Wendi's Chili or Panera's Tomato Basil

[J_Lynn77 20]

Ask your Nut, but I could have anything as long as it was blended smooth. I had chili. I added some Tomato sauce to help smooth it out.

J

SW-321

CW-210

WL-111

Goal Weight--180

[CLN.BK 165]

@@OutsideMatchInside

Why don't the macros work for you? I'm still learning, so I'm sorry if that's a personal question.

[hillij25 31]

I tried the basil Tomato from Panera and didn't have any issues plus it was delicious!

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

@@CLN.BK

Too many carbs especially early from surgery. I needed all my space for Protein, not fillers. Now that I can eat more varied things I eat green veggies and Protein. That is my personal choice, I know a lot of people eat carbs and a lot of carbs from the very beginning. Just not my thing.

I'm also really against the idea of eating out early on after surgery and making a habit of it. I have one person I know that had bypass that was eating Wendy's chili post-op, they never got into the habit of cooking or learning to eat properly. They still kept going out the whole time, just eating smaller amounts. Long term they have regained and can't get a handle on their food.

Eating out and depending on fast food/restaurant food kind of squanders the mental reset that surgery gives you. Surgery is an opportunity to learn to eat and cook right all over like a baby, if a person dodges that chance with fast food and lost of convenience foods they are missing out on the reset option in my opinion.

I have no idea why the WLS community pushes Wendy's Chili so hard, it is counter productive.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

In reality, unless you are housebound, sometimes it just makes sense to eat out. Wendy's Chili is a great choice for fast food.

[CLN.BK 165]

@@OutsideMatchInside

Thank you for that answer. Very insightful.

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

In reality, unless you are housebound, sometimes it just makes sense to eat out. Wendy's Chili is a great choice for fast food.

You can make chili at home faster than eating out.

This is just a crutch excuse that people use for bad eating.

I don't buy it. Every Walmart, and almost every gas station and grocery store has Protein shakes. There is no reason to eat at a fast food resturant, especially less than a month from surgery, except it is an active choice.

170 calories for 15 grams of Protein is a crappy choice, more than 10 calories per gram of protein.

[cindyw41 761]

@@OutsideMatchInside

I've found that most stores do not have very good choices for Protein drinks. Or they're not cold in stores like Walmart. It's depressing actually that they offer these assumed healthy drinks and they're junk, same with the bars.

Best thing to do is predetermine where you could eat while out. I have researched menus and nutrient information for a couple of local spots. When going out with a group or to a new place I'm on my phone looking it up. It's time consuming and sometimes a pain but a lot easier for me to decide when I'm looking at the menu and I already have a plan.

I agree with the cooking chili at home and find Wendy's chili to be nasty at best.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I have to disagree! As someone who spends most of my time in my car (self employed), there are a lot of great things one can eat on the go.

Chick Filet's grilled nuggets are fabulous. Add a side salad if you are at that stage, perfect. They will also do their Breakfast sandwiches in a bowl sans the bread if you ask.

Sonic makes a great junior Breakfast burrito and if you peel off the tortilla and just eat the insides, it's perfect.

Which wich will put any sandwich in a lettuce wrap. (Subway will, too, but I don't care for their options.)

Chipotle kids' meals are great.

McD's egg mcmuffin minus the top is good and with all day breakfast, it's a win!

Egg drop Soup and steamed shrimp and veggies can be had at any Chinese restaurant.

WaWa and other convenience stores sell boiled eggs, cheese sticks, yogurt, hummus, etc.

It was 103 today. No packed breakfast/lunch would have held up in my car, so I'm often forced to find great choices out.

My best option is going to whatever market is nearby and visiting the deli for a few thin slices of meat and cheese. Usually costs about $2 and I get weird looks when I ask for 2 slices of each, but I don't care.

[AvaFern 3,516]

In answer to the original question, both of those things should be fine, if as the other said, you blend the chili.

I personally don't like Wendy's chili, mostly because Panera chili spoiled me forever. Panera's chili though is only available from Sep-Apr, so the rest of the time I have to make my own. My chili takes at least 90 minutes to make, but then I freeze it in cup-size bags and I have lunch for awhile.

When I was post-op, I had butternut squash Soup from Panera and the brocolli cheddar- both made me sick, lol, but I am a big fan of learning to eat so that when you are out and about you aren't crippled in fear of trying something that may not seem like it is on your diet. I don't eat out much, but I regularly have the onion soup (I ask them to leave out the cheese and bread) from Panera, sometimes I have the corn chowder, and if winter ever gets here, oh it is on with that chili. The first year I was post-op, I ate plenty of half paninis from Panera and until I started getting sick from anything that had oil and fat in it, I got pretty decent at having a few bites of good stuff and then not needing any more. At almost 3-years post-op, I now sometimes eat grilled nuggest from Chik-Fil-A or half a grilled chicken sandwich, and like I said, I have Soups from Panera and some of their sandwiches. Otherwise I don't tend to really like fast food, although lately I have this disgusting enjoyment of a certain gas station pimento cheese sandwich. I've had a lot of dental work done this summer and it was one of the only soft things that I could eat right after being at the dentist without it being PB&J or soup. It's grossly delicious, it's bad for me, and whatever, a few times a month, it isn't going to hurt me.

You can live a normal life with the sleeve and for me normal meant that I got to go out to eat with my friends, that if I'm running errands I can go through a drive-through or run into a gas station and get something to eat, and since I learned how to enjoy a few bites and throw the rest away (yes, children are starving in Africa- I still have a hard time throwing stuff out sometimes), I've been very comfortable not being stuck cooking my own meals or locked into a specific menu of what I can eat.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

@@AvaFern

I love the French onion Soup at Panera!! Why no cheese? I leave out the bread and ask for extra cheese.

[AvaFern 3,516]

@@LipstickLady

The onion Soup is awesome. My stomach doesn't like melty cheese- she likes to barf anything that's even come near warm cheese, lol.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

@@LipstickLady

The onion Soup is awesome. My stomach doesn't like melty cheese- she likes to barf anything that's even come near warm cheese, lol.

I'll have your share then!

[Alex Brecher 10,515]

@@Jellybean55,

Make sure you blend the chili, as others have suggested, and make sure you ask your nutritionist if the Soups are on your meal plan!

Some patients are told to avoid Tomato products for a while after surgery because of the acid. It can irritate the surgery wounds and also increase heartburn if you’re having trouble with that.

Enjoy your soup!