Countdown is on...feeling a bit anxious.. all these ponderings

Hi

I was making dinner last night- (boneless skinless chicken, broccoli, cucumbers, carrots (raw) . I had this anxious feeling of- OMG i wont be able to eat broccoli or salad or raw veggies again.   I am okay with not eating the sweets, since i know they are my downfall, but i am having a hard time reconciling the fact that i cant eat healthy orgainic foods. 

I dont eat fat free, sugar free anything right now b/c everything they put in it is chemicals. Artificial sweeteners scare me.  I am okay with things like low fat milk or greek yogurt (plain) b/c they dont have fillers (dextrins etc) 

Low fat dairy has higher sugar.

I know i have to go and talk to my nutritionist about my concerns but just wanted to get them out of my head. I know its not the healthy food i ate that made me heavy, its all the extras.- the sweets, the volume of food i eat.

Certainly not going to turn away from the operation, just processing my thoughts. would love to hear if anyone else has had these thoughts.

thanks!

Binks

Why won't you be able to eat those things again? 

After about 6 months, there won't be anything you are unable to eat. Lots of things you shouldn't eat, but nothing you won't be able to.

ahhh okay. As i read through the posts, i was under the assumption you couldn't eat fibrous veggies etc. 

Thanks!

You probably should avoid them until you heal entirely.

I was advised to avoid raw vegetables for six months after surgery, and to avoid foods with seeds for three months.  

When you do add new foods to your diet, do it gradually.  Best place is to try them at home just in case you have any issues.

I can eat them... But I can't digest them very well...so my gut bacteria turns that into a food fest..  And the gas they create can kill a small animal.  After too many trials, while taking any enzupymes and supplements to help digesting that - I gave up. I do eat them now - but not a lot and mostly steamed or cooked. After all - the real benefits of them get released if you steam them... And put butter in them.. 

As for artificial sweeteners - I try to avoid.. But I have great results with liquid stevia (no dextrose) ...there a lot of good or great protein powders, whey, egg or vegan that are more natural or organic, and use more natural sweeteners - like stevia, monk fruit, or Erythritol...  If you need that for early days.. 

Just wanted to let you know most of us have these anxious thoughts before surgery. You will be able to eat veggies again though down the road. Doctors are different on their time line so check with yours but I was eating small amounts (3 or 4 bites) of veggies 3 months after surgery. Now a bit less than half my meal is non starchy veggies. Granted I am 31/2 years out but you will get there too. I still eat salads when I go out sometimes but make sure to eat the protein part first before eating any lettuce so I get my protein in for the day. I also have always used full fat cheese because we do need some fat in our diets. I started out at a highest weight of 272 and exceeded my goal of 145. Today I weigh 122 pounds and have been at this weight over 2 years. RNY was the best decision I ever made and I wish I had done it sooner!

Congratulations on your weight loss! this helps. i guess i couldnt see the forest for the trees!!

I'm from Ontario Canada. My hospital gave is a binder all about the surgery. In it contains everything youneed to know about gastric bypass surgery,  from side effects like hair loss due to mineral deficiency to the stages of eating post-op.

I believe when we reach pureed food we're allowed to eat cooked veggies and fruits. Is this true for others who had surgery at other hospitals? 

I started eating raw veggies after the six month mark. On the rare occasion I'll even have a bit celery with a small amount of peanut butter and a couple of raisins.

My tummy might be a bit louder when digesting the raw veggies, but other than that, no troubles. Except, I am really careful with lettuce (particularly iceberg) as that has caused me to get sick on a few occasions, so I am selective of where and when I have it. Someone at my support group also said they have problems with lettuce. Because of this, I don't do a lot of salads right now. 

I don't eat fat free anything usually, but I make an exception for Greek yogurt ( Dannon Light and Fit Greek or Triple Zero are my brands of choice. ) and for the fairlife skim milk I put in my coffee. My dieticians recommended the fat free or low fat versions of everything...barf. I did try in the beginning, but nope...can't do it. Fat isn't our enemy...even post op, as long as we don't use a lot of it. The amounts we eat are small, it's not like we can scarf down an entire block of cheese or anything, so I use full fat cheese and I use butter along with healthy oils for cooking. I use a little half and half in my morning coffee...then switch to the skim milk later in the day for my afternoon coffee. ( I'm a coffee nut, but that's fairly obvious, haha. ) This is what works for me...YMMV.

I was never a raw veggie person, but I can do salads on occasion; but not often. 9 times out of 10, I'm allllll about the meat.

Post surgery, you will need to focus on protein first, so you may find you don't have room for veggies...even once you're cleared to eat them. We get nutrients from the vitamins we take since we don't absorb them from our food, so I feel okay with skipping the veggies. I've been known to enjoy meat...with a side of meat.

Short answer is..you'll get back to eating raw veggies, but it will take some time.