Grapes & Diet Soda

Usually I do put fruit in the blender with the protien powder, but the powder takes away from the fruit!! Sometimes its actually gross and leaves a bad after taste. The only fruits I have eaten without blending so far is watermelon and canned mixed fruit in water.

As far as vegetables!! I made it very clear to my surgeon and my nutritionist before surgery that I do not and absolutely will not eat vegetables!! Unless it is the canned french style green beans. I have been a very picky eater since childhood and thats something that probably will never change!! I have never had to deal with being overweight until about 2 years ago  when I first started gaining after getting married, so for me, being overweight and now having to actually work to be small again is all very new and weird!!! ...especially coming from a person who, as a child, wouldnt eat if I wasn't playing sports or working out due to fear of gaining weight!!

I am over 4 months post-op, and I have been able to eat fruit.

I love my Coca-Cola, but I find I can't drink more than 1/2 cup now.The gas can be very uncomfortable. I don't believe you should have any carbonate beverage within the first two months after surgery as you are still healing internally and the added pressure from the carbonation can put pressure on your stitches.

I eat any and all fruits, I haven't found one that I can't tolerate yet.  Grapes are one of my favorites.  They are not high in calories, but do have quite a bit of natural sugars.  It doesn't effect me, but I started out with just one or two to make sure.

I don't drink my calories, with one exception.  It has to have a significant amount of protein in order to justify the calories.  Starbucks skinny lattes are one example... a tall has 90 calories and 9 grams of protein.  That's 10% of the calories are protein so it would be worth it.  A soda, or a sweet tea offers zero protein for the calories.  Fruit juice is the same (juice is different than actual fruit as it lacks the fiber and substance and you can take in a whole lot more than you know!).

Sodas - that's what's considered a slippery slope.  Several people feel that it just causes cravings in them for the real thing, so there's no need to risk it.  Half say it stretches the pouch, half say it doesn't.  The jury's still out on that one for me, but I feel why chance it if I don't NEED to.  There's also the school of thought that it's known to leech calcium from your bones.  I'll stick with water, or decaf tea, or other drinks that don't have these questionable outcomes.

 I was told NO soda....diet or otherwise for life after surgery!  I am still pre-op but just attended my class yesterday.  What they told us is that soda of any kind can and will streach your pouch and can burst open the sutures if too soon.   My opinion is that NO soda is worth risking those kinds of outcomes.  I am telling myself that soda and sugar of any kinds are poison and will kill me if consumed after surgery.  Just voicing my opinion on the subject.  Good luck to you on your continued journey.

Soda will NOT stretch your pouch... the gas will escape either back up through the esophagus (as burps) or down through the intestines (as flatulence) LONG before enough pressure builds up to stretch your pouch.  That is a cheap "scare" tactic to get people to give up soda (which is stupid because there ARE legitimate reasons to discourage people from drinking soda... acid is hard on the pouch, carbonation may be uncomfortable, possibility of leeching calcium, might be tied to craving certain foods, etc.).

Lora

My surgeon was/is very liberal about the post-op food plan (soft foods 3 or 4 days post-op if no trouble with the full liquids), so I was allowed to eat all fruit except pineapple, which is hard to digest, at one month out (always try a small amount first, of course), but was told NO soda for at least 3 months.

Lora

Same here!! I was on soft foods when I left the hospital. And then the next week as allowed some solids and meat!! I personally think my life would be much easier if I was just stuck to purreed, which is what I mostly eat anyway because I ate something once and I didnt chew it enough and it hurt like hell. So most of my "solids" are fruit if available or tender meat (usually fish or chicken)!!

I am actually thankful that my surgeon did not require a period of liquids and purees. Yes, I ate lots of soft foods even when I was allowed ALL foods, but nothing made me sick and it allowed me to feel like a normal person much faster rather than someone who had to be coddled. The drawback is that I don't always have a lot of patience with people who think their pouches are these very fragile things that require months and months of special care... Lora

I was allowed to eat grapes on my program after 3 or 6 months (I can't remember). I eat them sparingly most of the time, or generously if I am suffering with constipation as they seem to be a quick fix for that particular problem for me...

As far as soda, my doc says no, but I'm not always the best patient. I gave up soda 6 months before my surgery and tried a sip of it again 6 months after my surgery. What I can tell you about that sip is this: IT BURNS!! You don't realize it when you are in the midst of a soda habit, but soda is an acquired taste, it is filled with acid. Phosphoric acid in dark sodas (Phosphorus is the same size and shape as calcium so it fights with calcium for spots in your bones and teeth. Phosphorus is brittle and breaks apart easily. Calcium is strong and doesn't break apart easily. Guess which one I'd rather have in my bones and teeth??) and ascorbic or other acids in clear sodas. Also, carbonation contributes to the acidic environment a soda creates.

When I took that 1 sip of soda, it burned all the way down, I could feel it in my throat, I could feel it in my pouch and half way down my digestive tract. I knew right then and there that I would never drink another soda!! And I haven't missed it one bit!

Huggles!!
~Sarah~