Slider Foods- a good reminder

Hi guys. It's been quite a while since I have been on the board. I am 3.5 years out from RNY. In the last year, I've started to have some regain. It is sooooo hard this far out. Old habits are hard to stave off. Anyhow....in an attempt to break myself of some poor eating rituals, I've decided to do the 5 day pouch test. I'm on day 1. LOL! I was reading a bit on www.5daypouchtest.com about slider foods and how dangerous they are for us post WLS. I though it was a good reminder to share. I always find myself turning my nose up at dinner because I don't like that tight sensation in my pouch when I eat dense protein. Instead I have a habit of grazing on slider foods that never seem to keep me full. If you are newly post op, or approaching a year or so post WLS.....BEWARE....old habits die hard.
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SOURCE: http://www.5daypouchtest.com/plan/day3.html


Question: What are slider foods?

Kaye's Answer: In a malabsorptive procedure the pouch is made and the stoma or outlet is attached to the lower part of the middle intestine called the jejunum. The majority of caloric absorption takes place in the jejunum, so depending upon where your surgeon created the outlet the level of absorption can vary. Skilled surgeons will adjust the length of intestine bypassed according to their patient's projected needs based on dieting history and pre-op psychological screening.

Slider foods slide right through the stoma into the jejunum. My first test of the slider foods was graham crackers and coffee for my after work snack. Now imagine, I could eat a stack of graham crackers and wa**** right through the pouch with the coffee and never feel any satiation. What resulted was an easily absorbed slurry that my jejunum sucked up like a sponge - it didn't have to do any work to absorb this simple carbohydrate slurry. Of course, weight gain resulted and I had to give up this little indulgence. Another popular slider food is pretzels. I speak with post-ops all the time who are addicted to pretzels - again, this is a simple carb that your jejunum is very happy to receive and convert to fat. Traditionally dieters are encouraged to eat pretzels or popcorn - fat free and fiber, right? But that doesn't work so well for us. Giving our re-routed bodies these simple carbs is dangerous because our bodies have spent years perfect the art of fat storage - slider foods are to the body a great big lottery win.



By the way, in my example I spoke of a slurry from graham crackers and coffee. Simple carbs, however, will slide right through without the added benefit of a liquid. And several others can talk about cheese nip crackers, popcorn, mashed potatoes, ice cream/yogurt etc.

Lots of times I hear, "But I don't like that uncomfortable tight feeling of solid protein in my pouch." But the very purpose of the pouch is to signal fullness, which often comes by way of slight discomfort when we are eating in compliance with our bariatric owner's manual. The slider foods will never ever signal fullness. They are dangerous and in most cases non-nutritional. When I feel that full-pouch discomfort I try to mentally psych myself up, "YEAH-BABY! The pouch is on the job!!" Silly, but whatever works.

Thanks for the post - I didn't know about "slider foods" but I'll be sure to stay away!

Good reminder. I did not really understand slider foods before I had surgery, it's the one thing I wish I knew a little more about beforehand. It is really amazing. I can be very full eating half a small chicken breast and some veg, but I could easily put away a bag of chips and not feel anything. Stay away from these foods! Your pouch can only help you so much once you are further out post op. They will not fill you up.

HI Marny!!

Hey Kelly!! How are you?

Yogurt is a slider food? Potatoes are a slider food?  I thought yogurt was a good choice, people have it on their daily menus all the time. I thought it was the liquidy consistency that was the issue, like thin soups and drinking with meals. Anyone else confused or is it just me?

That's the thing - not all sliders are necessarily a "bad choice". A slider is anything you eat that can easily slide through quickly without hanging around long enough to make you feel satiated. Yogurt is a slider, Greek yogurt is better as it has a thicker consistency and much higher protein. Mashed potatoes are not what I would consider a slider - they fill me extremely quickly.  Things like crackers, chips.... anything that you can chew down to nothing, is a slider.

The key is to eat dense foods that will stick around longer in the pouch (gawd I hate that word), especially protein.

K.

Thank you I did not know that.  Could it also be different from person to person?  

Not particularly, no. Sliders are sliders pretty much.

Thank you!