kulita

To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the "Protein First" rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the "Four Rules" the most important of which is "Protein First." That means of all nutrients (protein, veggies, complex carbohydrates, then fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.

I think I noticed a significant improvement around 6 months.

I am in the same position as PLaywithworldchamps. My hunger came back right away, only now I was better able to control it. Before I was like a horse with a feed bag on and going to town with my food. I literally inhaled my meal in less than 10 minutes!! Now, when I am hungry I am able to nibble on a cheese stick and not have to worry about becoming "hurricane hungry" eating everything around me. Another thing is that often time when we think we are hungry we are really thirsty. I know my dr said to drink 64 oz of Water per day, but my body wants me to drink about 90 oz a day. When I have drink an adequate amount for my body I know that I am doing good with hunger. Each body reacts differently and I have noticed that when I was heavier I needed more water than I do now. Another thing is head hunger. If you know that you are satisfying yourself nutritionally, then head hunger is probably rearing its head and now, you have to be able to be stronger willed than your brains automatic desire of wanting to grab more food or junk foods. Are YOU in control or are you putting your body back on auto-pilot?

I hope that you did not invest too much money into these shakes. I always tell people that I see/meet to get samples. You are going to have to live off of this stuff for awhile so you want to make sure that you can tolerate it right? Spend a few dollars and go with unjury or Syntrax nectar (not their juices)

Have you advanced onto soft foods yet? Sometimes this hunger is also a cue for your dr to advance you if you are doing well on liquids and such

Stock up on Protein shake samples! You taste changes after surgery and what you like now, you may not like so much afterwards. Also, You may want to get some soft things like yogurt, cottage cheese, creamed Soups (not chunky). I think I lived on String cheese and eggs for awhile, lol. I agree with the Crystal lite too. it will help improve your Water intake but watch out because it is often called Crystal Crack for a reason... It becomes addicting. Good luck to you! I will be looking out for your future posts.

After reading some of the threads, I understand that it is for Vets. It doesn't hurt to prepare though right? 1 Year for me is right around the corner...... Gotta read up if I ever need to use it. Also I found the links.

You can STILL eat many of the things you love.... just a lot less of it. I am almost 1 year out and I will answer this to let you in on how I am doing. Can you eat a whole apple? Yes Can you eat rice and Pasta without discomfort? Yes, I can eat these, however, eating too much of it is not good for weight loss. I know of some people who can not tolerate these foods with the sleeve and some that can only slightly tolerate it. Then there are others, like me who can eat this just fine. Do you ever have the occasional glass of wine with dinner? I am not a drinker so I no wine for me, but I do have drinks with my meals. Is it a no-no? I think this is dependent upon who you ask. Also, I have noticed that when I do have drinks with my meals it fills me up faster so I dont eat as much- but then I do get hungrier later on. How have your close relationships been effected by your weight loss? Everyone around me has been real supportive. I have been honest with those close to me as much as I wanted them to know without becoming the 'food police' over me. My relationship with my husband has improved and so has our late night activities Are you able to quickly drink a glass of Water on a hot day or after a workout? I can down a 16 oz bottle of water in 10 minutes. A glass... maybe 5 min If you were an emotional eater, what behavior have you replaced the emotional eating with? This is a good one. I am still struggling with this. As I ate out of boredom, stress, excitement, and sadness. The boredom usually exists when I am at the computer typing and that is here to stay. I have to always have something to drink next to me, and I am not talking about Crystal Crack (Crystal Lite). The a drink like water with frozen blueberries often will fill me up and keep me hydrated. Do you have any sadness associated with the inablilty to eat a large portion of something incredibly delicious? Oh boy! I did at first. I was a huge foodie and loved really good foods. In fact Food was often seen as a good friend back then. It really hit me when I was able to move into solid foods and hubby started making Texas sized steaks (that cover the whole dinner plate) and I looked at it as if I could still eat it all, but physically i couldn't and it didn't quite register in my brain that it wasn't possible. When Fondue night came around a buffet of little delights was all around me and all i could do was nibble on a few things while everyone else was gorging themselves full with delight. I WANTED TO BE LIKE THAT at that time period but ONLY in that moment. That was when I realized that I did have an eating problem and I let my emotions take over me. Not only was I eating HUGE portions but I would often eat to feel happy. I think around 5 months PO I became more settled with the thought that this was indeed permanent and old behaviors fell to the way side and new behaviors kicked in.

What is this 5:2 plan that I keep seeing? I can't find anything on it.

I am almost a year out and I have hit my goal set by the NUT, however, my own personal goal was number based (150) and I think it is still seen in my ticker. That was set when I was in pre op stage. Now, that I am almost a year out, I can write WITH CONFIDENCE that the 150 mark doesn't even matter to me anymore. I have been able to do so much more than I could before and I am VERY happy with that. Now my goal has moved into something more challenging and meaningful like hiking the next mountain, playing baseball with my sons, or shopping with my daughter and being able to try on different clothes without feeling like 'every stores doesn't have my size'. I think the goal set forth should be about perspective. Yeah the # part helps to keep you in line, but it can also cause so much stress when trying to solely focus on just the % of amount lost.

UPDATE on my clot. It has been almost a year and that red streak over the top of my arm goring from my wrist 1/2 way up to my elbow has now turned a brown tint... sort of like melasma but in a line. The antibiotics did help clear the infection to the point where my body could try to break down the clot. About 6 months out, one of the clots in my wrist went away another one traveled up and planted itself in my elbow. Oh the aches this caused! Eventually that turned into an abscess and I had to have 2 rounds of different antibiotics when that occurred. Other than the clots, and some hair loss (yes I have so much Protein and biotin) I am really healthy. Thank you for all of the concerns and hopefully this thread will serve as an information point for another person in a similar situation.

I am a tad over 1 month out. At my 2nd week apt my Dr. said that I probably have a superficial blood clot in my wrist and he didn't seem too concerned since they typically do go away without any complications. He told me to put a warm compress on it. Fast Foward to today (1 month) and my wrist is swollen, painful to touch, and has a slight red streak above the clot area. The actual area feel like a a knot! I decide to go to the ER and I was told that it looks infected and it should have started to go away by now. So they gave me antibiotics so that they can tackle the infection part and hopefully that will give my body enough to take care of the clot. Oh and I am in a sling. I am curious to find out what other people had to do in a situation like this. I am thankful it isn't a dvt, but this pain does hurt a bit.

put some salt Water in your mouth and then with a clean toothbrush start brushing the very back while keeping the saltwater in your mouth. Also, some Probiotics helped to clear up the funk n gunk that accumulated

that was supposed to be hearty

it is in my signature, but in case you still can't see it, April 29. I am about 2 months out and I have a heart appetite

I usually do about 2-3 shakes at 2-4 oz each

I read somewhere that you can only absorb about 19- 30gm of Protein in an hour and it is dependent upon the quality of the protein. You should be able to find this info on the internet if you google it. I know that you mentioned that you sip it over the course of a few hours so this may be ok, but watch out. If I were you I would take out the pudding, yogurt, and the banana until you get to the 6 month mark. It sounds like you are consuming too many calories too soon. However, if you are following your Dr.'s guidelines and he/she is happy with what you are doing AND you are tracking your foods religiously then keep doing it.

You have to add it after it is done cooking. If you add it to temps over 140 degrees the texture starts to change and it begins to damage the proteins. So if you have the piping hot bowl of oatmeal you will have to weight until it cools to below 140

Personally, I didn't care too much for the "juice" flavors like twisted cherry or roadside lemonade. However, there are a lot on here who really do like those flavors. Look out for the sample packets before you invest in a tub that you may hate. Almost everyone loves the Chocolate Truffle one. The vanilla bean one I got to mix with some slices of canned peaches, or some canned pineapple when I make it with Silk's coconut milk, or some no sugar strawberry preserves.