Hi! Just wondering if a small amount of sugar-free peanut butter cups, if sufficiently mashed/pureed, would be ok in the puree stage. I know I can ask my bariatric dietitian, but I'm just wondering if anyone here has some insight. Pre-op, I have enjoyed both Quest brand and Reece's sugar-free. Reece's has less fat (8g per regular serving) than Quest (13g). I wouldn't have a full serving, at least not all at once. I just want to have something a little indulgent on Halloween, but I don't want to get sick.

I don't have direct experience because I'm pre-op, but everything I've read suggests sugar alcohols are not a good choice because they can lead to gas, bloating, and other unpleasantness for gastric bypass patients. That's something I would probably avoid for quite some time, if ever. I also know my doctor's nutrition guide puts peanut butter into the final stage. On a personal note, I know that candy especially is a trigger for me, so I plan to avoid it along with other sweets and focus on natural foods in hopes of killing off those cravings. I definitely fear the slippery slope. But I would also check with your doctor about sugar alcohol in general, which I believe is different than sucralose or aspertame in how the body will process/tolerate it.

20 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

I don't have direct experience because I'm pre-op, but everything I've read suggests sugar alcohols are not a good choice because they can lead to gas, bloating, and other unpleasantness for gastric bypass patients. That's something I would probably avoid for quite some time, if ever. I also know my doctor's nutrition guide puts Peanut Butter into the final stage. On a personal note, I know that candy especially is a trigger for me, so I plan to avoid it along with other sweets and focus on natural foods in hopes of killing off those cravings. I definitely fear the slippery slope. But I would also check with your doctor about sugar alcohol in general, which I believe is different than sucralose or aspertame in how the body will process/tolerate it.

Hm, good point about the sugar alcohols. My doctor is letting me have peanut butter in the soft foods stage, as she and my dietician let me know at my first post-op appointment last week. For me, candy has been a trigger in the past, but not as much as savory things. I feel like on that front, I'll be ok. As you said, I too definitely want to move towards whole foods, but I would like this one day to have a little something, within reason, if I can.

Found my surgeon's answer about sugar alcohols in my paperwork: "Avoid sugar alcohols... If something you eat has sugar alcohol, make sure it contains 7 grams or less to avoid dumping syndrome." The Reese's has 12g, so that's my answer. Oh well, probably for the best. Thanks for bringing that up.

I found a brand of stevia-sweetened dark chocolate on Amazon that does not contain sugar alcohol. You might try that for a treat at some point. No idea how it tastes! https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Squares-Gluten-Free-Stevia-Sweetened/dp/B0BWKBM5MS

4 minutes ago, NickelChip said:

I found a brand of stevia-sweetened dark chocolate on Amazon that does not contain sugar alcohol. You might try that for a treat at some point. No idea how it tastes! https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Squares-Gluten-Free-Stevia-Sweetened/dp/B0BWKBM5MS

Thank you!! I'll probably wait for now, but I may try it in the future

Best advice is stick to your plan. (Have to admit I’m surprised by the peanut butter. I know some use peanut butter powder to add as a flavour to their shakes but not actual eat peanut butter until maintenance but then plans are different.)

You said candy is a trigger for you. This is a head hunger not a real hunger. Have you spoken to your therapist about this? They’ll help you identify why you crave candy, what situations, what emotions, habits, etc. trigger it & will help you work out strategies to manage your craving. This is part of the head work we do to change our relationship with food & our eating. Remember the surgery changes your body not your head.

Sure, once your weight stabilises, you’ll work out how much & how often you can have some of your old favourite things, if you even still want them. I didn’t really crave sweet things as such but certainly enjoyed eating something sweet every night after dinner. Now I rarely eat sweet foods - a couple of times a year & don’t miss it. I have about 5g of added sugar a day. I do very little artificial sweeteners (in yoghurt & protein bar but they don’t taste sweet at all) or sugar substitutes either as I’m pretty sensitive & foods can easily taste excessively sweet. Who would have thought food can be too sweet! If I want sweet now I have some fruit.

The sugar alcohols can cause bloating & diarrhoea in many which is why your plan likely says to avoid it.

All the best.

13 hours ago, Arabesque said:

Best advice is stick to your plan. (Have to admit I’m surprised by the Peanut Butter. I know some use peanut butter powder to add as a flavour to their shakes but not actual eat peanut butter until maintenance but then plans are different.)

You said candy is a trigger for you. This is a head hunger not a real hunger. Have you spoken to your therapist about this? They’ll help you identify why you crave candy, what situations, what emotions, habits, etc. trigger it & will help you work out strategies to manage your craving. This is part of the head work we do to change our relationship with food & our eating. Remember the surgery changes your body not your head.

Sure, once your weight stabilises, you’ll work out how much & how often you can have some of your old favourite things, if you even still want them. I didn’t really crave sweet things as such but certainly enjoyed eating something sweet every night after dinner. Now I rarely eat sweet foods - a couple of times a year & don’t miss it. I have about 5g of added sugar a day. I do very little artificial sweeteners (in yoghurt & Protein Bar but they don’t taste sweet at all) or sugar substitutes either as I’m pretty sensitive & foods can easily taste excessively sweet. Who would have thought food can be too sweet! If I want sweet now I have some fruit.

The sugar alcohols can cause bloating & diarrhoea in many which is why your plan likely says to avoid it.

All the best.

Thanks for your insight! I realized that even having a little bit, the rest of the package would be in my house, and then I'd feel like I needed to eat more of it. So it's better to not even bother with it. My therapist and I do lots of work with this, and it's an ongoing process for sure.

I agree with the others. Plus this is the time to really work on healthier eating habits. That's not to say you can never have those things again (because you can, at least occasionally), but really use these first few months when you're not as burdened by hunger to "upgrade" your eating habits. It'll pay off big in the end - plus healthy food choices are good for so many things, not just weight loss.