Back To The Basics

[darrijade 6]

Hey guys! I'm currently 5 weeks post op (30 Ibs down since my surgery date) and will be able to transition to regular foods at week 8. I was curious to know who hasn't had problems with eating foods we are all lectured about avoiding, in moderation (Pizza, bread, fried foods). I am 25 years old and a lot younger than most I've seen on this forum. My goal for Bariatric surgery is to exercise, and Portion Control while making better food choices, but I never planned on ruling anything out. I'm not an emotional eater or have a mean sweet tooth, my biggest problem with my weight was how much I ate. Is it possible to live a balanced lifestyle after Bariatric surgery without completely cutting out junk food?

[catwoman7 11,212]

I'd be really careful the first few months and follow your clinic's program. Yes - the time will come when you don't have any restrictions and can eat most/all things in reasonable portions as long as your stomach will tolerate it, but the first few months are pretty critical. You're in that magical period when it's not that hard to lose weight as long as you follow the rules - so take full advantage of that!

[pintsizedmallrat 473]

Introduce new foods slowly--as you may have already found out, things you were able to eat with no problem before may be trouble for you now (as I found out when I tried to eat an avocado a week ago and felt horrible for two days).

[ShoppGirl 4,785]

I am 8 months out and have eaten or sampled everything I used to eat. Including pizza and Pasta and bread, chocolate etc. I just had a small portion because I wanted to know if I could tolerate them and now I will not have again until maintenance. What cat woman says is true though, because hunger hormones eventually come back and it gets harder to lose so best to limit the off plan foods as much as possible until maintenance.

Edited November 7, 2021 by ShoppGirl

[kc892020 90]

Yes...but here's the catch: you have to eat "bariatric-friendly" versions of your favorite junk foods. Think cauliflower Pizza Crust with low-sugar sauce and turkey pepperoni, donuts and Cookies made with almond flour and Monk Fruit sweetener, Mac and cheese made with macaroni from the Great Low Carb bread Co. and low-fat cheese sauce, sugar-free cool whip on a crustless sugar-free pumpkin pie slice, etc. The good news is there's a surprisingly large number of already-made foods available such as "Oreos" made by Catalina Crunch, "potato chips" made by Quest or Kay's, etc.

If you do your homework, you don't ever have to eat anything bad for you ever again.

Good luck! You'll do great.

[Arabesque 7,240]

I’m with the give them a miss until you’re at or close to your goal team. Sticking to your plan will help you take the most advantage of your surgery.

When you get closer to goal you may start to look for healthy substitutes for your traditional choices. Try air fried or oven baked not deep fried. Try vegetable based pastas (you can eat zucchini noodles & cauliflower rice from solid foods). There are Keto friendly low carb high Protein breads you could try later on. If your desire to eat these ‘non bariatric friendly foods’ is driven by emotions, finding a good therapist may be helpful. Recognising the causes of your emotional eating, finding ways to manage them better & identifying other means of coping with your emotional needs than eating, etc. will only help you be more successful with your weight loss & maintenance.

A benefit of avoiding those foods while you’re losing is by goal you may actually reduce or lose some of your desire for pizza, Pasta, & the other foods you currently want & depend on. Which will make it much easier if you chose to have the odd slice of bread or pizza, etc. now & again in the future.

Personally, I don’t eat pasta (only fresh zucchini noodles), rice or bread & avoid sweet things & fried foods. They were all things I ate regularly & enjoyed but I don’t really miss them at all now. I was able to break my need for them & I was eating them for a lot longer than you’ve been alive 😉. It can be done.

Exercise will only contribute to you losing a maximum of 20% of the weight you have to lose. Of course it has lots of other benefits so I’m certainly not saying exercise is a waste of time but don’t rely on it to loose your weight.

But it’s really up to you & you discovering what works best for you. Good luck.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Arabesque