Need help with food.

sassywolf2013

Ok here is my deliema. I have a stomach condition that causes me to eat low fat, low fiber diet. So alot of what I should eat to lose weight I can't. So looking for other ideas to help or ideas on different foods I can try. I can't eat eggs cuz they make me nauseous. General dietary recommendations for include:

Eat smaller, more frequent meals
Eat less fatty foods
Avoid fiber
Avoid foods that cannot be chewed well
Foods that are generally encouraged include:
Breads, cereals, crackers, ground or pureed meats
Vegetables – cooked and, if necessary, blenderized/strained
Fruits – cooked and, if necessary, blenderized/strained
Juices, beverages, milk products, if tolerated
Small, frequent meals
Reducing the meal size reduces the distention of the stomach from the meal. By eating smaller meals, you may not feel as full or bloated and the stomach may empty faster. With the reduction in meal size, increasing the number of meals to 4­−6 per day is needed to maintain adequate nutritional intake.

Avoid foods high in fat
Fat can delay emptying of the stomach. Eating less fat-containing foods will decrease the amount of time food stays in the stomach. However, fat containing liquids, such as milkshakes, may be tolerated and provide needed calories.

A diet low in fiber is suggested
Fiber delays gastric emptying. In addition, fiber may bind together and cause a blockage of the stomach (called a bezoar).

Examples of high fiber foods that should be avoided include:

Fruits – apples, berries, coconuts, figs, oranges, persimmons
Vegetables - Brussels sprouts, green beans, green peas, lettuce, potato peels, sauerkraut
Bran/whole grain cereals
Nuts and seeds
Legumes/Dried Beans – baked beans, lentils, soy beans
Fiber supplements for treatment of constipation should also be discontinued if possible.

Avoid foods that may not be easily chewed
Examples of hard to chew foods include:

Broccoli
Corn
Popcorn,
Nuts
Seeds

estherdragonbat

Okay. First off, there are no foods that you 'should' eat to lose weight. You just need to take in less than you burn. (That being said, high-fiber foods often can help you feel fuller longer, so there may be some issues with satiety).

What does your doctor say about tofu? It's relatively easy to digest, it's a good protein source, it does have some fat, mind you.

Pasta sounds like it could work for you, maybe with some cooked veggies in the sauce?

Vegetable shakes and smoothies.

I'm a vegetarian and I've never really looked into non-plant-based items, but I'd think lean meats, chicken, non-fatty fish would probably be good for you too.

malibu927

Have you visited a dietitian who can help you find what to eat with your condition? As Esther said, there's nothing you should/shouldn't eat for weight loss other than you shouldn't eat too many (or even too few) calories.

geltner1

Are you trying to lose weight? If so, start logging and keep it up. Is there a support group or on line group for your condition? Or maybe a specialized cook-book? It sounds difficult, for sure. Most things are harder as you get started and then we all make new habits and it gets easier. Good luck!

latentspring

the only thing I can think of really would be protein shakes.

jgnatca

Good news. You can stay within these restrictions and lose weight. Log your meals and as long as you stay at a calorie deficit you can lose. Some of these restrictions are similar to instructions to a bariatric patient, especially in the first few months.

A juicer and a blender will be helpful for you. You might also check out the baby food aisle for low fiber apple sauce and strained vegetables that you can eat.

If you have trouble on this diet getting your micronutrients in, try and take as many vitamins in liquid form or under the tongue. Vitamin B12 can be taken in sublingual form.

Cream of wheat for breakfast. Have it with low fat Greek yogurt. Sweeten with cubes of sugar-free jell-o or a fruit jelly (harder to find these days).

Zwieback crackers with laughing cow cream cheese (light).

Tomato soup with a swirl of Greek yogurt (low fat) for a lunch.

Liverwurst on crackers as a meaty snack.

Any kind of high protein smoothie, switching out fibrous vegetables and fruits with juices.

In my first few months it was so hard to get food in, I came to love watermelon (check if you can tolerate it). I would also make home made popsicles with Greek yogurt and fruit juice, which I could suck on for over an hour. Heavenly.

jgnatca

P.S. I just checked the Wal-mart website and grape jelly, strawberry jelly is still available.

Marilyn0924

Take from the list of foods that you can eat and create meals that provide satiety. The key is to ensure that you are meeting your caloric needs daily while maintaining a deficit for weight loss.
Use a food scale for all solid/semi-solids, measuring cups for liquids. Log using accurate entries.

HappyKat5

I am low fiber as well due to medical issues and can’t eat the things that people would normally eat to lose weight. It can be hard especially when you want a salad but really can’t have one. I have started to incorporate some things and I just track how I feel. If I can’t tolerate it, I note it in my brain and then I steer away from it. You might be surprised that some of the foods that are “forbidden” really aren’t, you just have to eat them in a different manner. Hang in there!

COGypsy

Sounds like my old friend, gastroparesis! If that's the case, I'm sorry you're having to sort through this. It's awful.

When I was symptomatic, I followed a lot of the low FODMAP eating plans and strangely, also found a lot of useful tips from post-bariatric surgery sites. They're kind of dealing with the same issue of optimizing nutrients and energy with limited stomach capacity. I also juiced a lot. It let me get at least some of the nutrients from vegetables and fruit. I supplemented a lot of protein too. I couldn't tolerate most of the "milkshake" textured proteins, so I used a brand called Syntrax Nectar, that has more of a juice-like consistency. It comes in flavors like lemonade and fruit punch and mixes up really easily, so I'd add that to actual juices pretty often. It gave me calories and protein without giving my stomach that ominous full feeling.

Tracking carefully is also tremendously helpful--both for weightloss and for figuring out what you'll be able to tolerate and work into your regular diet.

jgnatca

I vividly remember my first food fail. It was my first attempt at eating beef after my surgery. Boy, I wasn't going to forget that incident any time soon!

Now I eat well chewed beef just fine.

Sunna_W

If you haven't come across the website https://www.gutsense.org/index.html, it's well worth your time to read. All of the extensive information is free and you don't have to buy their products. I especially found the information about food motility, (great section on food transit issues) and probiotics to be helpful.

Also check out the Clinical Guide to Probiotic Products Available in Canada chart, http://www.probioticchart.ca/PBCAdultHealth.html?utm_source=adult_ind&utm_medium=civ&utm_campaign=CDN_CHART.

I had no idea that specific probiotic strains that addressed different things. There are even specific ones that address regurgitation / GI motility! (Lactobacillus reuteri).

See this link for NIH study on Lactobacillus reuteri: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21114493

A well recommended one is made by Nature's Way Primadophilus Reuteri, 90 Vcaps (on Amazon).

They also make a powder, if you need to start with a tiny bit (due to Herxheimer reaction) and work your way up.

Nature's Way Primadophilus Reuteri, 5 Ounce (also on Amazon).