Salad/lettuce

Last week I was approved to progress to the next stage, Solid foods. I'm 4 weeks post RNY. I have tolerated everything I have eaten so far. My question is: How about salads? Can I eat lettuce? Does it have to be chopped up or are we able to chew it enough as not to cause a problem? I know that lettuce isn't always digested well (I guess it sometimes passes through). I don't want to clog up my stoma. I've always liked salads. Even if it's less than 1/2 a cup, I still want one.

Hello. Like you I love to eat salad. While at my surgeons office a few weeks ago I asked about eating salad. He said I could, but right now it has no nutritional value...I guess meaning that right now we have to concentrate on getting in so much protein that the salad will not help us in this quest. I was told to consume protein at each meal. Hope this helps. Cheryl

i was told i could progress to salad (lettuce only) @ 4 weeks. i do hear some people have trouble with salad. i would check the paperwork the nutritionist must of given you or call the surgeons office tomorrw and ask. my don and nut gave me several papers all listing the progression stage. i cant even have fruit until 4 months. good luck to you.

I love salad...always have. And I craved it something awful when I was on full liquids for 6 weeks. The transition back to regular food started with protein and veggies...I started with cooked veggies first, just to make sure I tolerated them ok. And when that was fine, then I moved on to salad. Just chew really, really well. I haven't had any issues with it. I stick to romaine and baby spinach for the greens in my salads.

I'm going to agree with Cheryl on this one. At almost 6 months out, I am only just now adding some lettuce in to help me with roughage/digestion issues... but early out, you need to eat nutrient dense foods-- and unfortunately lettuce takes up a lot of space, but doesn't provide a lot of nutrition. I'd wait a while and concentrate on getting in protein, vegetables, and whole grains before bringing lettuce back.

Thank you for the advice. It sounds like I'll just have to wait for my salad.

I started eating salad at 4 weeks out. My salads always have alot of meat on them, but it's nice to have a smallish piece of lettuce to chew up with the meat, it feels like a treat.  Chew-chew-chew, as always! Be well!

Okay I'm lots further out here -- almost 4 years... but I tolerated lettuce at that stage.  If I wanted salad I just used a little iceberg lettuce, shredded cheese and a little thin sliced ham or turkey or some hard boiled egg...  and there's your protein.  You can also make a "wrap" using a lettuce leaf around said ham, etc.  and eat it like a sandwich since you don't want to be eating bread anyway.  The biggest problem with a salad is the dressing... you would be dumping from it probably -- way too rich...  Tread lightly and the final decision should be up to your doc's orders anyway. That being said -- we're all different.... and I consider myself a success  -- it's what works for you. Janie 275/155