newbie from ontario

[laurie]

hello everyone. my name is laurie and i had gastric bypass surgery on jan 28/10. i am slowly trying to add more foods into my diet. i have a hard time with breads. sometimes i can tolerate wholewheat bread but then was told that i should be eating light rye bread only. i would appreciate any feedback i can get on this. also wondering what a typical day of eating is for the average bypass person. thanks for your help. laurie

[Susan Hughes]

I am out about 3 weeks longer than you and I have not even tried bread! We really aren't meant to have carbs anyway so bread has been something I have purposely steered clear of. A typical day - protein for breakfast (shake or a protein "shot" of some kind - ProFect or Super Whey) or recently, carbmasters yogurt 12 grams of protein and only 4 carbs. A snack at some point in the morning like a cheese stick or slice of deli meat. Lunch is my main meal because I just seem able to eat best then - I usually have some sort of chicken. I like chicken thighs made in the crock pot with tomato sauce - like a chicken catciatore. The sauce keeps it palatable and digestible _ and yummy :-). For dinner I have another big protein thing - lately king crab legs have called to me and they are so protein rich!! In there somewhere I try to get in some vegetables like green beans or fruit (without the skins at this point). Now that all having been said, have I taken in some bread? Yes, a bit here or there as a part of some other dish like a homemade enchilada with lots of chicken and low fat things but even then, I make them for the family and pick out mostly filling for myself eating only a tiny bit of the tortilla. Hope this helps.
Susan

[laurie]

susan, thank you for your suggestions. will have to give them a try. laurie

[Melissa Parish]

Hi Laurie:

I'm so sorry I missed seeing this and responding to you. For us, we try to steer clear of bread as much as possible. Especially for you . . as early post-op as you are, it shouldn't even be something you have around at all. Think about it this way. That tiny little pouch is your only source to hold the nutrients your body needs, right? As WLS patients it's critical that we reach for our proteins first, first, first and then our good carbs second (fruits and veggies as our primary good carbs). By the time we get in the protein we need and the carbs we're supposed to have in the form of fruits and veggies, well there's just no room left for breads. Not only that but they can be dumping offenders and can fill that tiny pouch up too quickly and not allow you to get the real things you need. Last, but not least, it's going to slow down your weight loss and we KNOW you don't want that!

As a good rule of thumb (you'll hear me say this thousands of times), reach for a 2:1 protein to carb ratio when it comes to eating during the losing phase. That means if you're eating 60 grams of protein in a day (which should be your minimum but 90 is better) then don't exceed half of that in daily carbs. So if you eat 60 grams of protein, cap your daily carbs at 30 grams. Eat 80 grams protein then 40 grams carbs. It's simple to keep up with and it works!

Let us know how we can help you. We're always here for you 24/7!