Food for thought - or thinking of food

Here's a copy of my post to the Over 50's board. Hope everyone is well on this bright and beautiful Wednesday morning. I So - I love bread and it's always been a major weakness of mine. Especially dark dense breads and bagels. Prior to surgery, I could eat 3 bagels at a sitting. Yum. So I've been very careful as a post-op. I've had maybe about one piece of bread or half-bagel per month. The low carb breads are ok - but not great and I'd really rather use real bread sparingly. I'd love some input from those of you that are still losing and those of you on maintenance (today I am 6 pounds away as I've bounced back up 1.5 pounds.) I haven't eaten much in the way of carbs in almost a year - no rice or pasta - and only a tablespoon of potatoes. I've eaten a little barley in soup. And the rare piece of bread. But I don't want to trigger any old behaviors. I'm thinking to keep it rare, but when I'm at goal would like to have maybe one slice per week. So - what are you all doing or planning? Have a great day, Eat with joy. Ruth

Hi Ruth Bread is not my friend anymore. I just don't have it at all anymore, it makes my pouch feel gross. While I DO adore a slice of well-toasted (dry dry dry) bread with butter or sugar free preserves, it's a rare treat, like once every 3 months? No bagels, no english muffins, rolls, biscuits, nada... they all hurt my belly, so just dry toasted multigrain (like flax & pumpkin seed, really dense...) Brown rice, barley, quinoa, bulgur wheat, etc... I can eat sparingly, and I grains. I have to measure out a certain amount though, because they swell. We're talking like 2 TBSPs. Again, they are treats, like 1-2 times a month. Potatoes = no. Just plain no. In any form. No. They just don't have enough nutrition for me anymore, and they're a huge comfort/trigger food. That's really it for carbs here, I try to avoid any refined or processed foods with carbs, though I have issues avoiding pretzels, which are a no-no for me. When I'm in maintenance and looking to keep my weight stable, perhaps I'll add more whole grains into my diet again, a few times a week. My husband, OTOH, (also post op) eats at least 1 slice of bread a day. He eats "When Pigs Fly" low-carb multigrain bread, or the equivalent with his tuna/turkey for lunch at work. He's always eaten bread since surgery, always at least one slice per day, some days two. But, he's not a snacker/grazer like me, so it hasn't effected his losses because that's it for his carbs each day, pretty much. Beth 'How puzzling all these changes are,' said Alice. 'I'm never sure what I am going to be from one minute to another. However, I've got back to my right size: the next thing is to get into that beautiful garden.' HW- 313 SW- 298 CW- 147 GW- 130 http://meltingmama.blogspot.com/ (& Bob by default... HW- 360+ SW- 340 CW- 196 GW- 175)

Bread gives me terrible indigestion. I feel like I have to burp and can't. It's awful. Dianne