Question:
Toast or rice or pasta

I am 14 days post op and have a craving for a piece of toast with my egg. I also crave rice or pasta. When if ever can we begin to have any of these things? What would be wrong with having a 1/4 cup of rice or pasta? Will that hurt the pouch in the pureed part of the recovery process? Thanks, Susan    — SusanSp (posted on May 19, 2009)

May 19, 2009
Hi Susan, i am 8 weeks out and can still not tolerate toast, rice or any kind of pasta. I have tried them and threw up the slimys, really gross and painful. My surgeon said that pasta when swallowed, even if chewed well, sticks together once in the pouch which causes you to throw up. This is my experience. I would wait a bit to try.
   — sassy1696

May 19, 2009
Out of all three, toast would be your best choice...Rice and pasta tend to be sticky and very hard to chew as we are supposed to newly post op... therefore it backs up at the stoma like clog in a funnel and the pain is excruciating until it passes. (When you eat like that contantly it will stretch your stoma)..Even after 5 years I can barely tolerate much rice and pasta...Toast however is dry (not sticky like rice and pasta) and will go down easier...Make certain that it is only a side and eat your protein first. It's far too easy to begin bad habits too soon. And you must always eat more protein than carbs at your three m main meals...After the first few months, switch from white bread and saltines to whole grains (the first months fiberous foods like whole grains can get caught in healing stitches so they should be white breads the first months) and avoid/or eat those things only in moderation afterwards... After several months, you might try a little rice or pasta cooked "al dente" or firm are less carbs because they are harder for the body to process completely and so you don't absorb all the calories had it been cooked to mush making it already digested, basically...Just a nice little thing to know! I usually just sample rice and pasta since surgery (5 years)....I take about an icecream scoop of rice or pasta maybe once a week to keep my weight maintained but to enjoy eating like a balanced, healthy, small person as my surgeon told me I would! He was right! This has worked for me perfectly...but the key to success is the moderation and controlling your portions when you do eat those things...If you cannot control them (Finding yourself eating more and more carby things over protein)...don't eat them. Set limits now and stick to those boundries...In the long run you need to make those lifestyle changes that will keep you successful...So start now! :) Good luck...
   — .Anita R.

May 19, 2009
ONE YAER OUT STILL CAN'T TOLERATE PASTA OR RICE. I FEAR THE FACT THAT I WILL NEVER EAT RICE AGAIN MY FAVORITE FOOD. I GUESS THAT'S MY TRADE OFF FOR MY ROAD TO HEALHTY. BUT I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BECAUSE IN THE BEGINNING THE SMELL OF FOOD WAS HARD FOR ME. TOAST YOUR BREAD A LITTLE ON THE HARD SIDE IT MAKES IT A LITTLE EASIER. DRY TOAST ONLY AT THIS STAGE WORK FOR ME. GOOD LUCK!!!
   — IMPROVEMENT

May 19, 2009
One thing you can be sure of, each surgeon and the registered dieticians that work with them are DIFFERENT. I was told "NO WHITE CARBS, PERIOD. No white bread, no white pasta, no white rice, no white potatoes, and no popcorn". I WAS told that if I just HAD to have those kinds of carbs, I should have whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, and brown rice. They did not mention the potato or the popcorn, LOL. I know that other people on these boards have not been told that, and they seem to be doing just fine. My surgeon has also told me that he knows that inevitably, you will end up cheating.... but to "plan" your cheats so that they don't do harm to your pouch, or to your new, healthy mindset, or cause you physical illness (like dumping syndrome - or stuck food, which, as Anita says, is very uncomfortable). Oh, and by the way, at 14 days, I was still at the one-ounce every two or three hours restriction, so 2 ounces of heavy rice would have just killed me.
   — Erica Alikchihoo

May 19, 2009
Thank you for all your responses to my question. I don't plan on cheating on my new way of eating. I was just wondering about those foods as I have been craving them. If I ever to eat them they will be weighed and measured so I can be sure not to overeat them. Thanks again, Susan
   — SusanSp

May 20, 2009
My doctor had us pledge never o eat rice, pasta, potatoes or bread ever. I do use bread but avoid all the rest. I am 9 months out.
   — trible

May 20, 2009
I was also told no white flour products and I do eat rice once in a blue moon. I do, however, eat whole wheat english muffins and bread on occasion, but usually if I eat something carby like this its a multi grain wrap-I buy at sams-the first ingredient is whole wheat flour, and I was told that would be ok. I eat half of one and put everything from fried egg beaters, to peanutbutter, to egg or tuna salad on it. Turkey sandwich meat too. They are good and filling too. I am 11 months out tho, so give yourself time to heal.etc. I was told rice could get stuck and it swells after you swallow it..so wait on that also. What I did do early on..and this is probably a huge no no, is took a bite of toast and chewed it, and spit it out. I got the taste and the craving went away. Best of luck to you (all) Hugs, Kim
   — gpcmist

May 20, 2009
I was told not only what these others were told but also that rice, pasta, and bread untoasted swells in your pouch and is very hard to past so I just stay away.
   — sse032568