Red Meat, Caffeine, Nuts, Corn And Popcorn

[I_did_it! 33]

So I see all kinds of people on here that talk about eating the afformentioned foods. I was told to wait 6 months for these foods. In addition my surgeon said that these foods are often never tolerated again. So my question is when did you start eating these foods, and did they have any negative effect on you?

[Lissa 2,631]

I love red meat and nuts. I buy a bag of pre-cooked steak fajita meat just about every week and eat that as a snack or turn it into a quick stir fry for dinner. I prefer cashews, but tolerate all nuts fairly well (including people who are nuts). I dont eat popcorn often, maybe once or twice since surgery, but I had no problems with it. I am totally decaffeinated since surgery and will likely stay that way. I had a horrible time giving up my diet coke addiction pre-op, so I'll leave caffeine to others, thanks. I've eaten a couple of small ears of corn on the cob, but only for the taste. Corn doesn't have enough nutritional value for me to make it a regular part of my diet. I love brussel sprouts and broccoli these days, though. Veggies have to be well-steamed for me to tolerate more than a bite or two, though.

I'm lactose intolerant and can't drink regular milk at all. I can eat cheese and yogurt without difficulty, though.

Good luck!

[MegInNOLA 531]

Hey there--you'll find a lot of different responses to each of these on here.

1. Red meat--tried it several times. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Figured I don't really care for it, so I don't eat it. It's easiest to tolerate for me as loose hamburger (like taco meat). Roast beef, brisket, steak, fajita--LOVE them, but they do not work well with my sleeve.

2. Coffee--they gave it to me in the hospital after my leak test, so I've basically had it from the beginning and have it every single day. I am not pleasant without it. :-) It does contribute to a bit of excess acid when I'm stressed.

3. Nuts--I ate Peanut Butter from a spoon during the "full liquids" phase, and have eaten them every day since in one form or another--I definitely watch portion sizes, but almonds, pecans, peanuts, oh yeah. Very important source of nutrition for me.

4. Corn--I don't like it, so I don't eat it except in chip format. I do eat corn chips as part of a meal every so often, either dunked in refried Beans or with some cheese. I don't eat them as a snack--they are always part of a meal, so I don't mindlessly eat them. I don't think I could eat too many any more with my sleeve, but some folks definitely can tolerate a lot of chips.

5. I also eat popcorn, but again, never mindlessly and always with a planned, small portion--I don't 'get my own,' I enjoy a few kernels from my husband's bag at the movie. When I was first eating solids, I took a tiny snack bag of almonds in my pocket to the movie and enjoyed the crunch of those through the show instead. My first popcorn was after 6 months and it was 3 or 4 kernels max (I was scared to try it, frankly, in case it didn't work--I didn't want to miss the movie because I was throwing up!).

[Wheetsin 714]

Red meat - allowed IIRC at 8 weeks. Maybe 10. I choose not to eat it, though lately I have been using beef Jerky for Protein. I've easily eaten less than 1 pound of fresh red meat since 2006.

Caffeine - I drink tea, which does not have much caffeine at all (contrary to popular belief). That's it. I was able to start tea around 6 weeks. NUT said "never" in my info session, but everyone else (including other NUTs) are fine with it. Once your staple line is healed the irrtants aren't a big factor, and otherwise it's just general health/avoid caffeine -- not something critical to weight loss.

Nuts - I think these were allowed around 10 weeks as well. I frequently eat a few almonds for a snack, and fresh ground nut butters (peanut, almond, cashew). I'm also currently digging Trader Joe's creamy Valencia Peanut Butter with sea salt.

Corn - don't like it so I don't eat much. I think it was OK around the 3 month mark. The only corn I've eaten was one time I got the corn/jalapeno salsa in my Chipotle bol.

popcorn - IIRC this was 3 mos as well. I don't really like it so I haven't had any yet.

I went into this with some safe assumptions - that I would vomit frequently, that I would have horrible heartburn, and that there would be some things that I would just never be able to eat again. Of all those assumptions, the only one close to true is the heartburn, but only if I don't manage my PPI schedule, and it's only occasionally bad enough to cause me real discomfort.

[clk 3,519]

I eat plenty of red meat and have no issues with it at all. In the beginning it was tough to eat, though. It's denser than, say, chicken or fish, so you can't eat as much and the likelihood of overdoing it is higher.

I never gave caffeine up, though I did cut down my consumption. Not due to intolerance, but just lack of space! If I can only eat/drink so much in a day, six cups of coffee aren't going to work.

I also eat nuts and popcorn. But those are two foods I would definitely wait to eat. You need to heal completely before the risk of damage to the sleeve goes down. And be careful with popcorn, it slides more than any other food I can eat. I used to consider it a trigger food, but nowadays it's a once in a while treat and I'm okay with that.

I hate corn and can't comment on it either way. It's a waste of a food in my book!

A food that's not on your list that I really don't tolerate well: lettuce, especially iceberg. I can have it in small quantities but it causes sleeve discomfort and intestinal distress these days. No loss, I eat plenty of salads. I just don't base them around lettuce anymore.

~Cheri

[Catracks 865]

I have a bit a problem with ground beef (but not enough to quit it), but none with steak and popcorn or nuts. I eat a lot of all of these. I started putting coffee into my Protein shakes early on.

I held off on the nuts and popcorn until 3 months. The red meat I ate as soon as I could have solids. The only thing I cannot tolerate is dry red wine.

You just have to test tolerances for things. The first time I ate half a small wafer thin pork chop, it came right back up. A few weeks later I tried just a couple bites. No problem!

[Wheetsin 714]

I have foods that don't really feel all that good, but I've never thrown them up. Non-crunchy breads feel heavy. Peanut Butter takes me a long time to eat a very small amount. If my sleeve puked, these are probably what it would puke on. But since it doesn't, I'm guessing the "heavy" foods are my versions of things I can't tolerate (even though I can tolerate them... bah).

A few BTWs...

popcorn is terrible for your digestive system. If you tell any GI doc you don't eat popcorn, they will automatically love you at least a little bit. And microwave popcorn is the worst. Look up the recent cancer studies, or cancer rates of employees who worked in the factories. It's not the popcorn itself, or the microwave, it's the crap inside the baggies.

If you haven't heard of "pink slime" you tube the tern and Jamie Oliver. I grind my own "beef" for my family, and the whole "pink slime" thing being brought out in a public light was a really nice affirmation. After watching some of these food documentaries - no way, no how I'm buying store bought ground meat unless it's a butcher and I can see him grind it. But I don't mind, and you can get much better flavors when you mix the cuts vs. buying scrap (try making a burger out of a combination of fresh ground sirloin, chuck and brisket... on a charcoal grill with a chunk of alder & cherry wood thrown in the coals... you will have 'em eating out of your hand).

[LouiseC 1,031]

If you haven't heard of "pink slime" you tube the tern and Jamie Oliver. I grind my own "beef" for my family' date=' and the whole "pink slime" thing being brought out in a public light was a really nice affirmation. After watching some of these food documentaries - no way, no how I'm buying store bought ground meat unless it's a butcher and I can see him grind it. But I don't mind, and you can get much better flavors when you mix the cuts vs. buying scrap (try making a burger out of a combination of fresh ground sirloin, chuck and brisket... on a charcoal grill with a chunk of alder & cherry wood thrown in the coals... you will have 'em eating out of your hand).[/quote']

I remain astounded that the USA has not banned this additve and that Americans will tolerate this practice and allow their kids to eat this stuff in school lunches, takeouts and even home prepared meals. This is stuff made of bacteria ridden scraps off the abbotoir floor, barely fit for pet consumption, and mixed with ammonia. Crikey.

It never ceases to amaze me the poison people put into their bodies. Though I bet even pink slime is better than diet soda, as far as poison goes.

I like whole food. I did before my sleeve and I do now. Except now I manage Portion Control better and can't tolerate fat like I used to.

I am 8 weeks out and eat red meat, nuts, some corn, and some coffee. I have never liked popcorn so that isn't an issue. I first had red meat one week out, I was on pureed food from when I left the hospital at day 3. I understand caffeine is an issue due to it's potential to dehydrate rather than the caffeine itself. So when I have coffee I increase my Water intake to balance it out.

[Catracks 865]

I do have the butcher grind my beef. I've always liked it better that way. Pink slime is not anything I could have imagined.

I pop my own corn. Nobody had to tell me microwave popcorn was bad news. It tastes like chemicals. I just do it on the stove with coconut or olive oil. Yeah, I know that you're really not supposed to heat extra virgin, first cold press, but I love the taste.

I have been trying to eat natural and eat as many non-processed and minimally processed foods as possible. Unfortunately it's a trade off because these Protein powders are totally food science. The SF Jello pudding and Gelatin and the SF Torani syrups keep me from the sugar. I love to make Protein packed Desserts. One thread goes into philosophy about eating everything you used to in moderation or deny yourself some foods.

I'm of the latter philosophy, but have found things to replace the foods that are not good for me with better ones that taste just as good.

Sorry to hear about popcorn and the GI tract. I would have thought all that Fiber would be a good thing. It could also be what's stalling my weight loss even though I don't eat more than a cup or so and my carbs are under 45 grams. So much for my low calorie snack

I absolutely will continue with minimally processed things. I don't want to go totally Paleo.

I'm going to try mixing the cuts Wheetsin.

[Katie713 423]

I found that chicken especially white meat - is hard for me to tolerate. It feels awful going down and sits like cement block in my tummy. Hamburger meat does not sound appealing to me anymore, and actually I had been having a hard time digesting it, but strangely, tender steak goes down like a dream. Almost as easy as fish which is the best choice so far for me, it goes down easy, has plenty of Protein and is easy on the calories.

I do eat nuts as a high Protein snack. They don't bother me at all.

I do not eat much corn as it is high in carbs, but I had one ear on the 4th of July and it went down fine.

popcorn is a no-no for me. I hate the way the gets stuck in my teeth!

I drink both coffee and tea - caffeinated. I tried it out after 4-6 weeks with no issues.

[angeliiz80 38]

I have eaten popcorn & nuts without problems & drank caffeine . Corn does make my stomach sore. I am 9 months since surgery.

So I see all kinds of people on here that talk about eating the afformentioned foods. I was told to wait 6 months for these foods. In addition my surgeon said that these foods are often never tolerated again. So my question is when did you start eating these foods, and did they have any negative effect on you?