Foods After Surgery That Used To Be a No-No

[SummerTimeGirl 580]

Like many of you I have been through it all in the way of diets and better eating. And every single time I would be dieting or trying to lose weight, people would always say stuff like...."just eat more fruits and whole wheat/grains, Beans, brown rice, etc". Ya know, things that most people substitute for other unhealthy foods. Problem is, for ME those items ALWAYS made me stall or even gain weight!!! I could never have them! My hope is that once I have the surgery I WILL be able to have items like that again occasionally and actually be able to still lose weight or maintain, depending on where I am along in the process, but NOT GAIN! I always missed those things when dieting. Have any of you experienced this?

Were they no-no items for you too BEFORE surgery? Could you eat them again, like most normal people, once you had the surgery?

[Creekimp13 5,838]

My no-no items were this in a nutshell.....having no awareness of how many calories I was eating.

Can you get fat on "healthy" foods. Yep, you can. If you eat more calories than you're burning, it doesn't matter if you eat Cadbury eggs, Lean Cuisine, French Fries, green Beans or Rice Cakes.

I hate logging my food with a purple passion....but it works. It is one of the MOST important things you need to do to unlearn bad habits and the lies we tell ourselves about food.

A few months after surgery, you will likely be able to eat about anything. And you can. You can even eat things without gaining weight IF you watch your calories and make sure you're prioritizing getting enough protien.

Sounds awful doesn't it? You go through this whole surgery and you STILL have to count calories?

Yep. You do. Every day. Forever.

Because if you don't....you can gain it back, and people do.

[SummerTimeGirl 580]

50 minutes ago, Creekimp13 said:

My no-no items were this in a nutshell.....having no awareness of how many calories I was eating.

Can you get fat on "healthy" foods. Yep, you can. If you eat more calories than you're burning, it doesn't matter if you eat Cadbury eggs, Lean Cuisine, French Fries, green Beans or Rice Cakes.

I hate logging my food with a purple passion....but it works. It is one of the MOST important things you need to do to unlearn bad habits and the lies we tell ourselves about food.

A few months after surgery, you will likely be able to eat about anything. And you can. You can even eat things without gaining weight IF you watch your calories and make sure you're prioritizing getting enough protien.

Sounds awful doesn't it? You go through this whole surgery and you STILL have to count calories?

Yep. You do. Every day. Forever.

Because if you don't....you can gain it back, and people do.

Not really. I mean doing those things and SEEING RESULTS is fine by me. It's doing all the right things and NOTHING HAPPENING is what I don't like. LOL

I just got off the video conference with my surgeon for the first time and he addressed it. He said of course there will be NOTHING food-wise we aren't allowed to eat afterwards, which I knew, but he believes that shouldn't be an issue for me once the surgery is done. That I should be able to eat the normal recommended daily suggestions without stalling me or making me gain like they do now.

[SummerTimeGirl 580]

31 minutes ago, OAGBPal said:

You know what finally got me to stop gaining weight? Eating normal food. In normal quantities. My 20+ years of being told (by others and myself) what I couldn't eat led to only one thing: binge-eating and a screwed up relationship with food.

I eat pretty much everything now, just in small amounts. No soda, it's kinda of a thing of mine. And no fast food. But I'll have both again somewhere down the line, and I'll enjoy it. In moderate amounts

This is what I want. To be able to eat a well, balanced VARIETY of foods again without it wreaking havoc on me. In the proper amounts, of course.

[Arabesque 6,442]

For me it comes down to portion size, awareness of calorie & nutrient content, & a balanced diet.

I guess it depends upon what you consider a variety of foods. I eat a variety of plant & animal Proteins (more animal I admit), vegetables, fruit, a small amount of whole or multi grains. No breads, no pastas, or rice or alternatives. Avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners or sugar additives as much as I can (can be challenging cause it’s everywhere & yes I had cake & dessert over Christmas). No carbonated drinks (except for tonic/soda/sparkling Water which I let flatten & drink slowly). I drink a glass of alcohol once a month or two. I don’t take any supplements.

Since my surgery almost 2 years ago, I’ve had takeaway three times - braised chicken & vegetables twice & steamed gyoza once (ate the filling only). Do I miss it? Nope. I never was a big fast food eater so no loss there either. I cook most of my own food because I can control the ingredients & how it’s cooked & prepared.

My decision came down to two things: what I used to do which contributed to my history of gaining weight & the things I realised I just didn’t need. Does it restrict my lifestyle? Nope. I go out to restaurants & socialise with friends & family without a problem. I freeze meals so if I need a quick convenient meal I just defrost something from my freezer. (God bless my microwave.) Honestly my inability to eat spicy food is my greatest problem - it seems they put chilli in every darn thing these days.

But this is what’s working for me. You have to work out what works for you. If that means you can have some dessert or takeaway or become vegan or whatever it’s all good. If your diet becomes so restrictive it compromises your enjoyment of your life (i.e. being happy & healthy), you’ll likely fail.

Good luck on your journey. Sorry for the long post🙂.

[barbie41 6]

How many calories to you consume once I can eat normal? I don't want to test my stomach with overeating go find out.

[Arabesque 6,442]

You’ll get various responses on how many calories people consume to maintain. It will depend on a number of factors like how active you are, age, gender, your metabolic rate, etc.

I’m not very active, am short, almost 56 & my metabolism has slowed a little (it was going real fast originally in maintenance but as it’s slowed I’ve dropped a snack). Someone taller, younger & more active would be able to consume more than I do. I don’t actively count calories but am aware of the calories of the food I eat. I would estimate I consume around 1200.

[barbie41 6]

Thanks for your response. I am just going week 2. I am feeling really hungry right now and know I can't consume any regular food right now until at least 6-8 weeks.

I have another question if you don't mind. Right now I'm drinking a lot of Water. I don't feel any restriction at all, so I don't know if I should drink until I throw up to know my tolerance. I'm suppose to drink at least 64 oz, but should take all day.

[Arabesque 6,442]

I just did a calorie check on what I ate yesterday. It was 1237 calories so my estimate was pretty spot on.

It’s likely what you’re feeling is head hunger (hunger that is driven by emotions, cravings, habit, etc.) as most of the area that produces the hunger hormone was removed during your surgery. Working out the difference is part of the journey & unfortunately it’s not an easy thing to do. For many of us real hunger feels very different but then maybe we never felt real hunger before cause just head hunger dictated our eating habits.

liquids tend to go through you more quickly so you likely won’t feel full or feel that restriction we all talk about. (Though I did feel my restriction when I drank more than a sip - all tight across my chest.) keep to sipping slowly throughout the day. I’d start on my 400ml diluted shake at Breakfast & would still be sipping it for lunch. The 200ml of soup/broth I ate for ‘dinner’ was the same taking about three hours to drink it. And yes that’s all I ‘ate’ each day during my two week liquid phase. No hunger or interest in eating. Don’t hate me. 🙂

[barbie41 6]

Right now I am around 300- 500 calories a day at the most. I drink 2 Bone Broth @45 calories a piece- one for lunch, the other dinner, Jello sugar free for snack. And for breakfast, I drink Protein Shake, which I need to increase more oz. I also am drinking a lot of Water which I don't see to feel that restriction. Maybe I need to drink more.

Thanks for your imput, much appreciated.

Barbie41

[barbie41 6]

Wow 1400 calories from postoperative day 1? That tells me why I am hungry. Clearly not eating enough calories. I think once I'm able to eat solid foods I will have no problem with my hunger.

Thanks for sharing

[summerset 5,261]

I never counted calories post-op. We also never were encouraged to count calories.

Strategies vary.