Heh, so I've noticed I have a habit of making posts where the title is literally just one food item and I just know this will garner a discussion on several foods that are related, but yeah, there's my little introspection for the moment.

Anywho, my guidelines say at week three I can add in crackers, but it specifies non-seeded crackers and non-grains. It suggests saltines and melba toast as examples. What exactly constitutes a "grain" cracker? Would wheat thins fall into that? I'm not a huge fan of saltines but I would like to find some good crackers to have some guac and hummus with. I like wheat thins but I know they run rather salty and I'm not entirely sure if wheat is what they mean by grains. In my mind, I was imagining things like shredded wheat and really fibrous type crackers, but I'm not sure.

Any thoughts? It also suggests corn/flour tortillas and baked tortilla chips so I might try those as well.

@@OutsideMatchInside Plus those servings are a lot of crackers for so little nutrition. I doubt many of us could actually eat 16 crackers this early on (or beyond) for 2 measly grams of Protein. Which crackers were those, again? The crackerbread ones you linked first (I'm pretty sure it was you, right?) all had 10g of protein in 3 crackers so they're good.

In reference to eating chicken salad/hummus with fork and spoon...I like a crunch!

Edited July 11, 201610 yr by Kaze

@@chycky I'll have to make my way out to Costco and look for it. Chicken that isn't water-packed isn't recommended on my plan until a month post so I'll have to make something in the meantime. I wonder if relish is OK...relish doesn't usually ever have the seeds, does it? I like a pickley chicken salad.

In reference to eating chicken salad/hummus with fork and spoon...I like a crunch!

I read that before and ignored it but I am just going to say, to be successful you have to change how you think about food.

I like my chicken salad on a buttery croissant, but I can live without it.

So I eat my chicken salad in a bowl. Eating chicken salad in a bowl is a very small price for me to pay for losing 130 plus pounds in less than a year, and buying clothes in pretty much any store I want.

When you are fresh from surgery and have all the restriction in the world it is really easy to stop at 2 crackers because 3 crackers are going to hurt. Later, when you are almost 6 months out and people are stuffing themselves at Christmas and you are almost fully healed you might not be able to stop at 3 crackers. Crackers are a slider food. You could sit later on post-op and eat a whole box if you wanted. and wash them down with a bag of chips. Soft slider foods are easier to eat than dense Proteins.

So while you have restriction to support you, it is better to not start these habits, and change how you think about food. In the end you can eat whatever you want, it is your life and you might be better than most people and be able to control yourself with slider foods.

You pointed out that you are 19 and you don't want to have to be super healthy for the rest of your life, you want some space to enjoy things. Your youth works for and against you, you have a better opportunity to retrain your habits and how you think about food because you haven't created these habits for as long. It works against you because you have a long life in front of you, even with a kidney transplant (I have a friend that had one as a child and is now pushing 50, after being told they would never see 13), which gives you more time to regain. More hard life issues that food might seem like a comfort, and other things. IMO it is better to try and go hard in the beginning when it easy to go hard, while you have your restriction from your sleeve to support you. Later if you have issues with regain, it is harder to make changes.

Good Luck

Edited July 11, 201610 yr by OutsideMatchInside

@@OutsideMatchInside Well as I said above, I'll have to look around for a healthier crunch. Parm crisps are calling my name. I bet there's some vegetable I can turn into a "chip/cracker" of sorts with little to no bad ingredients.

I guess I think of it less like a bad habit because I feel confident that I can both enjoy some foods and limit them at the same time. As I keep saying, we'll just have to see down the line how much I actually succeed.

On any weight loss journey, nobody is perfect. I can imagine before WLS we ALL had a lottttt worse than crackers, ha...

and crackers that are rich in good nutrients (not salty ones that are high in calories) can actually be topped with Laughing Cow cheese/salmon/protein rich foods.

I don't see crackers as bad and carbs are OK if eaten in the right way.

On any weight loss journey, nobody is perfect. I can imagine before WLS we ALL had a lottttt worse than crackers, ha...

and crackers that are rich in good nutrients (not salty ones that are high in calories) can actually be topped with Laughing Cow cheese/salmon/protein rich foods.

I don't see crackers as bad and carbs are OK if eaten in the right way.

My thoughts exactly. As long as I remain diligent of myself and don't overdo it, a wheat cracker with some yummy chicken salad is actually quite healthy. With the added benefit of life-long restriction from the sleeve, I feel I can make the necessary changes to both portion control and eating generally healthier...but having a carby food out of diet once and a while or nudging here and there won't send me back through the Trail of Pounds if I don't let it.

I just have a more laissez faire attitude about this whole thing. If I can make monumental strides towards better health, I can nudge once in a while, too. If anything, I should use it as encouragement to compensate when I do by exercising better or eating EVEN healthier than I did the previous week.

I think of it like a challenge. "I ate this cracker here, now how can I uproot that cracker and make myself twice as healthy this week?"

But you know, at the end of the day, I can't even eat a cup of broccoli cheddar Soup without being stuffed, so I haven't the slightest clue where my hunger or my restriction will be when the time comes that these foods can be had in normal quantities? I could be super successful by allowing myself to not hold myself back for picking the wrong choice and instead moving forward from it each time or I could make the wrong choice too many times and the surgery won't be successful for me. All in due time.

@@Kaze

On my plan at 6 weeks I could have raw veggies and I had very firm cucumber slices as crackers/mini sandwiches for eating ham and cheese.

@@Kaze

On my plan at 6 weeks I could have raw veggies and I had very firm cucumber slices as crackers/mini sandwiches for eating ham and cheese.

That sounds good! I'd personally prefer pickles with ham and cheese though. I want to learn how to make my own pickles eventually. Then again, pickles aren't too firm, haha.

Gosh.... another...omg you ate carb/sugars/fats... so you will gain 300 pounds and fail your sleeve/bypass/band.... argh i am so sick of hearing this sort of stuff...

I think that it is a very unhealthy approach to eating... there shouldn't be a "never again" food... it should be... i will choose to the best foods for my body, and can have all foods in moderation.

Carbohydrates are important for heath, its just about choosing the right type of carbs..... there is nothing wrong with having carbs from veggies, whole grains and whole foods.... its the highly processed crap thats the problem.

I think NUT are not educating people on the difference between good carbs/fats and bad ones....

This is not a temporary thing, its a lifetime thing... and yes during the active weightloss phase it is better to choose the food that will benefit you.....

But once you are at goal, have learnt new habits, can eat "bad" foods in moderation without binging... then why not!

Avoiding all types of carbs/fats/sugars is not healthy and sustainable long term

Rant over lol

Edited July 11, 201610 yr by AussieGirl81

@ Haha and I was just asking what kind of crackers are healthier and less whole grainy. I didn't know I'd start a shitstorm of anti-carb rants. xD

Omg. I want to add that my nutritionist has 2 saltines on my plan.

people have me a bit freaked out that this is the next step to failure.

@@Kaze

Haha i think i probably have now contributed to this lol

But what gets to me is that many of us had surgery for "health"... and by eliminating an entire food group... can not be possibly healthy... it might not affect you now... but what about in 10, 20 years?

NUTs need to educate their patients on the difference between the good and bad stuff... not just use a blanket statement by saying "nope... never again"

If you have the correct lifestyle, attitude and make good choices.... there is no reason to need to cut out a whole food group.

Older generations all ate potatoes, Pasta etc.. and they didn't have the problems we do... because they ate in moderation... were physically active ... didn't overdo it...simple rules

@chychy

2 whole crackers.... darn, i think you will most definitely fail if you eat them... and i reckon thats at least 20 pounds right there lol hehehe ????

(To the sensitive people out there, Please be advised that this is only a sarcastic joke)

@ Yeah. Besides, if it was really as simple as eliminating carbs and, as someone said earlier on in here about the sleeve not always providing the same restriction as it heals, then what was the point of surgery if it was as simple as eliminating carbs?

It's a balance, and eating carbs here and there ain't gonna throw it off kilter.

Absolutely not... 2 crackers probably has less carbs and sugars than some things we are "allowed" to have... its all about numbers and balance...

If i am going to have a carbier meal... i just make sure i offset the rest of my meals to not include them.. and i exercise to compensate for that... it really is that simple... but i don't go crazy either.. i have a small amount to satisfy... and don't make that my whole meal... i make sure i measure it out.. keep it to the allocated ratio of Protein to carbs