Question:
What do post-ops really eat?

I have been reading bios and trying to figure out what my life is going to be like post-op. I want to get an idea of what a person can eat after a year. I realize people are different but i want to get a sense of what reality is! Thank you!    — MegK (posted on December 28, 2002)


December 28, 2002
Reality is this - sugar free jello, sugar free popcycles, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soups, crackers, NO bread, NO pasta, NO pop, maybe milk. Then it gets better! I'm 2 months out and can basically try about anything without bread. If it works, great..if it doesn't then I won't try it again for a while! You will be soooo 'head hungry' but just try to remember...you'll be able to eat again soon. And it's not like you don't know what things taste like! And it's all worth it...I'm down 53 in 2 months...it's well worth it!
   — Trisha A.

December 28, 2002
I am thirteen months post-op and I can eat almost anything except pasta and sweets. I dump pretty easily on refined sugar and I try to stay away from it totally. Pasta makes me sick but everything else is ok. I don't eat much bread by choice- I've had a half an English muffin once and a piece of toast twice and a couple of bites of a roll Christmas. I do eat crackers and I eat tortilla chips sometimes with chili con queso. I have no problems with fruit, beef, pork, seafood, fresh vegetables, nuts, peanut butter, etc. A typical menu for me is: Breakfast: yogurt with Grape Nuts; mid-morning: Lactose Free Slim Fast; Lunch: sardines, tuna salad, salmon, Wendy's chili, or a salad; dinner: peanuts; crackers and peanut butter, apple and peanut butter; apple and cheese, cheese and crackers or grilled meat or fish and salad or vegetable; bedtime snack: peanuts, soy nuts, jerky or a piece of fruit. I do eat a variety of foods - more so on the weekends than on work days - weeknights tend to be simple - crackers and cheese or something like that just because I don't choose to cook. I almost never eat "sugar-free" desserts and have never had sugar-free candies because they are very high in calories and have no nutritional value. I try to get the most nutrition from my caloric intake. I drink Crystal Light, Country Time Sugar Free Lemonberry Sippers (strawberry lemonade) and Diet Sunkist and water. I have an occasional cup of decaf coffee but I'm really not a coffee drinker and never was. Hope this helps you some. Open RNY 11/29/01 -160 pounds
   — Patty_Butler

December 28, 2002
I am 8 weeks post op on Monday, Open RNY. I can eat almost anything. I have never vomited or dumped. Some things I eat are oatmeal/oatbran, eggs, whole wheat toast(must be very crispy), crackers, tuna/salmon, potatoes, chicken, roast beef, carrots, green beans, skim milk, soy milk, yogurt, jello, pudding, natural peanut butter (sugar free), SF jam, SF popsicles, and today for the first time tried a soy waffle with sugar free syrup...yum! I can also eat egg noodles and pasta, but only choose those on occasion because of the carbs. Post op life is great for me, I am down 61 lbs. Hope this helps. Hugs, Kim S. Open RNY Nov. 4/02 (-61)
   — Kim S.

December 28, 2002
I'm almost 9 months out I can eat just about anything, just in much smaller amounts than I ever could before. I choose to not each many carbs such as rice, pasta or bread because they fill me up too quick. I just cook regular foods for my family and eat smaller amounts of what they eat. I do eat an occasional sweet, maybe one cookie or a bite size piece of candy. The only thing that bothers me is pork chops, not sure why, but ham, pork tenderloin, bacon is ok. Good luck to you!
   — Leah H.

December 28, 2002
Hi I am one year out, i eat just about anything however, i have made a personal choice to not eat high carb stuff such as noodles, patatos etc. and high fatty stuff like bacon or meats with lots of fat. I cannot eat hotdogs anymore which does kind of suck but its also better becuz they are fatty. I eat few sweets but mostly try to eat sugar free stuff...sometimes i dump sometimes i dont its all trial and error. since everyone is different one might be able to eat a certain food and another might not be able to. good luck
   — Deanna Wise

December 28, 2002
When, at a month or a year out? Early on its restricted but by a year MOST tolerate everything in limited quanties. I can eat anything, in quanties like other thin folks eat. Small piece of birthday cake? FINE, big hunk? Feel icky. Everyone is different but me and Jen both can eat anything. I am a bit lactose intolerant which is ok since pre op I drank chocolate milk by the gallons. Really DONT want to go there again.
   — bob-haller

December 28, 2002
I am a little over a year out now. I can eat most meats (pork chops are NOT one of them, but pork tenderloin is fine). For breakfast, I just had a small peice of whole grain toast, with peanut butter on top. Sometimes I will melt cheese on top instead. For lunch, I generally have some sort of meat, or cheese, with a green (salad, green beans, or brocoli usually). Dinner, I just have a small amount of what ever my family is having. Generally a balanced diet. But occasionally, I can eat 2 small peices of pizza, as long as I do not eat the crust on the end. I can NOT eat any pasta...it makes me throw up still. I stay away from processed sugars, and all soda, including diet. I do not drink/eat any caffeine. I do drink protein drinks occasionally, and eat protein bars. Those are usually for days when I "just can't find something to eat", or when i have the munchies. I do not count on them for my protein intake. I continue to take my multivitamins, as well as calcium, plus a few other things that I have found helpful, such as zinc, biotin, ginseng, ginko, and vitamin c. My blood work is all perfect. You'll do fine. The best advice I can give you is to start early with good healthy choices. If you wait to start until your weight "plateaus" you will have a harder time. Also, when you go to the fridge to look for something to eat....start to think to yourself "what protein can I eat for _____(insert meal here)". I can promise you that your first instinct will be to reach for a starchy food. This will help you to look for something else. Good Luck to you!
   — Vicki L.

December 28, 2002
Meg: Early post-op, you definitely have a very limited list of items that sit well in your new tummy ... but soon you will find that you can eat all sorts of things (practically everything, in moderation). I am nearly 2 yrs. post-op now and can eat anything I desire except fried tofu at Chinese restaurants and also fatty baked goods such as Twinkies. Since both of these items are pretty bad for me anyway, I don't really miss them!!! Please look at it this way ... the first year will be hell, but then things will get back to normal, except you will feel full on a hell of a lot less food.
   — Terissa R.

December 29, 2002
I am 15 mos post op and can eat anything I want. Typically I have half a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, a bowl of soup for lunch or half a sandwich, and about half a normal portion of whatever we are having for dinner. There are not really any types of food I can not eat, I just can't eat alot of it. My husband, who is not big, and eats pretty normally eats about twice as much as me. So, I would say it is safe to say, that what one considers 'normal' amounts.......you will be able to eat half that. Lets see.......a size comparison we can all relate to. At McDonalds...not that I care to eat there, I can eat most of a regular cheeseburger (removing alot of the bread) about 1/3 of a small fry, and some tea. (ya, I know.....dont drink). Hope that gives you an idea.
   — RebeccaP

December 29, 2002
I am 5 months out, and I can almost eat anything I want. I haven't tried anything with sugar yet...but my body seems to handle fried foods, pasta, and breads just fine. I try to avoid these items, but I CAN eat them. For breakfast yesterday I had 1/2 hard boiled egg and 1/2 piece of toast with butter. For Lunch I had one cup of beef stew. For snack I had some summer sausage and cheddar cheese slices. For dinner I had some lemon pepper chicken, green beans, a couple bites of salad with grated cheese and blue cheese dressing.And for another snack I had a few bites of popcorn. I basically eat whatever my family eats, but try to eat the protein first. Everyone is different though. I have lost almost 100 pounds in 5 months. Good Luck!
   — Shawnie S.

December 29, 2002
I'm almost 6 months out and like most others posting here can eat almost anything I want. I can't seem to eat steak, even expensive steak but was able to eat beef tenderloin at Christmas. I have not had any dumping at all. I choose not to eat sugar (usually; that piece of chocolate and maraschino cherries Christmas day don't count do they??). I limit my carbs because they inevitably make me hungry. I do drink protein shakes, 2-3 per day, and eat an occasional protein bar (STRIVE bars -- great!). I'm not much of a water drinker so I get my liquids in via protein shakes and SF tang mixed with a little OJ. I do not do carbination of any kind, regular or diet. The hardest thing for me has been not drinking with meals. I still do it occasionally but usually DO NOT drink with meals. I eat a lot of boiled shrimp with red sauce and tuna salad with crackers. I can eat bread (only one slice though) but it feels like a rock in my pouch so I don't do bread often. I try to limit my portions to about 4 oz. per meal and often can't eat that much. I think you'll find that by 6 months post surgery you can have almost anything you want with built in portion control but your food choices will be extremely important the further out you get.
   — jutymo

December 29, 2002
18 mos out and at goal. I can eat anything. Just much smaller quantities. Foods I stay away from? Regular pop and drinks made with sugar (diet tastes fine to me although I keep my pop open in the fridge to get rid of most of the carbonation), ice cream (I have had the kind made with splenda and it is fine but I've lost my passion for it -- regular ice cream and no sugar added both give me an icky "wish I didn't eat that" feeling for about 10-20 minutes), bread -- I skip over sandwich sections of most menus when eating out. I will occasionally have half a bagel but not often. Things I "should" stay away from but don't? -- popcorn, chips, some sweets. All of these things I can tolerate in low quantities and do when I really want it but I also get on the scale every day to make sure 324 pounds doesn't sneak back up on me. I've learned at 18 months that exercise and water are "it" for me. Also that protein shakes do the trick in satisfying any craving. Good luck and God Bless!
   — Kimberly L.

December 29, 2002
At 10 1/2 months post-op, I can eat just about anything I want, just in smaller quantities. Unfortunately, I can also eat sugar (30 percent of RNY'ers do not dump on sugar), and that is my downfall-trying to stay away from or keeping the sugar grams down. As for meals, I can eat 1/2 a sandwich and a few chips or 1 scrambled egg with cheese in it, a few oz of meat with a few tablespoons of pasta/potato/rice and a few bites of veggie for dinner or 3/4 of a Lean Cuisine. Protein bars (try Balance Gold-yum!) satisfy a sweet tooth and have 15 grams or more of protein. Basically you can eat anything that anyone else eats at 1 year out (yes, some people cannot tolerate certain foods, but this is not universal and everyone is different), just that you will eat in small quantities. Best advice, don't go to "all you can eat buffets". Its a waste of good $. Also, you'll notice that restaurants serve huge portions. so either go with a friend and split a meal or be prepared to bring home leftovers to eat for 2 or 3 more meals. I did find that after a year, certain tastes had changed. I used to love pizza, now it just tastes greasy to me. Chinese food sometimes gives me a tummy ache now and I don't crave fast food french fries anymore like I used to. Things last pasta/rice/potato fill you up very fast so eat the protein first.
   — Cindy R.

December 29, 2002
3 1/2 years out...I can eat pretty much anything, but like the others, just smaller portions. I love fish now, couldn't stand it pre-op. I can eat pasta, but prefer angel hair because they heavier pastas kind of lay in my stomach. I have a protein shake with a banana for breakfast, maybe a sandwich for lunch (some days can only eat half, others a whole one), and dinner is whatever (with attention first to protein. Snacks are maybe crackers with peanut butter, fruit, maybe a few bites of leftovers from the night before. In other words, if I'm hungry, I'll eat something, we just don't need much to kill the hunger. Oh, and if I want something sweet, I'll have it, but "usually" not enough to make me dump. :))
   — Leslie F.

December 29, 2002
I eat EVERYTHING, except sugar. I eat fats in low quantities, and I don't really care for chewy beef any more. I make sure I eat protein everyday - cottage cheese, skim milk cheese, chicken, etc. I eat a lot of fruit because I love it now. Occasionally, I'm tempted to cheat, and I eat a cookie or a little bit of candy. Then I get nauseous or dump, and I'm cured of that desire for at least another month or so. I feel 100% normal! I eat until I am full, and I am almost always satisfied with very little. Life is WONDERFUL post-op. I'm down 109 pounds, and only 6 more to go to my goal.
   — Kathy J.

December 30, 2002
After about 9 months post op I can eat EVERYTHING I did before except a hell of alot less of it. I had hoped I would'nt like or be able to tolerate sugar... but not so. I love it still. Mayonase I can only tolerate alittle of... and tarter sauce is even tougher to handle. So about a spoon of these is all I can take. But nothing has changed except the amount of food.
   — Danmark

December 31, 2002
At almost 3 years post, I can eat almost anything I want. I don't dump except with VERY large amounts of sugar or fats. I am at goal, actually a bit below, & am finding it very easy to maintain my weight. I can eat candy, fudge, cookies, cake--all that stuff, but find it has lost most of its appeal. A small amount satisfies me & I just don't care for more. I don't usually eat much bread, but every now & then it tastes good & stays down well. I DO do better with softer, less tough food. Dry chicken or beef will often send me to the toilet for early disposal of same. :) I love soups, stews, chili, seafood. On a normal day, I eat whatever I am hungry for. I snack when I want to, I drink coffee lattes & mochas, I sometimes have a bag of M&Ms. I also watch my protein levels & buy sugar free products when I can. I think the key is that I am now so much more in touch with my real hunger (vs appetite) that I eat realistically. I eat small amounts & am satisfied with them.
   — Kathy W.




Click Here to Return
×