Question:
Are beans considered a carb?

I see alot of people on here say that they eat the insides of bean burritos, mashed potaties, or just plain fat-free refried beans with sauce and cheese-Is this okay during the pureed stage-I thought beans were a carb and if so, doesn't that slow the weight loss? By the way my grandma makes super macaroni salad using chopped egg whites, tuna salad, and super soft macaroni noodles with very little mayo-Can eat this during the pureed stage if I chew it really well, and also is it okay if she uses regular mayo or should I ask her to use low-fat instead?    — TotallyTori (posted on March 21, 2003)

March 21, 2003
Beans and legumes are good for us. Yes they have some carbs, but you don't need to be afraid of complex carbs. Beans provide a good amount of protein and help alot during the pureed stage cause they go down so smooth. Later when you can eat meat, you'll depend less on the items you listed. You will have to listen to YOUR body post op to determine what you can tolerate as to carbs. Nutrition wise - concentrate on water for hydration, then protein, then anything else. Mashed potatoes are good for immediate post op cause they are easy to get down, but later on you should depend on more protein oriented stuff first. As to granny's macaroni salad - sounds like my Mom's! I find that no matter how much I chew macaroni, no matter how soft it started, it magically reconstitutes in my pouch to it's original size and shape. Which equals I throw it up! I've tried twice and it just didn't work. Have heard that pastas are not for immediate post op recovery - may have to wait a bit. But everyone is different in what they tolerate. I'd say have Granny make a great mashed egg salad for during the pureed stage and then when you graduate to meats, add the tuna to it. Yes, the lower the saturated fats the better. It will do just fine.
   — Susan F.

March 21, 2003
I don't eat egg yolks because of the cholesterol-Is it okay to have so much egg salad during the pureed stage-I thought you couldn;t have more than 3 eggs a week?
   — TotallyTori

March 21, 2003
Victoria, I have eggs everyday of my life since surgery. Not a day has gone by where i haven't had eggs for breakfast. I use egg beaters and I also have low chlosteral anyway. Heather (Open RNY - 8/15, 305/205/150)
   — heathercross

March 21, 2003
Well my cholesterol is fine as well, but egg beaters don;t have cholesterol so it really doesn't count-believe me if you were having real eggs every day, your cholesterol would surely go up even if it was a little bit
   — TotallyTori

March 21, 2003
1. I just made a big pot of beans in the crock-pot yesterday (you know - the 20 million types of bean mix). There's 9 grams of protein in every 1/4 c. of dry beans so I'm figuring that's 1/2 c. of cooked - which is pretty good. Most foods have a combination of protein/carbs/fat. 2. I believe the info about eggs raising your cholesterol and limiting yourself to 3 a week is old news . If you did a little research, say on google.com, bet you could find the info to back that up. I'm positive I've seen a few articles saying that you can eat 5-7 a week - but if you're worried about it, Better 'N Eggs or Egg Beaters are a great alternative. (Probably not good for egg salad though!) The nutritionist you most likely had to meet with pre-op should have given you a recommended diet to follow - you may want to double check that. Good luck! ~Renee
   — jnc

March 22, 2003
Victoria, I have real eggs and real cheese every day and have done so since surgery almost 14 months ago and my cholesterol has never been better. The macaroni salad is fine but some of us have problems with pasta products- try just a bite or two and see how you do. I would have the full fat mayo, others may disagree. remember you malabsorb fats. I never counted fats or carbs, just protein. Complex carbs, like beans andwhole grain products, fruits and veggies, are good for you-my nutritionist said that we need carbs in our diet every day. Others out there will say not so, but I eat a well balanced diet consisting of protein, carbs, fats and some sugars and am less than 10 pounds from goal.
   — Cindy R.