Food Post Surgery

I have a question regarding what your able to eat around 6months post surgery.  Are you ever able to have a small piece of cake??Will I ever be able to put a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee?? If 6 months after surgery I go out to dinner say to Applebees what would I be able to order.  Just trying to get an idea of my future after this surgery.  I am ready and willing to make all the changes just wondering about the above questions.  Thanks so Much

Well I am not 6 months out yet, so I can't really answer all your questions.. I have seen that others  have posted here that they can dump on even a bite of cake at 6 months or more out.  I have not tried it nor want to even go down that road.  I can tell you that I have gone out to eat a lot and most of the time I do fine with just being careful on what I order and how much I eat.  I do have a moody pouch so it's a toss of the dice what is going to be okay!  I can order something one time and go back a week later and order the same thing and my pouch does not like it!     I am a coffee drinker and I use Splenda, I have cut way back to only 1 cup a day and I do fine with that and if I do want more I do decaf.  There are many life changes you have to make with this surgery, after all it is just a tool.  One thing I did not expect was to become lactose intolerant after the surgery, that is a big bummer for me!  Most of the protein shake mixes I bought have milk in them so I have to take those darn pills before I drink any of them...   Hope this helps!  I suggest to research as much as possible!!  

                                                       Good luck to you!

                                                              Cindy~*

 

You would be cleared for all foods by the time you are six months out, but just because you can physically eat something doesn't make it a good food choice.
What you can physically eat will depend in how tolerant your body is of sugar (whether you are one of the 30% who "dumps"), sugar alcohols, and fat. More of this surgery is about making good choices than being limited by your body, though.

I STRONGLY suggest that people not eat blatantly unhealthy foods like cake, ice cream, pizza for the entire first year. That probably sounds like a long time, but there are several reasons I suggest this. First, once you are 18-24 months out and your pouch expands and your caloric malabsorption ends, you will be relying heavily on your food choices (and, to a lesser degree, the restriction of your pouch) to KEEP the weight off. People who don't truly change their eating habits are the ones who come back after 2 or 3 years and have regained weight. Eliminating unhealthy foods and treats from your diet for the first year will enable you to really ingrain those new habits. Second, since the malabsorption is temporary and the body begins to overcome it starting very quickly after surgery, you need to take as much advantage as you can of the first year to lose as much weight as possible. Eating things like cake more than VERY rarely will prevent you from doing that. Third, some people find that allowing the unhealthy foods back into their diet can be a downward slide (the "slippery slope") towards going back to old eating habits. As I frequently mention, I have never heard ANYONE say that they waited too long to allow treats or unhealthy foods back into their diet, but I have heard MANY people say that they wish they had stayed away from them longer.

The teaspoon of sugar and cake really depends on how your body reacts to sugar. I would have been able to eat a small piece of cake by the time I was 6 months out. I didn't, but I could have since it takes a lot of sugar to make me dump.

As far as what you could eat at Applebee's, you could probably eat small amounts of most things on their menu. The best choices, however, will be grilled items with vegetables. You will want to stay away from fried foods, starchy carbs (potatoes, rice, bread), and foods that are high in fat or are made with high fat sauces.

Lora

I am a little over 5 months post-op.

I don't use sugar; I use Spenda.  Nothing high fat either or I'll dump.  I eat small amounts of wheat bread only.  No pasta yet. No cake, ice cream, etc unless it's sugar-free.  

At restaurants I order salads, chicken, fish, etc.

 

Spenda gave me horrible cravings. Switching to Stevia got rid of my cravings and since then I have had no trouble maintaining my weight.

I do not handle sugar very well. My grandaughter had her 3rd birthday and she wanted me to eat a cupcake. I put it onto a plate and used a fork to break a couple of bites off of it. I survived!

On a different occasion my grandson handed me an oreo.I took 1 very small bite and I had to use a napkin to get it out of my mouth. For some reason, the oreo brought on an instant sick feeling! 

I am not going to go out of my way to eat unhealthy foods, but if there is a special occasion and I can "fake it" I do. Now, my husband has cinnamon rolls on the counter from Cinnabon and I walk right past them. I would much rather have some fresh raw cut up broccolli with greek yogurt dip and feta cheese.

Hi Michaela,

You know when I was sitting where you were I had all these questions and so many more!

Five years later I look back and realize how UNIMPORTANT all that is. But see here's the thing. You have to go through what I went through, what we all have gone through who have had this surgery, to reaize that. And it takes a few years.

Yes, you'll probably be able to eat a piece of cake. You'll probably be able to have sugar in certain amounts (only your body knows how much). 

But your future...after weight loss surgery...is so much more than cake and sugar! It's more than chips or chicken or bread or pasta. There is this whole world that opens up to you when you begin to reclaim your life. There is a whole wide world full of clothes to try on and athletic activities to do and legs to cross and airplane safety belts to buckle, rollercoasters to ride.

So while I cannot 100% guarantee that you'll be able to have cake and sugar I can pretty much tell you that you if you allow yourself the experience, losing this weight will open up experiences you never though you'd have. And to me the sugar and cake is a small price to pay for the awesomeness I've experienced in the past five years.

That probably isn't the answer you were looking for but that's what was in my heart to tell you. :)