Vegetables

[Qbdriver]

Hi my name is Chuck. I'm just starting stage 3 of my diet after my surgery. I'd like to know what vegetables I can have. How much and how to cook them. And what other types of things you eat

[Sandra3]

For the soft food phase I liked to have split peas, a kind of Greek yogurt, soft scrambled eggs with cheese etc. but also lot's of veggie soup mixed with meat and some soft fish (tuna with mayo worked great too!). I always measured my food during the first weeks, never more than 1/2 cup per sitting.
Because I had a few issues with cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) I tried only one type of food at a time to know what my stomach liked or not.
Eat slowly a bite the size of a peanut, that will help.
Take care!

[Qbdriver]

Thank you so much for your help. Its a bit confusing everything they throw at you.

[Luna354]

I haven't eaten veggies yet. My office told me to eat protein first and if you still have room to have veggies. I get full quickly from my protein so I stop eating. I just went from soft to regular food last week.

[sraebaer]

I always liked soup, because the veggies were soft, but my nutritionist was anti-soup. Not sure why, I guess she wanted the protein first to fill me up, and not all that liquid, sort of like drinking while eating.

My nutritionist gave me a "bible" with basically every food listed I could eat at every stage. Sorry I didn't save it, but some people here have posted exactly what I got on this site. Maybe someone has it to post.

Good luck!

[Sandra3]

Thank you so much for your help. Its a bit confusing everything they throw at you.

Your very welcome. There's a lot of informations, you are right. It is very confusing. The best thing is to keep it simple and listen to your stomach.

My way of looking at nutrition from the beginning was mostly to go for high quality because we eat so little. Sometimes after two bites I was full!

My surgeon and team recommend a balanced diet, they do not advise to go on low carbs. There's different guidelines for different surgeons.
I decided to be in the middle, because my metabolism doesn't like too much carbs. I always tried my best to have around 60gr protein per day. For a man that would be more.
I had a hard time to reach that number for at least two months but after I was fine. I had (vegan) protein shakes to help every day for several months. I still have one per day most days. I also like to have my protein using beans or organic tofu for a change. When eating meat, always have it moist, same for fish.

After one month I was cleared for "everything" so I had a few nuts and a little tiny salad, I did miss those that first month.

You will find it easier after a few weeks, no worries.
Send me a PM if you have any questions!

[Pam G]

protein. Eat protein. You won't have room for veggies for a long time

[Ann2]

Pam's right -- early on you'll have little capacity for veggies. But that doesn't mean you don't have any veggie capacity.

Very early on, during the puree and soft-food post-op phases, I had a lot of non-fat refried beans (melted with cheese and finely chopped chicken). Still love that combo.

As I was able to add actual veggies (not just mashed beans) my veggies included small amounts of:

Broccoli
Green beans
Chopped celery (in chicken salad)
A little pickle relish (again in chicken salad)
Zucchini
Tomatoes
... and any other veggies that were soft and not so cruciferous / crunchy.

As my stomach continued to heal and my capacity began to increase I kept adding more variety and volume of colored, low-carb veggies of all kinds, including:

Raw baby carrots
Cabbage
Spinach
Onions
Asparagus
Spaghetti squash
Yellow squash
Colored peppers (yellow, red, green, orange)
Scallions
Romaine lettuce (I like the crunch of that kind of lettuce better than softer lettuces)
Water chestnuts
Other Asian veggies

For a long time (during my honeymoon period when weight loss was faster) I avoided white and starchy veggies, e.g., white potatoes, sweet potatoes, other root veggies. As a result, I'm still not a big potato enjoyer. Kind of lost my taste for those things.

It took me about 18 months to lose 100 pounds -- the last 15 pounds took 9 months to come off.

My first 12 months of maintenance I had a goal of eating 5 veggies and fruits a day. But I probably averaged only 3-4 a day.

This year (second year of maintenance) my daily veggies/fruits target is 7 per day. So far I've rarely hit 7, but I'm finally averaging around 5 a day. I refuse to live without veggies/fruits, because they're very nutritious. Also, high-fiber foods are a critical success factor in keeping my appetite satiated throughout the day and night. And the name of my WLS game is "Long Term Maintenance"!

Here's how I get my veggies in: Many days for breakfast I have berries (with all-bran cereal) for breakfast. For lunch I often have baby carrots (sliced up so they're like little chips) and a whole tomato on a meat/cheese sandwich. Then I have a couple of veggies as part of a protein-centric dinner. Sometimes I have an apple for a morning or afternoon snack. And sometimes I have more berries with a little Greek yogurt after dinner.

HOWEVER ... that is a maintenance kind of daily menu 2.5 years post-op. But in maintenance most of my *extra* calories (above and beyond the fewer calories I ate to lose weight) come from whole grains and treats (e.g., wine, chocolate, biscotti). My point is that you CAN eat veggies even early on -- although not lots of volume. But after a while you can broaden your daily menus to include just about any veggies. And if you make nutritious choices early on, you will be more likely to make nutritious choices later on.

Not sure why I typed that all out -- except that lately I'm very enthusiastic about VEGGIES!

[Christie13]

I haven't had any issues with any veggies. Not even salad. But I do eat my protein first. My doctor gave me a list of foods and what is good for us and what is not. What I can eat unlimited, what to eat in moderation, and what to avoid. I have it posted in the pictures on my page if you are interested.

[Ann2]

I haven't had any issues with any veggies. Not even salad. But I do eat my protein first. My doctor gave me a list of foods and what is good for us and what is not. What I can eat unlimited, what to eat in moderation, and what to avoid. I have it posted in the pictures on my page if you are interested.

Your veggie list is a great help to many. Thank you for that.

Here's a link to Christie's surgeon's eating recommendations:

https://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/...p?albumid=2956