So what are you unable to eat now?

[darcyjae 106]

On 09/26/2019 at 00:12, Sheribear68 said:

So can I ask a question without trying to sound rude?



So many people mention Pasta, potatoes, bread, etc.



I’m actually kind of stunned that any of us would try those things. I can see reserving having something like special occasions, but isn’t this the very kinds of food that got us in this place?



I’m almost 8 months out and still don’t usually eat over 20 carbs in a day. Protein takes up about 80-90% of what I eat and I kinda just assumed it was like that for everyone?

I think the OPs question was about what you are physically unable to eat, not what you choose to eat rarely or not at all. So many of the answers have been around what can be tolerated by the stomach post-procedure.

I think everyone is different regarding whether an occasional treat/bite of something will derail them or not—and what those triggers are.

[sideeye 1,440]

Re: starches - I got where I was not because of content of food but because of quantity. So for me at least, I can eat potatoes, bread, etc because I know exactly how much of it I can eat. And by that I mean “before I feel too full”, not counting calories.

We all had different triggers that got us where we were, and mine was that I actually got a rush when I overate. I know some people had sweet tooth issues or craved pizza or another food-specific addiction, but my problem was quantity. My system was making me feel GOOD when I had too much food in my stomach, didn’t matter what kind and I had no particular allegiance to a specific food group. That feeling is entirely gone for me now, which was a very weird realization and resulted in a lot of 3-month-out rants about people saying “you’ll eat to satisfaction” (because as far as I was concerned, I have never felt that “satisfied” chemical rush after surgery). It was only after talking to other people that I realized the endorphin rush was not a normal or universal thing, and that most people do not see a chemical mood boost as the natural end to a good meal. Who knew?

So for me at least, it really isn’t the content of the food that’s a problem. I can eat a small amount of Pasta in a meal and it has no knock-on effect, because in my case it wasn’t the taste of the food I was addicted to. The real problem for me would either be eating too much (no longer possible) or grazing (still very possible and the thing I have to watch out for).

But it’s important to know your triggers when adding food back in. Some of us can (and do) eat anything. For others I know there’s a much more slippery slope that likely involves an addiction to taste or comfort memory.

Edited September 27, 2019 by sideeye

[Sheribear68 3,200]

On 09/26/2019 at 19:10, sideeye said:

Re: starches - I got where I was not because of content of food but because of quantity. So for me at least, I can eat potatoes, bread, etc because I know exactly how much of it I can eat. And by that I mean “before I feel too full”, not counting calories.

We all had different triggers that got us where we were, and mine was that I actually got a rush when I overate. I know some people had sweet tooth issues or craved pizza or another food-specific addiction, but my problem was quantity. My system was making me feel GOOD when I had too much food in my stomach, didn’t matter what kind and I had no particular allegiance to a specific food group. That feeling is entirely gone for me now, which was a very weird realization and resulted in a lot of 3-month-out rants about people saying “you’ll eat to satisfaction” (because as far as I was concerned, I have never felt that “satisfied” chemical rush after surgery). It was only after talking to other people that I realized the endorphin rush was not a normal or universal thing, and that most people do not see a chemical mood boost as the natural end to a good meal. Who knew?

So for me at least, it really isn’t the content of the food that’s a problem. I can eat a small amount of Pasta in a meal and it has no knock-on effect, because in my case it wasn’t the taste of the food I was addicted to. The real problem for me would either be eating too much (no longer possible) or grazing (still very possible and the thing I have to watch out for).

But it’s important to know your triggers when adding food back in. Some of us can (and do) eat anything. For others I know there’s a much more slippery slope that likely involves an addiction to taste or comfort memory.

That’s amazing insight.
See, I equate obesity with metabolic syndrome and metabolic syndrome = insulin resistance which is caused by too much processed sugars and carbs.

I’ve got the kind of body where if I introduce any refined sugars or starches, the cascade of insulin resistance hits and hits HARD.
Then I have to mindfully try to override that lizard-brain that doesn’t want to listen to anything rational bc my body is sending out major signals to eat,eat, eat bc starvation is imminent.

Once I finally came to terms with this brutal (and quite unfair) reality the answer was simple:
Have WLS for the metabolic reset and treat all carbs like the devil. 🤣🤣🤣

It amazes me that any of you guys can eat small amounts of carbs because even when I go over 30gm carb daily (and healthy carbs at that) I find myself struggling like crazy over the next couple of days to get cravings under control.

In a way I’m lucky: I never had any kind of food addiction per se: my problem was I always felt like I was starving and any time I tried to cut calories it would work for a couple of weeks, then my body would fight back and I’d have all sorts of stuff from general lethargy and light-headedness to full on flu-type symptoms until I started eating to my body’s set point.

I just can’t go down that rabbit hole again and one thing my surgical team made crystal clear to me was that during this honeymoon period, my body is secretly recording everything and once it’s over, my future set point will be in a large part due to what I ate during these first few months.
Which is why (except for a handful of days when wine was consumed) I don’t ever plan for >30gm carbs daily.

Soon I’ll hit maintenance and I’m going to have to try to increase my daily calories (I’m usually between 600-800 daily) but I’ll add in fat for the calories before I get back on the carb roller coaster.

[AngieBear 2,524]

7 minutes ago, Sheribear68 said:

That’s amazing insight.
See, I equate obesity with metabolic syndrome and metabolic syndrome = insulin resistance which is caused by too much processed sugars and carbs.

I’ve got the kind of body where if I introduce any refined sugars or starches, the cascade of insulin resistance hits and hits HARD.
Then I have to mindfully try to override that lizard-brain that doesn’t want to listen to anything rational bc my body is sending out major signals to eat,eat, eat bc starvation is imminent.

Once I finally came to terms with this brutal (and quite unfair) reality the answer was simple:
Have WLS for the metabolic reset and treat all carbs like the devil. 🤣🤣🤣

It amazes me that any of you guys can eat small amounts of carbs because even when I go over 30gm carb daily (and healthy carbs at that) I find myself struggling like crazy over the next couple of days to get cravings under control.

In a way I’m lucky: I never had any kind of food addiction per se: my problem was I always felt like I was starving and any time I tried to cut calories it would work for a couple of weeks, then my body would fight back and I’d have all sorts of stuff from general lethargy and light-headedness to full on flu-type symptoms until I started eating to my body’s set point.

I just can’t go down that rabbit hole again and one thing my surgical team made crystal clear to me was that during this honeymoon period, my body is secretly recording everything and once it’s over, my future set point will be in a large part due to what I ate during these first few months.
Which is why (except for a handful of days when wine was consumed) I don’t ever plan for >30gm carbs daily.

Soon I’ll hit maintenance and I’m going to have to try to increase my daily calories (I’m usually between 600-800 daily) but I’ll add in fat for the calories before I get back on the carb roller coaster.

That’s really interesting. I never had metabolic syndrome, even when I was 300lbs. My blood sugar levels were always fine. I did have cravings for sweets, etc. And I overate in general. Now I can eat in moderation. I can have a bit of carbs without it turning into a need for more. Yesterday I had a few bites of Pasta. It was no big deal, and I’ve not felt the desire or need to have anything carby today. That’s been my experience post-surgery, My dietician is fine with it, she is interested in patterns and trends. In fact, some of the work I’ve done with her and with the bariatric psych was to accept moderation, and not panic every time I eat part of a cookie.

I think it’s really neat how different everyone is.

[catwoman7 11,212]

14 minutes ago, Sheribear68 said:

That’s amazing insight.
See, I equate obesity with metabolic syndrome and metabolic syndrome = insulin resistance which is caused by too much processed sugars and carbs.

I’ve got the kind of body where if I introduce any refined sugars or starches, the cascade of insulin resistance hits and hits HARD.
Then I have to mindfully try to override that lizard-brain that doesn’t want to listen to anything rational bc my body is sending out major signals to eat,eat, eat bc starvation is imminent.

Once I finally came to terms with this brutal (and quite unfair) reality the answer was simple:
Have WLS for the metabolic reset and treat all carbs like the devil. 🤣🤣🤣

It amazes me that any of you guys can eat small amounts of carbs because even when I go over 30gm carb daily (and healthy carbs at that) I find myself struggling like crazy over the next couple of days to get cravings under control.

In a way I’m lucky: I never had any kind of food addiction per se: my problem was I always felt like I was starving and any time I tried to cut calories it would work for a couple of weeks, then my body would fight back and I’d have all sorts of stuff from general lethargy and light-headedness to full on flu-type symptoms until I started eating to my body’s set point.

I just can’t go down that rabbit hole again and one thing my surgical team made crystal clear to me was that during this honeymoon period, my body is secretly recording everything and once it’s over, my future set point will be in a large part due to what I ate during these first few months.
Which is why (except for a handful of days when wine was consumed) I don’t ever plan for >30gm carbs daily.

Soon I’ll hit maintenance and I’m going to have to try to increase my daily calories (I’m usually between 600-800 daily) but I’ll add in fat for the calories before I get back on the carb roller coaster.

yes a lot of people seem to be pretty carb-sensitive. I'm pretty sure I'm not - but I know a lot of people on here *are*.

[Sheribear68 3,200]

On 09/26/2019 at 22:28, AngieBear said:

That’s really interesting. I never had metabolic syndrome, even when I was 300lbs. My blood sugar levels were always fine. I did have cravings for sweets, etc. And I overate in general. Now I can eat in moderation. I can have a bit of carbs without it turning into a need for more. Yesterday I had a few bites of Pasta. It was no big deal, and I’ve not felt the desire or need to have anything carby today. That’s been my experience post-surgery, My dietician is fine with it, she is interested in patterns and trends. In fact, some of the work I’ve done with her and with the bariatric psych was to accept moderation, and not panic every time I eat part of a cookie.

I think it’s really neat how different everyone is.

See that’s why I asked the question in the first place because I was so weirded out by people talking about.....* gasp... eating carbs.

When I was 28 I got pregnant with my daughter. I got gestational diabetes and gained almost 100 pounds. I went from 154 to 248 and actually gained another 5 pounds right after I had her.
In 9 short months, my world changed completely and I was rapidly, suddenly MO.

Since then I’ve battled almost constant hunger (prior to WLS) and fluctuated between 210-275 pounds. I truly think that being incredibly stubborn and dieting and exercising to the point of exhaustion periodically was the only thing keeping me from ever going higher.

For me, the concept of non- veggie carbs in moderation is so completely scary and foreign.

I truly hope that someday I can do things like incorporate fruits and legumes back in my diet, but even those scare the bejesus out of me ATM.

[puglove_vsg 0]

bread is difficult because it’s so filling/sticky.. feels like it gets stuck.. same with corn on the cob.. but popcorn goes down too easily.. other than that I can technically eat anything .. I just shouldn’t.

[Nonnaof4 54]

On 9/4/2019 at 5:06 PM, FluffyChix said:

I can't eat boiled okra.

That's about it. Everything else is wide open and A-OK!

(Oh wait! Snap! I couldn't eat it BEFORE surgery either--my whole life even--makes me hurl every time! )

LOL that's because it's gross 🤣🤣🤣

[Sheribear68 3,200]

On 10/01/2019 at 08:39, Nonnaof4 said:

LOL that's because it's gross 🤣🤣🤣

Lol!
I love grilled okra. We have a great veggie basket for the grill and my fave is to load that puppy up with okra,garlic, and onions.
Goes great with almost anything