Fruits & Veggies

Pre-op last supper isn't all it is cracked up to be. You can still eat that food eventually.. just smaller portions. Then again.. I shouldn't talk. I went to the Melting Pot and had assorted high fat fondues - cheese, chocolate, glass of wine, etc just a few days before I had to start my bowel prep. hahah

Well, I can't deny that I have fun being a sushi glutton. But maybe when the tummy is smaller, it will take a lot less to get that good wasabi high. Hey can you eat hot sauce?

Not sure but I'd be too chicken to try anything really spicy right now while my pouch is healing. My whole system is so sensitive between recovery and now this gall bladder issue. I had one serving of the gourmet cheese crackers : http://store.bariatriceating.com/gochcr.html It's just 6 grams of fat but I think that it what set my gall bladder off again this afternoon. I've got to be really careful. Spoke to my surgeon and he still needs to read the results of my scan. I told him the results I read and he said that I should probably have my gall bladder removed in 6 weeks from now. We need to talk some more about it though after he reads the actual report. My pain threshold is probably what will determine when and if I have surgery. I'm a whimp when it comes to pain.. very pain sensitive.

I sure hope those cheese crackers have improved. I tried some when I was doing Atkins and they were foul. Those you linked to just LOOK better already, though. I wonder what it is about the surgery that set off your gallbladder. Even if you had issues with it previous to the surgery, does it now function differently due to surgery? It produces bile to help digest fats. Is it that it has to work faster now that your stomach pouch is smaller or something? or does it create as much bile as it used to and now only a portion gets used up, and so it gets backed up? What is the medicine that you take if it gets removed? Is it something that simulates bile?

They are better then that super salty brand you find in the grocery store but I bet you could even just do parmesan cheese and bake them yourself. The aged parmesan flavor was pretty good but the other flavor I got I didn't enjoy. I think its logical to think that the surgery could set off my gall bladder or intensify an issue that already exisited. If you think about it my system was pretty much rewired so maybe motility issues could occur because timming might be off. I'm sure it was also busy flitering out all the pain meds, anthesia, etc. Hopefully as I get further out it will just go away. Of course I don't have any clinical proof of this since I am not the Dr. here =) Just a guess. As far as it having to work faster.. I think its just that stuff gets to it quicker. Not sure if it exactly has to work faster. I'm not aware of any medicine needed once it is removed. You are as bad as me with the questions, curiosity, and research.

Was reading here http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/stg124278.asp?navbar=hw107153 and here http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw107153.asp to see how it functions

I came home from the hospital on soft/pureed foods including fruits and veggies. At first, I had very little fruits and veggies because I was more concerned with protein. I did start to add more fruits and veggies in my 1st month postop because I was hungry all the time. By 2 months I was eating a large variety of fruits and veggies, but did not start with raw veggies at first. I really like broccoli, and was told to make sure it was cooked to a soft consistency and only eat the flowerettes and not the stems. I now (almost 4 mos out) can eat the stems too and all raw veggies are fine for me. Each time I had a fruit or veggie I only had a few small bites after I ate my protein. I eventually increased the amount and now can eat several bites with almost every meal. None of these things caused any problems for me including lettuce, but I am not one to dump at all and can tolerate almost anything. Good luck. SueZ

Thanks SueZ. I miss the raw veggies. I really don't enjoy that many cooked mushy veggies. I can't start raw veggies until I hit week 7 and start the regular diet. Other example fruits at week 7 and beyond include kiwi, peach, tangerine. Also have tortilla as a carb. I saw a good recipie for a low carb tortilla pizza on the recipie boards! That should be fun to try out. Oh.. and banana and seeless grapes I can have now but I'll go super slow with those since the sugar content might set my sensitive pouch off. Tried 1/4 cup blueberries yesterday and that was fine.

Thought this might be helpful to some pre-ops curious about what I should be eating a month out. This is a sample of soft diet menu from my packet that is used post op 3 - 6 weeks. DISCLAIMER: **This is for my RD/Surgeon - yours might be different* 864 calroies, 80g protein, 35g fat, 59g carbs (for short term use only) B - 1/2 c egg beaters 1 tsp maragarine S- 4oz supplement L - 1/2 c unsweet canned fruit 1/4 cup chicken salad with 1 tsp low fat mayo S- 4oz supplement D - 1/4 cup lean ground beef 1/2 cup mashed potatoes 1/2 cup cooked zucchini 1 tsp margarine S - 4oz supplement I'm going to try to balance out my ratios a little better according to this for my main meals outside the supplements..... Breakfast = protein 2 servings/fat 1 serving Lunch = protein 1 serving/Carb 1 serving/fat 1 serving Dinner = protein 1 serving/carb 1 serving/veggie 1 serving Anyone try spaghetti squash at the 1 month stage? I thought that might be a good soft veggie to try. I'm also going to hold off on the red meat a bit longer and stick with the turkey burger instead. For mashed potatoes I am going to use sweet potatoes since they have some good health benefits. I have not made chicken salad yet but will give that a shot as my next food to try. I have some of the steels sf sauces so I might use that instead of mayo. I'm not a big mayo fan. I'm finding it very enjoyable to come up with creative menus and rediscover different foods again. There are so many great ideas floating around these boards too!