Your diet has almost certainly changed since weight loss surgery. A good portion of the change is because of doctor’s orders: you may not be allowed to eat or drink soft drinks, sweets, fried foods, white bread, and other calorie-dense, nutrient-poor choices.

Some of the changes in your diet may be because of changes in your digestive system after weight loss surgery. With the gastric sleeve and bypass, you might have trouble tolerating sweets, starchy foods, and fatty or greasy foods. This can be helpful for weight loss and may even be a reason why you chose that type of weight loss surgery.

Some of the foods you cannot tolerate anymore may be surprises or disappointments. For example, you might no longer be able to take red meat or poultry, even though you are trying to get more low-carb, high-protein foods. Salads are often a problem after all types of bariatric surgery, and stringy veggies can be off-limits for lap-band patients. Needing to avoid high-fiber, low-calorie foods such as celery and popcorn can be frustrating when you are trying to eat healthy and lose weight.

So, which foods are you unable to tolerate now after weight loss surgery? Are they what you expected? Are you glad you cannot have them because skipping them helps you lose weight, or are you disappointed? Are there any healthy foods that you can’t have anymore?

If you’re pre-op, which foods are you most worried about not being able to eat? Are there any foods you are hoping you won’t be able to eat so that you can lose more weight?

There isn't anything I haven't been able to tolerate - I'm 3 months out, but that's been true since I started soft foods. However, I avoid trigger foods like anything sweet (chocolate in particular), refined carbs like bread, pasta, rice, etc. and alcohol. I'm actually afraid to try any of them because if I don't have a problem with them, it'll make it that much harder to avoid them. The good thing is, I'm not even tempted.

20 hours ago, Introversion said:

I've been sleeved for approximately two years. I can tolerate anything. I have no food intolerances whatsoever.

However, I choose to not eat my trigger foods because I know I will graze my way to the bottom of the bag or box if they are in my house. For me, trigger foods include tortilla chips, corn chips such as Fritos, flavored popcorn, and certain crackers (e.g. flavored Triscuits, Cheez-Its, Pepperidge Farm Goldfish).

Fritos ... *sigh*

13 months out ... I can eat anything but I stick to my routine.

To everyone who is having trouble .. just keep it simple. I know it sounds corny .. but eat to live .. don't live to eat. People who are 0-9 months out, just put those blinders on and eat what your Dr. says. You will survive! For those who at 9+ months out life will be a challenge till you realize eating is feeding your body so that it can survive.. its not a source of pleasure. Yes I know food tastes good! I could eat a bag of Fritos right now.. and I am not talking about the little single serving size bags. YOU CAN'T DO THAT .. no one should do that. I think a majority of people (maybe everyone) over eats.. its simple math of how many calories do you need to survive... anything else is just for fun and we all have have to much fun.

Don't let food be anything more than what it is, fuel.

On 5/4/2017 at 10:29 AM, Alex Brecher said:

Your diet has almost certainly changed since weight loss surgery. A good portion of the change is because of doctor’s orders: you may not be allowed to eat or drink soft drinks, sweets, fried foods, white bread, and other calorie-dense, nutrient-poor choices.

Some of the changes in your diet may be because of changes in your digestive system after weight loss surgery. With the gastric sleeve and bypass, you might have trouble tolerating sweets, starchy foods, and fatty or greasy foods. This can be helpful for weight loss and may even be a reason why you chose that type of weight loss surgery.

Some of the foods you cannot tolerate anymore may be surprises or disappointments. For example, you might no longer be able to take red meat or poultry, even though you are trying to get more low-carb, high-protein foods. Salads are often a problem after all types of bariatric surgery, and stringy veggies can be off-limits for lap-band patients. Needing to avoid high-fiber, low-calorie foods such as celery and popcorn can be frustrating when you are trying to eat healthy and lose weight.

So, which foods are you unable to tolerate now after weight loss surgery? Are they what you expected? Are you glad you cannot have them because skipping them helps you lose weight, or are you disappointed? Are there any healthy foods that you can’t have anymore?

If you’re pre-op, which foods are you most worried about not being able to eat? Are there any foods you are hoping you won’t be able to eat so that you can lose more weight?

Mine have been a total surprise so far and it's still a work in progress.

I cant tolerate ginger anymore and it used to be one of my favorite foods. It went from being a fresh taste like mint to being a strong taste like garlic!

I can tolerate my usual lactose free milk but it tastes too sweet right now. Hopefully that will fade. I have the same issue with a lot of soups tasting too sweet now. I used to love TJ's split pea, but now it's enough to gag me with its vegetative sweetness. Anderson's, on the other hand, was one of the best things I'd eaten in a month.

I can't tolerate chemical sweeteners like sucralose or aspartame at all anymore. On the other hand, stevia is fine and tastes better than it used to.

I cant handle whey protein at all anymore. It comes back up.

And when I missed a piece of breaking on the emergency rations chicken tender I ate while out, I learned that fried breeding has gone from tolerable to absolutely disgusting. Yech.

I'm fine with almost all proteins (including beef) except fish, which tastes so bad now, and lentils. Even tuna, which I used to actively like.

Veggie burgers like Morningstar Prime, which I used to like a lot, now taste like crud. But Morningstar "chicken" is still tasty. Weird.

Lentils are a struggle and for some reason my stomach tries to reject them even though beans go down super. I didn't see that one coming.

I was just approved for salads and cooked veggies, so I can't say much there yet. Fruits go down no problem and I'm having a love affair with California strawberry season.

Also no problem with spicy foods except that raw jalapeños have started to make me hiccup.

Edited May 5, 20179 yr by HeatherS.

Grilled shrimp very disappointing because I absolutely love shellfish. Even if I chew it a million times into a fine paste it still gets stuck and/or makes me feel very full too quickly. I substitute with scallops now, or I'll eat crab or salmon if I'm craving seafood.

At 3+ months out I've found that there really isn't anything (yet) that I can't tolerate. Frustratingly chicken has been my biggest battle. I have to eat very slowly with it otherwise I get full extremely fast. It's the only thing I've had that has gotten me close to throwing up because it didn't sit well. All in all it seems that I can eat anything I want, but chewing thoroughly and pacing myself at a meal is the most important thing.

There are a lot of things I haven't tried yet such as pasta, rice, etc. I doubt I would have any issue with them but I don't want to introduce them back into my diet. I figured I would be craving my old steady intake of Diet Mt Dew but happily I've been good without having pop in my life any longer. So far it's been like smoking which I gave up years and years ago - there are fleeting moments when a fountain pop sounds so damned good, but then the craving passes.

2 minutes ago, orionburn said:

At 3+ months out I've found that there really isn't anything (yet) that I can't tolerate. Frustratingly chicken has been my biggest battle. I have to eat very slowly with it otherwise I get full extremely fast. It's the only thing I've had that has gotten me close to throwing up because it didn't sit well. All in all it seems that I can eat anything I want, but chewing thoroughly and pacing myself at a meal is the most important thing.

There are a lot of things I haven't tried yet such as Pasta, rice, etc. I doubt I would have any issue with them but I don't want to introduce them back into my diet. I figured I would be craving my old steady intake of Diet Mt Dew but happily I've been good without having pop in my life any longer. So far it's been like smoking which I gave up years and years ago - there are fleeting moments when a fountain pop sounds so damned good, but then the craving passes.

If you do want to try a rice .. Uncle Bens Ready Rice is awesome. Ready in 90 seconds and has 5g of protein! Its 2 servings per bag so just wrap it up and save for tomorrow.

2 hours ago, Brian B said:

Fritos ... *sigh*

13 months out ... I can eat anything but I stick to my routine.

To everyone who is having trouble .. just keep it simple. I know it sounds corny .. but eat to live .. don't live to eat. People who are 0-9 months out, just put those blinders on and eat what your Dr. says. You will survive! For those who at 9+ months out life will be a challenge till you realize eating is feeding your body so that it can survive.. its not a source of pleasure. Yes I know food tastes good! I could eat a bag of Fritos right now.. and I am not talking about the little single serving size bags. YOU CAN'T DO THAT .. no one should do that. I think a majority of people (maybe everyone) over eats.. its simple math of how many calories do you need to survive... anything else is just for fun and we all have have to much fun.

Don't let food be anything more than what it is, fuel.

You quoted my previous post, although I am not having trouble or struggling. I am two years out and have been maintaining my weight of 118 pounds with vigorous exercise (running 30+ miles weekly) and mostly decent food choices.

Nonetheless, the advice you gave is solid for those who may need it.

5 hours ago, orionburn said:

At 3+ months out I've found that there really isn't anything (yet) that I can't tolerate. Frustratingly chicken has been my biggest battle. I have to eat very slowly with it otherwise I get full extremely fast. It's the only thing I've had that has gotten me close to throwing up because it didn't sit well. All in all it seems that I can eat anything I want, but chewing thoroughly and pacing myself at a meal is the most important thing.

There are a lot of things I haven't tried yet such as Pasta, rice, etc. I doubt I would have any issue with them but I don't want to introduce them back into my diet. I figured I would be craving my old steady intake of Diet Mt Dew but happily I've been good without having pop in my life any longer. So far it's been like smoking which I gave up years and years ago - there are fleeting moments when a fountain pop sounds so damned good, but then the craving passes.

This is probably the biggest change in our family's diet. I was a huuuuge pasta eater, and every time we'd go back to the US we'd get the Pasta Roni shells and white cheddar, combined with 1lb or more of lean beef. We'd also regularly have spaghetti and other pastas my wife would make. She's researching right now a way to make low carb pasta.. my diet has encouraged her to change things up. Being Asian she's already huge on eating rice. I've encouraged her to settle down on the portions, and doing my best to help her with her PCOS and being 70-80 pounds overweight before she has real trouble like I did. I've heard of shiritaki (sp?) noodles but no idea where to get those or how they'd taste. My reluctance to try anything new after all these years of hating virtually every food I've tasted comes into play as well.

Edited May 5, 20179 yr by PatientEleventyBillion

Can't eat scones, ice cream, anything acidic like lemon, oranges, lime etc anything fatty like fried chicken etc. 8 months out and still get intolerances. I'm glad.

I'm just over 4 months out and I can tolerate everything and I mean everything.:( I was hoping it would be harder to eat than I'm finding it but mostly if I stick to a routine I'm ok.

I can't eat eggs or nuts of any kind.

Just adding a few things. Premier protein shakes. Loved them before surgery. Absolutely hate them now. Grits get stuck. Lemon flavored anything.


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I'm 3.5 months post op and I can't eat ginger, uncooked broccoli, lettuce, coffee, any raw veggies take lots of time so I don't have them often, shrimp, I couldn't drink protein shakes for the first 8 weeks, brisket or roast (even though they are soft they get stuck), anything spicy, I can do link sausage but not ground sausage, and scrambled eggs.
As time goes on I seem to adjust so hopefully in the future a salad will finally happen!

Hi! I only had my surgery on April 24, but have had problems with scrambled egg, protein drinks, anything with artificial sweetners, plain water. There are foods I desperately miss and hopefully, as time goes on, I will be able to eat them again, even in smaller portions.

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Not being able to drink water sound terrible.. what are you doing to get your fluids?

I notice that most people's comments here say they don't eat rice or pasta. Do you find that you're very tired, or lacking in energy without the carbs ? I'm 10 wks post op, and can eat absolutely anything, but I find that without brown rice, or wholewheat pasta, wholewheat bagels in my diet I'm like a wet noodle all the time.....so tired ! I only eat small amounts, but I have carbs with every evening meal, sometimes lunch as well.