Wheat Thins/Triscuts

Hello, My nut has informed my sleeve group that we can now proceed to add whole grains, (1/2 slice toasted all grain bread, wheat thins, triscuits, etc.) to our meals.  (As well as vegetables and fruit, but protein still first).  She mentioned 3 oz or 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup measurements.  (She also mentioned we could go with the serving size on the food label).  Wheat thins have a 17 cracker serving size which I know is way too many.  I am only 2 month out.  How many Wheat Thins or Triscuits would you use with a cheese stick or with 2 tbl. of peanut butter?  Thanks!

I'm six months out and eat about three Triscuits with cheese as a meal or snack. I stayed away from bread/crackers for a long time though and only started about 2 months ago. I suggest forgoing carbs for as long as you can since they will just slow down your weight loss. At two months out I MIGHT have been able to eat one, especially if it had something on it. Beware, you'll be able to eat many more of them than dense protein.

Thanks for the advice!  I would rather lose the weight. (My nut wants us to transition to normal foods, (protein first) but I don't want to do it if it is going to jepardize my weight loss.  Thanks again!

I didn't add crackers back to my diet until I was in maintenance, but I am very sensitive to carbs.  They can cause cravings for me.  Once I was in maintenance, I started eating 1/2 serving of wheat thins with humus occasionally.  that's about 8 crackers which seems like a good serving size.  I find I feel a little better when I do eat some carbs now, but I  watch carefully for those cravings.  I'm so scared of weight gain. 

Good luck with your weight loss.

Carol

Thank you, I don't want to fall in love with them and sabotage my weight loss.  Probably best to do like you did and wait until maintenance.  Then proceed with caution.  Thanks again for your experience!

I use zucchini slices instead of crackers.  Crackers are crack for me, LOL!  Whole grain or not, doesn't matter.

There is nothing beneficial to you in crackers. If you are craving crunchy, eat some pork rinds. Crackers, cheezits... Are a slippery slope. 

I would skip the crackers, and the peanut butter too for now. There is a lot of sugar and calories in a very small amount of peanut butter. At this point, you need more bang for your buck.

My advice would be to stay away from that sort of thing altogether. All three of the items you mentioned are highly processed foods. There will be little, if any, nutritional value in eating Triscuits or Wheat Thins. You would also be pretty surprised by how many wheat thins you could actually eat. For most people they are a slider food.

I know there are all sorts of post op programs out there and you have to do what's right for you, but I'd stay away from those cracker things for as long as you can. IF you don't feel the need to eat them - don't!

As for eating "normal foods" again. I really believe you have to decide what's your new normal. Are crackers going to be a regular part of your new food life? While I LOVED sandwiches, I don't eat them anymore, save a special occasion. I had 1/2 sandwich for the first time in over a year while on vacation in Palm Springs. At home, I don't eat like that.

So, while I may sound preachy, I don't mean to - really. I'm coming from a place of having gone down that same path -adding carbs and "normal" foods" - and regretting it terribly. Regain, no matter how much or how little is no fun. No fun at all.

Honestly, I think it's irresponsible for nutritionists to green light crackers and bread, whole grain or not. Maybe some people can eat things like that in moderation but the vast majority of us cannot or we wouldn't be in the situation we are in. 

I am a low carb true believer. I often think that one of the ways the sleeve works is that we are told to eat protein first, and that effectively forces us (to the degree the sleeve forces us to do anything, which I realize is not much) to eat low carb because there is just no room for carbs after 2-3 ounces of dense protein. 

So how many wheat thins would I use with a cheese stick? None! I eat my cheese sticks plain! I do eat peanut butter but only on occasion and only peanut butter that contains peanuts & salt, nothing else. That kind of peanut butter has 4 g of net carbs which is acceptable to me. 

IMO, the only "healthy" carbs are the ones that come from green and leafy vegetables, and very occasionally low sugar berries.