I was told I can't have things like oatmeal or popcorn as they swell in your stomach. Is this true? What else should I stay away from if it is? Thanks for your help!

Your body will tell you what you can and cannot tolerate. Just make sure when you introduce new foods into your diet that you do them one at a time. That way, if certain things make you feel blocked or bloated you can avoid them for a few months. I tolerate instant oatmeal very well and that was one of the first foods I started eating on my mushy diet. Do an internet search for gastric sleeve diets and you will find so many different opinions. Good luck in your weightloss journey!

I also ate oatmeal really early ... During the soft foods portion of the diet. I still eat it on occasion. I am 3. 1/2 months out and I can only eat 1/2 of a packet of instant oatmeal and it has to be a bit watery. If I eat anymore than that I feel miserable. It is true it takes time to figure out what you can tolerate. Best wishes to you!

For most of us popcorn is a "slider" food...

That means you can eat a lot of it and not get full very fast.. So swelling in the stomach?? No.

I had some oatmeal at the hotel the day after I got out of the hospital (it's on my doc's early plan) and had a few pieces of popcorn here and there when my wife made some - no problems on either. Bread will allegedly swell up but I have had no problems with it. Carbonated drinks may not set well due to the expanding gases they let off. That said, people have widely differing tolerances for different things, so the best thing to do is to test new things one at a time in small quantities to see how they work for you.

I've not tried popcorn, but oatmeal has never given me any issues.

I'm 2 months out and popcorn has not caused me any problems. I havent tried oatmeal. The only things that are causing me problems are thick breads and lettuce. I can literally feel the bread swelling. As for the lettuce, which I am really bummed about, it just fills my sleeve up with gas. It makes me feel like i need to burp really bad but I can't, and even if I do burp I still get no relief. So I keep Gas-x on hand now.

Bread.

For me, it makes me feel like crap

I eat oatmeal at least once or twice a week. It was even on my soft foods/pureed stage.

However, I find couscous makes me SUPER full with only a few bites

Thanks to you all for your words of advice. I will take your advice and try them. I am glad to hear I can at least try. Jazzyjay I am sorry to hear that about lettuce. Iceberg lettuce and I have never gotten along well. I learned to like the darker lettuces and they don't give me any problems in that way -- now I have not tried it since my surgery. That was before.

For the lady who is having issues with lettuce, try it chopped very fine. I had problems when I firs had my lap band and I hen purchased something from Tupperware that chopped my lettuce in a way that made it very digestible. Sad that my band made me so sensitive to eggs, salad, chicken and fish but allowed tortilla chips through very nicely.

I have had pop corn, however I measured it out. I had a 1/3 cup and was enough to satisfy my craving. That was at christmas time. This morning I woke up craving it. But I always make a deal with myself. If I am still craving it in a week I will allow myself to have it.

I have not had oatmeal. I have had cream of wheat but I didn't eat much of it at all!

I hear rice swells in the stomach.

I hear rice swells in the stomach.

Brown rice does for me. I'm still sensitive to most hearty grains. Some hearty breads, like ciabatta, give me a hard time as well.

Bread.

For me' date=' it makes me feel like crap[/quote']

Same for me. At 5 weeks I was given the go to try whole wheat TOAST. OMG! Hurt my tummy so bad. Guess me and bread are no longer friends.

Popcorn may increase your hunger afterwards ! It has too little protein !