Foods for a sensitive tummy

At ten weeks post-op, I find I can eat almost any texture food except dry. I've figured out the sensation that tells me when I'm full. I'm able to avoid stomach trouble for the most part, but every once in a while I'll eat something that doesn't agree with me. Yesterday, for example, I ate some tofu that had a light covering of dried herbs. I'd eaten it many times before, but this time I guess I didn't take enough care to chew the herbs, and I ended up with an unhappy tummy. So today I'll probably have a couple of meals of soya "yoghurt" with milled chia seeds added (for protein and omega) before I go back to normal eating.

This made me curious: what foods do you eat when your tummy needs an easily-digested, soothing meal?

I'm much farther out- so the better question for me would've what foods do you avoid to fend off an upset stomach:

anything fried/with a high fat content- still makes my tummy unhappy. Pancakes sit like lead weights, cereal & donuts gives me RH. So I avoid those- but if I eat them it just waiting it out. There's no nursing past it with other foods.

Over the years I became allergic or sensitive to many foods.

My staple, that is good for me and my body tolerates rather well is homede organic chicken soup, cooked in a pressure cooker. I use chicken thighs (moist meat) carrots, cellery, and leeks. I cook that in my pressure cooker for 30 min. Portion into glass jars and keep at all time. I also tolerate avocado and ghee, plus fresh dill. So my to go -very healthy, easy on the pouch meal is very thick chicken soup, with avocado and fresh dill added. If I don't have avocado - I may add 1-2 tsp of ghee to add good fat to my meal. Chicken and veggies cooked under pressure are very easy to digest and absorb. I add fat because I need some at every meal.

Since I can tolerate eggs once in a while - I also make home-made egg drop soup on chicken or beef bone broth base. Again - adding a fresh avocado, or tsp of ghee, plus dill or some other herbs that I can tolerate. BTW - my body can handle up to 3 eggs every 2-3 days. 2-3 Eggs every day are too much for me.

Sometimes when my pouch is really irritated, and I have to eat the chicken "soup" for 2-3 days, I may add a fresh squized lemon juice to my soup (I don't cook with the lemon, I add a few Tbs to my bowl just before serving). Even if I have irritated pouch, or even an ulcer, fresh lemon juice does not bother me, but tomato juice or fresh tomato can really hurt the irritated tissue. Same with bottled lemon juice. Sometimes I add some butternut squash, or other type of squash, to change the texture and taste. All veggies needs to be cooked rather well to help heal the irritated insides.

The chicken dark meat when cooked are much easier tolerated by me than white meat. I don't have a problem with white meat, even grilled -dry, but not when my insides are irritated.

I choose organic chicken and veggies (reasonable price in Costco) to avoid adding any potential irritants to my already pissed off system. I tried to cook soups like that using beef of pork instead of chicken - but my body had a much harder time to process that.

Hi...

Interesting post. I just had my vsg on the 8th. A question I had was how do you know when you are hungry? Right now, I am not feeling too much and I cant tell if I am hungry or just not feeling myself. Anyway, the reason I am reaching out to you and your post is that you state you finally figured out your hunger signal. Thank you in advance for your response.

Joy

Actually, what I figured out is the "full" signal which tells me to stop eating. For me, it's a vague sensation in the chest/throat. If I keep eating, it turns into tightness and then into pain. Most of the time I only put the amount of food on my plate that I know I can eat comfortably, so I don't even get the vague sensation. However, my sleeve has a few surprises up its, er, sleeve. Occasionally it will complain after just a couple of bites of food!

I have found the hunger sensation much harder to recognise. Even though I'm taking a PPI, I still feel "hungry" (i.e., I have a rumbly stomach) most of the time. The surgeon says this will go away. Fortunately, the rumbling isn't difficult to ignore; I've kind of gotten used to it. My body seems to know it's not real hunger, even if I can't tell the difference. I basically eat by the clock.

Thank you much for the reply!

There is so much to learn.

I have a half page of notes/questions for my first post op appointment.

Again, thank you!

It will likely take you a while to figure out what your body's "full" signal is, so I suggest you measure your portions carefully for the first few months. I didn't, and paid the price on a few occasions! To make it more challenging, the amount you can eat from day to day varies!

The sensation in the throat/chest that I told you about is a common "full" signal that people get after WLS surgery. Another is a runny nose. I do sometimes get a runny nose, but only if I eat too much, so it's not a useful signal for me.

Especially early on, it's best to eat by the clock. Set times, and don't eat in between. And weigh all your portions!

I'm right at 20 months post-op and I still can't have more than 1 bit of pasta, or it will come back up. Bread is another issue as well. I can eat sourdough only, and it's better if it's toasted. You'll find everyone is different.

Good luck!