Almost one year post-op-Foods I cannot eat now!

I am getting close to the one year anniversary of my RNY surgery. I have lost 94 pounds so far. Since my surgery, rice and I do not get along (and I used to loveeeee rice of any kind!) and I find that I no longer care for meat most of the time. There are other foods that don't agree with me too...any spaghetti sauce made with tomatoes, yet I can eat tomatoes in salads. (???) I am allergic to most seafood so I stay away from fish, etc. I find it hard to get my protein in unless I drink protein shakes. Any suggestions?

I was just on last night with my nutritionist on a support forum and she confirms many WL patients continue the protein shakes and that is totally ok which was good to hear since I drink one on the way to work during the week. I have trouble with fish that is dry. You may want to try moistening up the rice because it tends to be sticky. I had someone criticize me for still drinking protein shakes now that I am over a year out from surgery so it was good to have a nutritionist weigh in on it. Enjoy yours.

Not having rice is a good thing.

Meat is a huge category, and very varied. What doesnt work for you, and why?

For me, it is mostly steak that I cannot eat. I get the feeling of it being stuck and have stomach pains. But the thought of any meats now turns me away most of the time and I am not sure why. I used to love a good BBQ, even cooking on the grill in the winter!

Congrats on your loss so far!

I can't handle rice at 4.5 year out, either, although to be fair, I haven't tried in a long time... Fool me 3 times, and I will never try again. I swear each grain acts like a little balloon in my stomach, and they all blow up at once to bloat me until I want to pop. But that is an easy carb to give up now, so I am happy with the intolerance.

Spaghetti sauce has a lot of sugar. I'd guess that if you feel sweaty and faint after eating spaghetti sauce, you are experiencing Reactive Hypoglycemia.

Don't treat all meat the same. I still struggle with any meat that has been reheated or are particularly dry, but otherwise I just need to remind myself to slow down and chew like I did when I first had surgery. Sometimes meat still gets stuck even when I am following the rules--chewing and eating slowly, but rarely! Keep trying!

Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it. I hadn't thought about the spaghetti sauce having sugar in it. (Duh!). Staying away from rice is a small price to pay for better health so I agree with you...that's an easy one to give up!

Overcooked tomatoes is the only food to ever give me heartburn!

I can eat sliced fresh tomatoes, but like you, cooked tomatoes give me heartburn.

Rice is a no go for me. Even in small amounts it hurts and is not worth the pain nor taking up valuable room in my pouch. I do cauliflower rice now and no problems with it. I eat meats and the only issues I had at one year post op was how dry it was. I needed moist meat or it would get stuck, lean lunch meats were the easiest. You might try some lean chicken or turkey breast with some cheese rolled up and see how you do with that or even a chicken salad with light amount of mayo (they have an olive oil mayo now). I think it was probably 36 months before I was able to eat dense protein without the fear of getting stuck. Another option for protein, eggs if you can handle them. Some cannot and have nausea from time to time.

I have been wondering about the cauliflower rice and rather or not I would be able to tolerate it. I have seen posts where others say that they replace rice with cauliflower rice as well and they love it. I was never really one to eat lunch meat prior to my surgery, but I can tolerate the thinly sliced meats now so it looks like I will be eating more lean lunch meats for sure. I can handle eggs! No problem at all. I boil a few on Sundays to have throughout the week with some slices avocado or cheese.