When can I eat potatoes, pasta, etc.,?

[healthier&happier4life 86]

I've just started my 3 week post-op diet -- pureed foods. Just wondering when can I add a tiny serving of potatoes or Pasta with my Protein? I know that the Protein is the most important part of the meal but wouldn't it be okay to have a tiny bit of starchy veggies or Pasta sometimes?

[KeepCalm 223]

Ask your surgeon/nutritionist, mine says Protein, veggies, carbs. I've noticed I don't have the issues others do with various foods, which means I have to be super careful what I eat as I'm at solid stage now... while I can't eat a lot - I don't want this to be a waste of time. But I'm staying away from rice, Pasta, and potates for a long time.

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Edited July 5, 2016 by Raenh

[James Marusek 5,244]

I had RNY gastric bypass 3 years ago. According to my program, instant mashed potatoes were good to eat from the beginning. Real mashed potatoes were O.K. in the pureed stage beginning at week 5. Whole wheat Pasta becomes an option beginning at month 7.

The weight loss phase is such a short time and then you will slide into the maintenance phase. So you need to maximize the weight loss during this initial phase. So some foods such as bread and Pasta is best off the menu until you transition into the maintenance phase.

[pammieanne 269]

In my experience, pre surgery, carbs are addicting and made me more hungry.

I don't plan on making them a regular part of my diet ever.

That being said, I'm having a really hard time with meats at 7 weeks post op, and I've allowed a few carbs to sneak in. I really need to find some good Proteins that don't make my pouch stuck and sore after I eat them

There are great substitutes for potatoes... specifically cauliflower... I make a mean mashed cauliflower, and I've tasted some pretty remarkable cauliflower salad (like potato salad).

Use this time to find great alternatives to the carb monster foods (and I'll do better at listening to my own advice as well!)

[Djmohr 6,965]

James is right about this one. In the beginning 6 to 7 months it is best to stay away from carbs like Pasta, rice, bread and sweets. They tend to cause you to stall out and there is a short honeymoon period that you really want to take advantage of.

That being said, most of us will just try a bite once in a while. For me, bread, Pasta, rice and sweets did not sit well in my new tummy. I do NOT get dumping syndrome but those starches feel like they swell in your pouch, take up all your room and make you feel like crap. At least that is how it was for me.

I am now 22 months post op and I can eat a bread if it is toasted crisp. I can have small amounts of pasta as long as it is cooked to a more soft state. Pasta in a Soup works best for me and I do eat that maybe once a week but I am done losing and notice when I have a carb heavy week, I will gain as Much as 2 to 3lbs that week. In ordere to get it back off, I have to go back to Protein and veggies with some fruit.< /p>

I think you will find that those items are not all they are cracked up to be any longer and you really will be ok with it.

I am Italian and pasta is the reason I weighed 310lbs. Cutting it out of my diet altogether for the first 18 months is how I got to goal.

It's up to you but I would take advantage of my first years honeymoon period before wasting space on those items.

BTW, I did eat homemade mashed potatoes in very tiny amounts about once a week during the honeymoon. Same thing with sweet potatoes but rice, bread and pasta just did not work and even now they sometimes don't.

[catalina_uk 62]

Weight loss doesn't happen only in the first 6 months. It happens over a period of 18-24 months until your body adjusts to the new way of eating. I personally believe that if u stop eating carbs completely for like let's say 6 months when you will eventually start eating them again the weight will slow down or even worse it will come back on. The purpose of this surgery is to teach you healthy eating habits. A diet with no carbs whatsoever it can never be successful. Carbs are the one giving us energy, u don't have to eat the bad ones, pick the healthy carbs. I am 7 weeks out and I can eat cream crackers(3 biscuits) and Pasta -sometimes and not more than 4 teaspoons. As soon as you go trough the stages, you will be able to eat different things. I can't eat bread and I don't fancy it but I did had 1/4 of jacket potato with cheese and baked Beans. The aim is to be able to eat healthy food and don't rely on shakes and all sorts of supplements. This will take time, of course and remember we are all different so never compare yourself to others.

Edited July 5, 2016 by catalina_uk

[Sajijoma 1,324]

I want to scream NEVER!!! But it's not never. My program offered mashed potatoes in the puréed stage and low carb tortillas in the soft food stage in the form of a roll up. Why I want to say never is because the window of opportunity to maximize your weight loss is so small, and these things tend to be really bad for most of us. A lot of us got to where we started on the backs of bread, Pasta, rice, and sweets, so the more you stay away from them, the better your overall outcome. I'm almost 8 months out and although I occasionally will take a small bite of one of these things, I generally leave them alone and honestly I don't miss them anymore.

[SAD HATTER 122]

I am 11 months out ( on July 13th) and I JUST started adding some complex carbs. I do sweet potato and baked potato (very very rarely). And if Pasta is allowed to sit and get really fat and absorb tons of liquid, I might have a few bites. I use the veggie pasta stuff. But I only eat pasta I cook. When you eat out, they cook it al dente and that means it finishes absorbing in your stomach and expands. I have yet to do toast. But I do wheat crackers with my tunafish. Not a lot, just a few.

[illailla 79]

My plan doesn't include Pasta at all

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[healthier&happier4life 86]

Thank you all for your advice! What I'm hearing makes sense... Make the most out of the first year. Great advice! THANKS AGAIN!!!

[jess9395 5,450]

Weight loss doesn't happen only in the first 6 months. It happens over a period of 18-24 months until your body adjusts to the new way of eating. I personally believe that if u stop eating carbs completely for like let's say 6 months when you will eventually start eating them again the weight will slow down or even worse it will come back on. The purpose of this surgery is to teach you healthy eating habits. A diet with no carbs whatsoever it can never be successful. Carbs are the one giving us energy, u don't have to eat the bad ones, pick the healthy carbs. I am 7 weeks out and I can eat cream crackers(3 biscuits) and Pasta -sometimes and not more than 4 teaspoons. As soon as you go trough the stages, you will be able to eat different things. I can't eat bread and I don't fancy it but I did had 1/4 of jacket potato with cheese and baked Beans. The aim is to be able to eat healthy food and don't rely on shakes and all sorts of supplements. This will take time, of course and remember we are all different so never compare yourself to others.

You are speaking with the experience you have at 7 weeks out.

Ask most of us 12-36 or more months out. There is a HUGE difference between the weight loss and hunger in the "honeymoon window" as we call it of the first 6-12 months and the loss and hunger afterwards.

I say stick as closely as you can to your program, minimize white carbs--pasta, rice, bread, potatoes--as much as possible during that window both to maximize loss and to retrain your system and solidify new habits, then play around with adding a few in.

That's what I did and I have been highly successful. Lost half my weight and am a size 4. Had almost no white carbs for a year and now have them in moderation. I trained for and ran many half marathons and 200 mile relay races and never needed carbs for energy. And I didn't have any issues when j reintroduced them so I don't think I somehow "untrained" my body re-how to deal with them.

Just some thoughts from someone successful and a good distance out!

[CeeGee 30]

Wow, I'm so impressed!

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