So Now What Can I Eat?

[Gingi 19]

Hi All! I was sleeved 5/21/15 and have had a lot of success and a few set backs. One of those set backs; or as my surgeon put it, a "rite of passage" for doing so well so fast is that I had my gallbladder out yesterday. My struggle now is what CAN I eat?

I have not been able to eat wheat or gluten for a long tie, post sleeve I can not tolerate grains. I don't eat anything fried but I do enjoy turkey sausage. I eat a fair amount of chicken breast and salmon. I have substituted ground turkey for hamburger and turkey and chicken sausage for pork and have given up bacon. I eat mostly paleo so peanuts and Beans are a no no. I am not a fan of eggs and don't do dairy. Protein Shakes are not filling and they constipate me. Now with having my gallbladder out I have to eat non or low fat.

Turkey sausage is 10% fat is that still OK to eat? I know that I can not have oils or butter. Salmon has Omega 3 fatty oils, is that still OK to eat? I would seriously become vegan if I thought I could get enough Protein to support the gastric sleeve. What about nuts other than peanuts; more specifically cashews and almonds? I can not tolerate soy and sugar is absolutely out of the question as it makes me so ill.

Can anyone relate? Can anyone advise? Can anyone help?

Thanks so much

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Wow, I am so sorry you have to start over figuring out what you can eat. Have you talked with your NUT? That would be the first person I would go to, especially since you have so many restrictions. (Only Paleo, no dairy, no supplements, low fat, etc.)

Best of luck.

[Miss Mac 6,261]

Wow! That's a hot mess. I had my gallbladder out in 1973, and main restrictions for a while were nothing creamy, greasy or cheesy, and go easy on the spices. The gallbladder helps your body to digest fats.

Do what your team says. Now that that's out of the way, here is what I do. I have been paleo/primal ever since about six weeks post-op and I am close to two years, now. My absent gallbladder healed up and my body adjusted along time ago.

I enjoy bacon, but not every day. I buy the pre-cooked kind because it already has most of the grease worked out of it. I don't eat bacon, pork chops, pork roast or ham very much because of the salt. Once in a while, my boyfriend cooks ribs, but not even once a month. I have a couple of little ones and eat more veggies for that meal.

I don't miss the bread and other wheat products. Since surgery, it sits in my stomach like Play Doh and makes Miss Tummy makes me miserable for hours.

The closest we get to fried food is stir-fry occasionally.

Paleo/Primal is OK with fats such as butter, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado. I use them, but oh so sparingly because of the calories. I tried coconut oil for the first time with a beef and veggie stir fry and it certainly did pick up the coconut taste. I can see hat I won't be using it very much. Your doctor is probably wanting you to hold off because grease is hard to digest w/o a gallbladder. Maybe later on.....hang in there.

Miss Tummy likes cheese, but the scales do not. Dairy slows my roll. So I end up using almond milk. I eat some Beans for the Fiber, but have to eat small amounts because of the carbs. If I go over 50 carbs a day, I stall.

Nuts are delicious, but the calories just kill me. They are a slider for me, so there is no "little bit". I have hardly had any since surgery. I would go through a jar of Planters in two days.

For a long time I substituted sweetener for sugar, but my metabolism is rebelling. I had to cut that back, too, but that's ok. It seems like I have given up so much, but the reward is a healthier happier me.

Mostly I eat chicken, tuna, deli turkey, steak once a week, and a nice variety of veggies. The scale moves better when I hold the fruit to one serving a day. I'm not starving.

[LoseItKacy 347]

I'm kinda in the same boat.

My surgery is in 4 days.

They are taking my gallbladder with my bypass.

I'm also allergic to fruits and veggies.

So figuring out what I can and can't eat after this surgery is going to be interesting.

Pretty much leaves me with Protein.

I think I'm ok with that

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Just sharing my own experience here ...

I had my gallbladder out 4 weeks after VSG surgery -- and no one ever told me to eat low-fat. (Maybe ignorance was bliss?)

I've had zero problems (that I know of) as a result of my gallbladder surgery -- no diarrhea, no dumping, nothing like that.

I do keep my fats low and seldom exceed 60 grams of fat in a day. That's mostly because I would rather use my daily maintenance cals to enjoy some whole grain carbs and the occasional carby treat.

I do eat full-fat cheeses every day, occasionally beef and bacon, but balance all that with skim milk and a lot of chicken and salmon.

FYI, I'm now 13 months post-VSG surgery.

Good luck with your gallbladder surgery recovery. Mine was really quite easy -- was fully recovered about a week post-op.

[joannct1 59]

Wow we are sleeve sisters, i had surgery same day too!!!

[joannct1 59]

I do low carb.