Can't eat meat

I was able to eat grilled and baked white fish, really moist chicken and potted meats, however, now, I get sick whenever I eat any meat at all. When I spoke with the dietician, she told me that it was ok to eat whatever will stay down, but to increase my protein shakes to 3 per day instead of 2. Does anyone else have this problem? I had my surgery 5/28/04. I have my follow up appointment with my surgeon today, so I am going to speak with him about this issue, also. Thanks. Luanne 334/ ? /160

Luanne - I have had one problem with meat but it was because I ate too fast and didn't chew. Many if sucked. Have you tried pureed chilli or just regular chilli? There can be a lot of meat in there. Just a thought. Good luck. John

Its funny that mentioned chili. My surgeon told me to try ground beef, so I stopped at Wendy's on the way to work and got a small. I put some cheese on it when I got here and I was actually able to get down 3/4 of the container and it stayed down. I didn't realize I could eat ground beef yet, but now that I have the ok, I think I have a lot more options. Thanks!!!

I was told only to eat ground beef, whether in Tacos, Chili, Hamburger (grilled only, not fried), meatloaf. but no red meat until after 6 months. I have done great with the ground beef so far, but I make my chili homemade and put them in 4 oz containers and freeze them. That way I can take one out for a meal when I want. my chili is not spicy. If you go out for chili, it will be alot more spicier than if you make it yourself. The pouch doesn't like spicy food. Anyway, good luck! Tricia -48 lbs

Tricia, Its funny that both my replies were about chili. I tried some Wendy's chili today and it stayed down. Yea! That's a great idea about freezing them in small containers. I don't like spicy food anyway, so its no problem for me. I'm so excited that I have options other than refried beans. I am so sick of beans! Thanks for your ideas! Luanne -47lbs

Afraid I have disagree regarding the Spice issue. Prior to surgery, I knew that I could give up sugar, fat & white flour, but Please Please don't make me give up my spices. Imagine my THRILL when at the bottom of my paperwork on Nutrition it said "Salt & Spices generally WELL Tolerated"..... well, that is all I had to hear. I'm not a Salt person... but the Spicier the better. From day 1 I added Pepper, Tabasco, etc to my broth, chili powder to pureed soup, etc. I have never had one bad experience. Like everything else in this journey it is different for everyone. There is no Black and White, but a lot of gray. We can only offer suggestions based on what works for ourselves..... cause chances are it won't work for the next guy. Take Care, Pam RNY 5/13/04 263/211

Hiya Luanne! My dietician/surgeon advised not to have beef or por****il 6 months post op. I tried a bite of my dh's meatloaf at Cracker Barrel and it stuck. I thought i'd die before it went down. And I chew very well. It hurt like h*ll and i'm afraid of it now lol. I do well with chicken as long as its juicy and thin. I also eat thinly sliced turkey and ham coldcuts. Those do very well for me. I've read a lot of posts on these boards over the months where people state that they eat something fine for a while and then suddenly cant, or they couldnt eat something once but when they tried it again it did fine. Its one of the mysteries of wls. Its odd how much each dietician varies. You mentioned that yours told you to go up on your protein drinks to 3 a day. My dietician doesnt want me to have more than 1 per day because of the calorie count in most of them. I'm restricted to 600 calories per day. Anyway, just chew chew chew and take small bites. Wait a few minutes in between to give it plenty of time to pass. I'll say a prayer for ya! God bless! Melanie

Hey Luanne, I was able to eat canned tuna before, but now it sits heavy. As for ground meats and steak, no problems. Just have to chew alot. Let us know what the md says. Michele -40

hello, well i have had the same problem as you. i tolerated all foods very well until about a week or so ago. now when i eat anything dense(i.e. chicken, turkey or ground beef) i get blocked up and have had the foaming thing and throwing up. when i went for my 2 month check up yesterday and told the doc, she thought it could be a stricture because they generally devolpe around months 1-3 she said. so i get to be scoped in the next few days to see. until then she put me on soft foods and protien shakes(which they generally dont recommend) hope it gets better for you. take care tanya

I have been very surprised that meat is one of the things that I can tolerate fairly well. I agree with the advice about ground beef--I've done well with tacos and meatloaf...hamburgers with no bun if the meat is very tender, too. Chicken is a problem, I guess because it is so dense. The only chicken I've done well with was some that had been stewed for a long time with some dumplings, so it was extremely tender. Tuna salad generally goes down well especially when eaten w/ crackers (I am the #1 fan of Wheat Thins these days). One of the easiest things on my pouch is deli ham, sliced thinly. Roll up a slice and nibble on it...it seems to be pretty mild. You can also get your protein through cottage cheese, yogurt, peanut butter, cheese, cashews, humus...I haven't tried beans yet but they are also a good source of protein. Good luck and let us know what your dr tells you!