SALAD difficulty...anyone?

I think that before WLS, I was a green-eating machine!  I ate spinach or kale smoothies.  I would have arugula almost every morning instead of toast with an egg.  We ate lots of salads in our house.

My doctor did not allow them for a few months, and warned they would be hard to digest.

I don't eat them as much now--at least not lettuce salads--because they take up too much space in my pouch. Also, as far as veggies go, lettuce is not as dense as other veggies.  I miss having a lot of fresh greens.

I too crave the flavor of the dressings.  I am a good cook, and I used to make lots of homemade vinaigrettes.  Here is what I do (at 2 years out):

If I go out for lunch, I will often order a salad with meat on it.  I focus on the meat, but eat a little of the lettuce and other salad items too.

At home, we do make salads--I just take little servings.  I make sure they really count.  I choose dark or dense greens (as if greens can be dense), or a vegetable.  I generally avoid iceberg or Romaine.  Instead:  cabbage, spinach, kale, broccoli, chopped steamed green beans.  I include some good protein in the meal.  In the salad, maybe nuts and edamame.  And, a high-quality vinaigrette.

Good luck!  Drink a little vinegar and oil and see if that helps!  :-)

I was not cleared for salads at 6 weeks. I would be careful if I were you.  If I remember correctly it was "7 Weeks and beyond" that my Centre cleared us for all foods.   I think I tried salad/veggies at 2 or 3 months out, but honestly that is a guess I don't really remember.But having said that it was protein, protein, protein and maybe if you have room eat veggies. If its the dressing you are craving, when you are cleared for dense proteins (maybe you are already?) dip your meat into the dressing.  You will see I do the "What's on your Menu today RNYers" and one of my go to foods is a can of tuna with Balsamic salad dressing on it and a lot of our menu posters like it as well so I get the wanting the tartness of dressing. Maybe try some water with a slice of fresh lemon for tartness.  Or find a protein drink that is more tart than sweet, Syntrax Roadside Lemonade for example.  Good luck and take your time, there is lots of time for salad in your future! 

Everyone's clinic is different, but mine said no raw veggies until 3 months out. Salad sometimes makes my pouch angry, especially if it is made with mixed greens. Iceberg and romaine are okay now, but even at close to two years out I avoid mixed greens like the plague.

My boyfriend had to send in the calvalry in one restaurant because I was in the bathroom with mixed greens stuck in my pouch. He thought I had fallen in ;)

I should be cleared for salads sometime in 2023.

I would bet it is just cravings in general. You need to learn now not to give into them! I would have to look back over my paperwork given for surgery but I believe I was 6 weeks liquid, followed by 6 weeks soft foods before I was allowed solids and vegetables were ONLY after proteins!! If you start giving into cravings at only 6 weeks, you might be setting yourself up to not stay in control. Lose as much as you can now during your honeymoon period!!! It gets harder and slower once solids are introduced.

I don't think I ate salads that soon, but I worked up to it by ordering things like a shrimp or chicken salad at places like El Pollo Loco or Baja Fresh and then eating the protein and avocado or egg with a few bites of lettuce. I still don't eat too much salad because it does fill me up too much for protein, but that was my approach.