What i CAN eat post op

[wobbles]

I thought i would start a thread, insipred by Alia, where post oppers can write down the things they can and can't eat, what they enjoy, what their diets are like post op. Hopefully giving others ideas on foods and menu's but also to give those pre oppers an idea of what life is like post op.

Bypass

What i can't eat:

Anything that's very high in sugar, as it causes dumping. I've only experienced it once, but it was enough to deter me. So i stick to under 14grams of sugar per serving.
Brocoli

What i have to extra cautious with:

Over cooked pasta, and bread. Just have to eat them extra slowly, otherwise i throw it back up.

What i can, and have enjoyed: (Some might be surprising, however, moderation is the key, and having a small tummy means you simply can't fit a lot in.)

Chocolate
Cake
Crisps (Quavers are excellent, and so is a small pack of walkers - surprisingly low in sugar and fat)
Corn chips with quacamole
Home made chocolate chip biscuits
Jacket or baked potato with beans, or tuna, or chicken, or bacon
Bacon and egg
Sausages
All veg except brocoli
Pasta bake with tuna or chicken
Omelette - i add things like chicken, ham, cheese, vegies etc
Sandwiches/Toast
Normal cheese
Fish and chips
Melba toast with low fat cream cheese and salad
Home made potato wedges with very low fat creme fresh and sweet chilli sauce
Home made singapore noodles
Chicken and black bean sauce from chinese takeaway
Rice
Nuts

Basically, i have found now, 14 weeks post op, i can eat anything i want, just in moderation. For example, i've just spent the weekend at my sister in laws house for her sons 3rd birthday. I was eating corn chips with dip, potato wedges, sausage rolls, choc chip biscuits, and a sliver of chocolate cake. I felt like i was picking all day, and have still lost 2 pounds over the weekend.

Eggs and potatos are my staple diet, and i do a lot of different things with them. I've even made an omelette pizza using an omlette as the pizza base, with peperoni, tomato, peppers and mozzarella cheese, it was to die for!!

If i have something that's too high in fat, the next day i get a bout of diarea accompanied by stomach cramps, but certainly not severe.

I don't have to eat as slowly as i used to, although i am still conscious of chew chew chew. I tend to have a well balanced diet with meet, vegies and dairy, but i also enjoy a few chocolate buttons ever now and then.

I've lost 30 kilos 400 grams. So that's 5 stone in 14 weeks, am really happy i can eat a varied diet and also that i can eat some nice and naughty things without over doing it and making myself sick. I feel like a normal person at last, i don't obsess about food anymore, i am not scared to try new things and i love cooking.

One frustrating thing though, is that finding something quick to eat on the go or when you really can't be bothered cooking, is not easy. So i tend to drink milk. I drink around 3 pints per day.

Anyway, enough rambling, hopefully everyone else will add their own ideas, foods, diets, etc. And anything new i try i will add.

 

[cazbandy]

Is this just for bypassers or can us banders add ideas?

 

[wobbles]

For everyone, i know when i was trying to realistically figure out what life would be life post op, i would have loved to find out what other people could and couldn't eat, and it goes for banders too, i'm sure everyone can benefit from menu ideas.

Maybe if we say at the top of our posts whether we're bypassers or banders.

 

[cazbandy]

BANDER

I will list them as liquid, mushy and normal.

LIQUID

Home made vegetable soup

No fat in this one....

Salt and Pepper
Herbs
1 pt of stock, flavour of choice
Blend a tin of tomatos and sive
Very finely chopped onion (to taste)
Garlic finely chopped (to taste)
1/2 tsp English Mustard
1 Parsnip
1 Carrot
1/2 Leek
1/2 Potato

Cook off the onions, herbs and seasoning, till onions soften.
Add stock and stir.
Chop the vegetables finely and add to the stock.
Add sived tomatoes and mustard.

Boil for 40-50 minutes and then blitz in the blender. Sive, so the broth comes through.

You can use this recipe during mushy stage but without siving.

Other things I coped with well were:-

Jelly (low sugar)
Low fat yoghurt
Cadburys Highlights
Bovril
Slimfast

Liquids are quite limiting but for me that only lasted 3 days.

MUSHY

Mashed Potato, with cheese or without
Scrambled Egg
Custard with digestive crumbled into it.
Tuna and Mayo
Egg and salad cream
Fruit smoothies
Yoghurt
Mousse
Shredded Chicken in coronation sauce
Curry sauce with mashed butternut squash
Thick soups blended
Houmus
Taramasalata

This stage only lasted 4 days for me and then I just went on to normal food.

I only have trouble with white bread or anything too doughy.

So my menu is as varied as it was before the surgery. Just smaller and healthier.

I still enjoy the odd slice of cake, chips and choccy just not very often and not very much at one time. I tend to eat fruit or yoghurt if I have a sweet craving.

 

[piggy]

i drink a lot of tea with sweeteners
and eat fruit and veg, a lot of pepper
i also drink a lot of diet drinks,
does anyone know how many calories are in a baked potato?

 

[charliegirl]

I had started a small note book with things that were good for me and things that I struggled with or had gone off totally...it helps when I am looking for shopping ideas and meals etc. Anything I struggle with I will try again in a few weeks. Have to say I seem to be able to eat most things, have never dumped and find little of what I fancy stops any cravings...xx

 

[Cat321]

I can eat more or less anything except bread and sometimes pasta.
I choose not to eat anything sweet, like chocolates, cakes etc...I don't miss them at all weirdly enough! My favourite 'sweet' treat instead is a small bowl of fresh pineapple and strawberries - Yum!
Another of my favourite things (and it's quite good for protein) is Quorn deli ham slices with light Philly spread onto them and rolled up, I have about three of these, sometimes as my breakfast and they are lovely!
x

 

[Sambucca]

ive found this info really useful, and reassuring to see that most of you do eat "normally" post bypass.

 

[shelbell]

What I can eat and what I do eat are 2 quite different lists lol.

I can eat anything. Bread, rice, pasta, meat, fish, crisps, chocolate etc.

What I do eat though, tends to be -

Breakfast - carbs, either wholemeal toast with low fat cheese spread or a special k cereal bar.

Lunch - protein, cold meat salad, tuna, omlette, etc. Occasional carbs if out and carb free not available.

Mid Afternoon - protein shake

Dinner - protein, fish, chicken breast etc and veg. No carbs.

Evening snack - protein shake.

If I get peckish in between, like at totm, i have fruit, but in the evenings I avoid eating anything after dinner aside from the shake.

 

[teen]

good to see post oppers can eat a varied diet Im only in week 4 post op so just started to try stuff struggles with egg and mackeral at the mo Had some porrage for breakfast and seems to have gone down ok

 

[phatgirl]

I can eat most 'normal' food & have never dumped or vomited. However, I haven't tried cake or sweetened choc (Sainsbury does a no sugar added choc bar which is lovely). I have eaten tortilla chips (maybe 5-6 total) with no problem and I have had a couple of fast food chips that went down fine.

I don't like hard scrambled eggs anymore, I get a tight feeling in my pouch so it is either soft scramble or over easy for me. I eat whole-meal toast but I have to go slow. White bread (untoasted) makes my pouch feel tight & uncomfortable so I avoid it. I have gone out for sushi and had no problems except becoming full before my eyes were done eating! I have had takeaway curry from a place that does low-fat/low-sugar and it was grand.

I feel like anywhere I go out to eat I could find something suitable which makes me feel good. Even at Burger King, ordered a kiddie meal with grilled chicken fillets (minus the buns if you are like me, just asked for lettuce and wrapped them in that), apple 'fries' which are just sliced apple and bottled water you can through in your bag for later. I feel like food is no longer my enemy and that is a good feeling.

For snacking, I keep mini babybel lights in the fridge along with no-sugar added fruit cups & low-fat cottage cheese so I always have something that needs no cooking or prep. I also make homemade applesauce that I put in baby food jars for a quick snack as well as fresh fruit and veg. With a little thinking ahead you can have a meal in a couple of minutes. Yeaterday after returning from aqua fit, I was needing food and wanted something quick. I took out some sliced turkey and sliced cheese from the fridge and made four roll-ups with a bit of mustard inside plus a fruit cup. I was eating it in less than five minutes!

Nic

 

[Alia]

Thank you so much for this thread, it was a great idea and is really going to be helpful for me as I have no imagination where food is concerned and means I get really bored of things and have the same thing over and over again.

I like the idea of the qorn slices with some cream cheese on them, rolled up... I'm going to get some of that and try it and the baby bell lights is good one also.

Please keep the ideas coming cause this is really helpful for me and I'm loving pulling out things that I can eat from what every one has said, or at least try them anyway.

Alia xxx

 

[orchid]

ABSOLUTLEY BRILLIANT information for banders/bypassers either waiting or having there's done,you could'nt go anyware else and get this kind of valuble and interesting information, i think this was a brain storm of an idea, WELL DONE,WOBBLES,and everyone who has added to it im sure it will go on to help many people along there wls journey thankyou orchid xx

 

[teen]

I also have no imagination with food so i tend to make home made soup and keep it in the fridge in a jug for when Im feeling peckish. I dont tend to drink alot either as I was a diet coke addict before my op and I no I should be drinking more. i like the idea of wrapping creamcheese/cottage cheese in meat thats so quick thanx for the ideas

 

[Alia]

I also have no imagination with food so i tend to make home made soup and keep it in the fridge in a jug for when Im feeling peckish. I dont tend to drink alot either as I was a diet coke addict before my op and I no I should be drinking more. i like the idea of wrapping creamcheese/cottage cheese in meat thats so quick thanx for the ideas

I was a coke addict too, infact anything fizzy and I'd drink it but strangely I have n't even missed it and now just drink water with the occasional glass of fruit juice. I'm sure when they operated on my stomach they did something to my brain too cause all the things I was addicted to prior to the surgery I'm not craving at all and I find myself hunting out savory things to eat when I was a total sweet eater before... not complaining though cause thats a fantastic thing for me lol

 

[teen]

wow you sound like me lol I was all chocolate and sweets before but now I want savoury. and I am now drinking water and milk. I dont like coffee and prob have about 4 cups of tea a month and the juice I like is coconut and pineapple but thats got to much sugar in it now So im a bit stuck cause dont really like many fruit juices or smoothies. I used to drink sugar free vimto (the dilute one) but since I came out of hospital the smell makes me feel sick cause I used to mix vitamin drops in it lol

 

[serenitylove]

im a bander 31/2 months post op

i cant eat

chicken , lamb , bread, rice, fish, pasta, oranges, chips[not such a bad thing] boccoli, liver, prosessed food ie chicken nuggets sausages

i can eat

jacket potatoes, most veg, beef, crakers [carrs melts mmmmmm] yogurt mushrooms most friuts


most of my meals are now soft if im having meat i eat it first as i can eat even less of the meal if i do im a week n half from my last fill so still adjusting to what foods work for me

 

[ditzyangeluk]

Bypass - 5 months ago

I CAN have pretty much anything (even 'bad' stuff - found I don't dump too much but don't know if this is actually a good things - bad habits creeping in!)

And strangely, I can have toast but not bread! Fish Pie but not fish per se! Shepherds/Cottage pie but not beef!

I think it is 'easy' stuff I manage, & not too many mixed things at a time (eg. 3 or 4 different kinds of stuff at once!)

I CAN'T eat/tolerate any meats really, including ham & chicken, as it gets stuck.

Otherwise, anything really - in moderation

 

[hopelesscase]

To date there has been nothing that i have tried that hasnt agreed with me, but saying that i havent tried anything sweet as lost my sweet tooth completley and the thought of some processed foods really turns my tummy im making sure i stick to the 5grams of fat per 100grams and have enjoyed chicken , steak etc but have found the secret is to chop it up small before i start eating so i dont get distracted and forget to chew a too bigger piece. Im sure Mr Ammori re programmed my brain as each time i go to eat i have this thing saying to me what nutritional value does that have. lol never thought i would go into mc donalds and just have a bottle of milk but thats what i do if i take one of the children not even been tempted to nick a chip. i did have a fish from the chip shop with pease the other week but the man heavily battered it and then peeled all the batter off so there was no batter or fat on it saying that i only managed 1/3rd of it. I also need to drink about 15 mins before i eat otherwise i find i dont eat very much as it seems to stick before it gets to my pouch.
On the fluis front PG gave me some crystal light sachets and i have got to say they are yummy especially the cherry one but im still hooked on coffee, ribena light, and horlicks light.

 

[wobbles]

Really great to see other's ideas, and also what things people can and can't tolerate. For example, both bypassers and banders who can't eat meat at all. If i culdn't eat chicken, or ham, i think i'd go even more crazy.

I really like the idea of meat rolled up with cheese/cottage cheese/mustard etc. I have some really nice ham in the fridge and ithink i'll try that one.

I too used to be a coke addict, coke zero, but now i have no desire for it whatsoever. I do however, like having a vodka and coke with a slice of lime, and after two i'm all giddy and giggly.

I've always been a savoury girl, even though i enjoy chocolate etc, but my fave is potato wedges with creme fresh. Not a quick thing to do though, and i really need some more ideas for quick and easy things to prepare and eat.

Keep em coming folks.