 1/2 scoop of protein powder every day for breakfast; which my doctor's office knows and they don't have a problem with that. Does No potatoes mean no Sweet Potatoes or Yams? Again my doctor allows both. My doctor suggest low fat protein (which I supposed would rule of beef and pork). The do recommend fish. It sounds like they want to you focus on being low carb. I have problems with crackers, cookies, cereals, chips; so I no longer keep them in my house.

I can have dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. I just can not drink milk. Isn't that crazy?!?!

I have to admit that is a very strict list of no's. My doctor allows me to eat anything I can tolerate except he did say nothing from the grain group until I have lost 75 percent of my excess body weight which sounds suspiously like the Atkins or protein diet. I have issues with this because I have already done that diet and was very successful on it until the day I went off it (then gained it all back). I am going to follow his orders for now but hope to work towards being able to eat anything I decide; just in much smaller portions.

I find it really strange that there are doctors out there that would say things like no grains until you've lost 75 percent of your excess weight. Does that include whole grains? A balanced diet (including grains), for me, is key to feeling healthy and losing weight steadily. When I start feeling deprived, I start going crazy with the bad stuff. If a surgeon told me no grains until I lost most of my excess weight, I would find a different surgeon.

Re: the list of No's, for 10 days post op, I actually think its pretty normal. I didn't eat solid foods until over 4 weeks post op so almost everything on there (except for milk? whats the deal with that?) seems okay to me. For food suggestions, I don't eat poultry, red meat, or pork, so much of my diet consists of seafood and tofu. Tofu has carbs (although its a very healthy food), but seafood is extremely high Protein without the crap thats in red meat or pork, and packed with protein. I would avoid meaty fishes like swordfish, but flaky fishes (salmon, cod, sole, sea bass, walleye etc) are great and band-friendly.

Msbandtastic, I have somewhat "cheated" on his restrictions when it comes to seasonings and things like that for cooking. Also, I have used regular shredded cheese on my food because I can not stand the fat free stuff. In my opinion, I am going to see a weight loss simply from changing to 4 oz. per meal versus the two plates full I could once eat! So, I want the little bit of food that I eat to be tasty.

Isaviolinist, my list of "No" items aren't only for the 10 days post-op. The red meat and pork are for the first year. The starches are until I loose 75% of my excess body weight.

Isaviolinist, my list of "No" items aren't only for the 10 days post-op. The red meat and pork are for the first year. The starches are until I loose 75% of my excess body weight.

Wow. That seems a little extreme to me. If I couldn't eat hamburger meat or pork, I wouldn't hardly be eating anything. I love chicken but it can get old. I am a picky eater. I don't like seafood or tofu or stuff like that. Luckily my doctor doesn't ask me what I eat.

Isaviolinist, my list of "No" items aren't only for the 10 days post-op. The red meat and pork are for the first year. The starches are until I loose 75% of my excess body weight.

The red meat and pork wouldn't bother me since I don't eat it anyways, but the rest is...wow. What is the reasoning for such an unbalanced diet? I wouldn't do well with that. Im obsessed with quinoa, which is the only grain that is a complete Protein. Its a superfood. Crazy that you can't have that because it falls under the category of starches. Plus, I do love my sweets, and I LOVE baking. I just don't eat the whole pan of Cookies now - but its nice to know that I can bake and not go crazy. As I said before, if someone told me grains were off limits until I lost X percentage of my excess weight, I would be running the other way.

Well, good luck with that diet! Its definitely Atkins-esque.

Thanks! I am sure I will eventually get tired of the same old same old and move onto to some of my "No" foods. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind such a strict diet. The only thing I can think of is that my surgeon wants his patients to see quicker results, but I am not even sure that is the case. I will ask on my next visit in three weeks.

I agree it sounds like your doctor wants his patients to see fast results, but we know from experience what happens on such restrictive diets...they don't last and then we go overboard in the other direction.

You will still lose quickly on a low carb diet where the carbs come from vegies (no Pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, etc.) without having to eliminate the fat. There's absolutely no reason that I can think of to avoid pork, red meat or dairy products like cheese...and, in fact, it is these higher fat foods that will make you feel more satisfied after a meal.

Low carb and low fat diet is a recipe for disaster for most of us, but if you can do it more power to you.

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Add fish to your diet-- it's great post-op and much much after.

Use ground turkey instead of ground beef and you can have "hamburgery" things.

I'm assuming that eventually you'll be able to add Beans? Chili is a staple of my diet these days-- high in Protein, very filling and I can get a couple days out of one pot.

I tend to use cheese to add protein quite a lot-- for lunch, I often have fresh mozzarella with baby tomatoes and basil in a splash of vinegar and oil. I also very often make a feta/tomato topping for just about anything-- eggplant, chicken, fish, etc.

Other than the red meat, pork, and beans, my doc has a similar low carb (carbs only from vegetables or naturally low carb foods) eating plan for a recommendation. And frankly, lower fat cuts of protein like chicken, turkey, and seafood are his preference over red meat and pork.

This close to surgery, follow the plan. You'll have plenty of time to play with your food choices to see what works best for your body. For me, a no sugar/no starches diet does work the best for my weight loss and for curbing feelings of hunger (when I eat lots of carbs, I get super hungry between meals) but I know others on here feel more satisfied when they have carbohydrates so you never know.

But beans are a low fat protein! I can't wait to have some refried ones and some smashed into hummus ones next week. I'm surprised at that one being on your 'No' list.

Okay so I did some thinking. I wonder if these are on the No list because he/she thinks about what you will add to them For exampleNO RED MEAT- Bacon CheeseburgerNO PORK SausagesNO BEANS Regular refried beans (like at Chilis) are really high in calories and fat.NO POTATOES Fried potato skins with bacon, cheese, Sour Cream, french friesNO PASTA Alfredo, cream saucesNO RICE Fried RiceNO BREAD Garlic Bread with loads of butterNO CRACKERS Mindless eatingNO MILK Milk shakesMany people would say Spinach is a great food. Give it to a Greek and we add Buttered Filo dough, cheese, egg and make it into "Spinach Pie".

What about venison / deer meat? it is the leanest of them all. Or would it be considered a red meat?

Here is some of what I eat. Try the less-soft stuff slowly, as tolerated, and chew very well.

scrambled eggs with tomato and cheese

blueberries and yogurt (w/ wheat germ)

strawberries + ricotta

Protein shake

kefir

tuna

hummus with veggie sticks

deli sliced turkey

garden burger w/ avocado and tomato

special yummy salad dressing:

I mix dry Ranch dressing mix with Greek yogurt

instead of sour cream. It's delicious! I have it with

baby spinach, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc

roasted salmon

chicken fajita filling

Trader Joe's vegetarian chili -add tomatoes

snacks:

cheese stick

hard boiled egg

yogurt

Protein Bar

hummus and veggie sticks

mandarin oranges

cottage cheese

nuts

edamame

orange slices