Is it okay to eat foods with lots of fiber like celery as long as they don't get stuck or cause you any problems? I have been eating kashi go lean high protein/high fiber cereal with 13 grams of protein and 10 grams of fiber in a cup. I have heard that fiber tends to swell in the pouch, so is a cup of this cereal too much to be eating? It really fills me up and is good for weight loss at only 140 calories in a cup. I just want to make sure that I am not stretching the pouch or doing any damage by eating high fiber foods.

i eat tha too sometimes good question i would like to know the awnser myself

In Australia, we're encouraged to eat a high fibre diet. We're not encouraged to focus on Protein like you guys are.

I find my band works BEST with high fibre foods like wholegrain breads, cereals, fruit and vegetables. Those foods fill me for a very small calorie load due to their bulk from the fibre, air and Water they contain, whereas it takes many more calories of protein to achieve the same effect.

Now, we all know that protein will keep you satisfied for longer, that's very true. But it doesnt provide the same satisfying stomach bulk until you've eaten a lot more calories. So as long as your fibrous foods are nutrient dense and "worthwhile" - white bread and sugary cereal are not valid foods - then mixing them with protein and focussing on both food groups equally is to my mind a better nutritional bet than focussing on protein alone.

Because I dont know about you but I didnt plan to become skinny just so I could look good whilst I died of bowel cancer. Fibrous foods do wonderful things for your health and you continue to need them banded or not.

I met with my nutritionist last week and she recommended that Kashi Go Lean. She did say to be careful not to eat more than a portion of it at a time.

Thanks for the replies. Jacqui, I think that's great advice about mixing protein and fiber. The combination definitely works. In Australia are you encouraged to get at least 50 grams of protein a day, or do you think that it's okay to eat less than this amount? I think some surgeons in the U.S. go a little overboard with their protein recommendations, but I do know that you need to get enough of it to prevent muscle loss. I still don't know exactly how much is enough, though. Also, about how many grams of fiber do you consume on the average day?

An approx eating plan in Australia consists of

Bread/cereal 1- 2 serves per day

vegies 4

starch veg 1

fruit 2

dairy 2

meat/protein 2

fats 1

This is approx and differs from Dr to Dr.So the focus is not on Protein at all but on a healthy, balanced diet.

Its quite interesting, one of the books I have gives examples of how much protein in foods and there are lots of foods that have protein in them then you don't really think of.e.g.

2 slices toast = 4g

2 pieces fruit = 4g

1/2 cup Pasta 2.5g

So its really easy to get enough protein in one day eating a normal balanced diet. No need for shakes and no need to focus on meat.

Edited August 4, 200917 yr by elcee
wasn't finished

I'm glad to see you got good answers to this.

There is NO food that will hurt the band...

We might hurt it if we progress too soon on our post op diets (our stomachs churn) or if we continually eat something that gets stuck...but that old band is on the outside and immune to most of this. I don't think that's exactly how you meant it though...

If you can eat celery there's no reason band-related why you shouldn't and in fat most of us need about 28 g of fiber A DAY. When you consider that one "dose" of benefiber only has 3 g, you begin to see a problem!

That's one reason I incorporate things like high fiber tortillas and Fiber One cereal into my diet. :smile2:

What stretches the pouch is overeating, as far as I know. I've heard "drinking while you eat" does that but I'm not so sure about that (there are 2 openings in the pouch; that liquid is more likely to come back up before it goes sideways and stretches the pouch, IMHO) so you don't really need to worry about a specific food hurting it. Now if you eat too much celery then you're going to have trouble!

I think 50 grams is a moderate amount - you're unlikely to be critically low on Protein at that level unless you're an Olympic athlete. Likewise you could eat more and not do any harm either.

But 50 grams leaves you enough stomach room to eat OTHER important foods. Trying for 80, 90, 100 grams means you're probably not eating a truly balanced and healthy diet becuase I simply dont see how you'd get enough of the other foods in on top of that much protein.

I guess you can drink it and that helps.

In average day I would eat two servings of bread/cereal/rice/pasta, about five different vegetables, 2 pieces of fruit and two serves of protein - like some sort of cheese/tuna/meat with lunch and generally meat/chicken/fish with dinner. Or we eat legumes like chick peas, lentils etc.

Edited August 4, 200917 yr by Jachut

My doc's nutritionist freaked when she found out I'm a vegetarian. She immediately told me to stay away from pineapple and celery because they can be 'stringy.' She did admit at our post-op meeting that I'm the only vegetarian they've ever had.

I love pineapple and sometimes put in in my daily Protein smoothie.

With celery, the problem is the strings, they worry about it somehow getting entangled in the band. As long as you chew, there shouldn't be a problem.

You can also de-string celery, which I do if I'm eating celery raw. I did this before the band, as well. I hate those strings

How to de-string celery: (optional) You can use a vegetable peeler. But the way that I've always found easiest (thanks, Mom!) is to use the flat side of your knife to grab several strings at once and pull toward the opposite end of the stalk. One stalk can be de-stringed in two or three such strokes.

A celery recipe is a snap to create from scratch!

With celery, the problem is the strings, they worry about it somehow getting entangled in the band. As long as you chew, there shouldn't be a problem.

A celery recipe is a snap to create from scratch!

Celery can't get tangled in the band so you should call her on that. The band is OUTSIDE our stomachs, the celery will be INSIDE. It might make a ball and get stuck, or some such (depending; I eat it fine) but it will NOT get entangled in the band. If it does, you would have a way larger problem than some celery!

Fiber is a very good thing and you should eat a lot of it. Aside from promoting a healthy colon and digestive system, it also helps moderate blood sugar, and helps you feel full so you eat less overall.

And I agree there is no food inherently bad for a banded patient. Any food can be painful if you don't chew enough or overeat, fiber or no.