Question:
Anyone else stuck in a food rut?

I'm just shy of 1 year post-op, and find myself stuck in what I call a "Food Rut". I eat the same thing every day, usually for breakfast, lunch and supper. I have always eaten like this. During my years in Junior High & High school, I ate tuna salad on pita bread with white milk 5 days a week, so this is not something new that's popped up with the surgery. For the past 4 months, my daily meal was the filling of a hot pocket with some cheese curls, but I found that the high levels of MSG in both items were really hurting me. I have now switched to having an ounce of cheddar cheese and some crackers. I sometimes have chicken breast for dinner, but I find that anything else doesn't seem to agree with me. I can't eat hamburger/hot dog/steak/roast beef/pork chops, because they are so heavy. And on the other end of the spectrum, salads go through me immediately, and don't provide any feeling of satiety whatsoever. I can't eat Tuna plain, but any amount of fat at all makes me horribly ill, so I can't use mayonnaise (even the fat free stuff isn't any good). Also, with the exception of the crackers, I avoid any sort of bread/carbs completely. No sandwiches (too much bread), no bagels, cereal or muffins for breakfast, etc. I really need to get out of this rut, but I feel like my options at this point are severely limited. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, S:)    — Stacy C. (posted on April 24, 2002)

April 24, 2002
It sounds like you can tolerate about the same foods I can. I'm about 14 months post-op and my meals usually go about like this; I am not and never been a fan of breakfast but I make myself eat an Atkins Advantage (Chocolate Mocha Crunch or the new Cinammon) with coffee. Lunch consists of a Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice small entree'. These will always consists of Chicken and rice of some type. I cannot do pasta or breads other that rice for some reason. Dinner I usually have about 4 ounces of chicken or fish (orange roughy or salmon) grilled or broiled with seasonings and my vegetable of choice for the evening, or a salad made with fresh spinich with grilled chicken or tuna and a low-fat dressing. In between meals I have been eating Braeburn apples, big juicy strawberries, SF Fudgecicles, Blue Bunny Fat Free SF yogurt. I have been upping my carbs a little and also keep some pretzels on hand. You mentioned your problem with salads and I also had a problem, but with iceberg lettuce only. I now make sure my salads consists of greens and or spinich. I have been told that there is not much nutritional value in iceberg. Add some low fat ranch dressing to your tuna to kick it up. I hope this helps. Good luck.
   — Janie C.

April 24, 2002
Stacy, try this for breakfast: 1 scrambled egg with a slice of melted cheese (I use provolone), add 1 tablespoon of chili and let it all melt together. YUM!! Chock full of protein. Sometimes, I roll it into a soft flour tortilla with some lettuce and have it for lunch. As for that chicken breast, I melt cheese over mine and add a tablespoon or two of spaghetti sauce. Also have you tried very thin spaghetti?A bite or two with the chicken is nice.
   — Cindy R.