What types of food can you enjoy down the road?

[Djmohr 6,965]

I am 4 months post op and can pretty much eat everything with the exception of eggs. My pouch simply does not like them nor do my taste buds. I am hoping that will change.

I can eat sugar, bread, Pasta and rice but I STAY AWAY. For me Pasta and sweets would definitely be a trigger food and although I have had a taste of a dessert here or there they are too sweet for me. I simply do not like sweets any more. (yeah for me!) Pasta I won't even try as that used to be my favorite meal and I always overate it.

I have tried a fork full of rice here and there but really try to save the room in my pouch for Protein and vegetables. If I eat bread (for a sandwich) I simply will try a bite or two of whole grain bread and it satisfies me. If I ate much more than that, it would fill my pouch before I got my Protein in and it does not stay with me.

[Mary-Scarlett Vernon 1]

I am almost 13 years post-op. Over the years I have resumed eating all of the things I ate before surgery, and unfortunately this has been my downfall. I should have used the post-op time as a cleansing period to get the old crappy food out of my life. Now here I sit, 40 pounds regained, with all of the old cravings still firmly in place. For the years that I chose not to eat the fattening, carby, processed food, I easily maintained my weight loss and I looked and felt great. Now that my bad habits are back, so it the weights and I hate it.

All of this to say.... yes you will be able to eat most, if not all, of your old favorites. BUT, I advise you to think long and hard before you do so.

[MichelleTN 169]

I am nearly 18 months post-op and I have not found a single thing that I can't eat. I have eaten small amounts of fried foods like Fench fries and high fat foods like real ice cream all with no problems. Now, that said, I have worked hard to lose 210 pounds and going back to eating the way I did before surgery would just bring the weight back on. Part of the journey is making the commitment to change your lifestyle to maintain your weight loss. I am scarred to death of gaining the weight back so am quite vigilant to keep the treats or unhealthy choices to a minimum. Best of luck to you!

Wow 210lbs! Would love to see before &after pics.

Most people I know can eat anything after a few mos. It's choosing not to that is the key.

[onikenbai 33]

The only things I can't eat are dried out meats such as poorly prepared pork chops or dry chicken breast. Mostly there are things I don't eat unless there are no other options because I shouldn't be eating them in the first place. I don't do most breads, although I will do a flatbread or a wrap occasionally for convenience sake. Don't do rice or Pasta as they're just empty calories. I eat a lot of salads, and a lot of chicken and fish. I still find I can eat only one main meal of the day: if I have a half way decent lunch I am very not hungry for dinner and I have to force myself to eat something. The biggest change is that taste often changes and things you routinely ate before the surgery tend to repulse you after because they are too sweet or just too deep fried to be palatable. I'll still occasionally have a cookie, but really most of them taste over sweet and over processed to me now, so it's not worth it unless they're quality home baked ones, which I don't come by very often, so I just stay away from Cookies. Some people dump on Cookies. I don't. Some people dump on grapes. The thing is you won't know until you've had the surgery and no doctor can promise you otherwise. Dumping sometimes doesn't even show up until 6 months to a year after the surgery. It's weird like that.

I think where a lot of people slip up over time is either in portion creep, or in allowing the high calorie extras to come back into your life. Just because you can eat more, should you? Take a break while eating and you often find you end up not wanting to finish that plate after all. Be careful of the sides as well as the main. sauces and dressings add a lot of calories to the dish and we're often fairly heavy on those, especially if it's a food we think we may get stuck. Somewhere there is a hell especially for ranch dressing. I know the US doesn't have sugar content labelled on its food the way Canada does... man, you should see the numbers on the prepared drinks like bottled iced teas and just about anything you buy at a convenience store. Most of them have more sugar than Coke. Make Water your best friend.

I never got the period of rapid weight loss right after surgery (because I am a medical freak) so I'm still fighting to lose weight one pound at a time every two to three weeks. I had a two year stall when I didn't lose a single pound, and an unfortunate two weeks when they put me on a new drug and I gained 20lbs for no reason at all (I've finally shed them). Although I'm not maniacal about what I eat, I am pretty careful. The good news is that my stall is finally over and I've started losing again. Five pounds in 12 weeks. Yay! Whichever surgery you choose, go in knowing it is a tool only in helping you; there is still a lot of work and sacrifice involved, but it's worth it in the end.

[jinxxy5 151]

Anything. You still have to make good choices but pretty much you can eat anything.

[Luna222 246]

I am only 4 months post op, but I've really not had any problems with anything I've tried lately. I eat healthy nutritious foods, but I will admit I've also tried a little bit of the not so healthy stuff. Oreos, I ate one as dessert. I've been able to have a cupcake at a birthday party, or a small slice of pizza. Those things are just an occasional treat. But I can eat it. That's not to say that you can though. It is all a learning experience, don't be afraid to try things. Dumping is NOT pleasant, I have experienced it a few times, with sugar free things though. But it helps you to know what you can tolerate.

So many people have misconceptions about this surgery. My mother was so worried because she thought something bad would happen, but also because she thought I wouldn't be able to eat real food for the rest of my life. I still get her looking at me with bug eyes when I eat, I'm like "mom, I didn't have my entire stomach removed!"