Low fiber diet?!?!? HELP!

Janferher

Hello my name is Janira I am 22 years old and I have been diagnosed with gastroparesis. I need to follow a low fiber, low residue diet I am looking for people to support each other and recommending foods would be great also. Feel free to add me!

Jettadawn

Hi! My name is Bridget, and I'm 27 years old. I generally follow a low-fiber diet. I have IBS that's triggered by most high-fiber foods, specifically anything with a lot of cellulose (leafy greens, corn, raw carrots, green peppers, actually most green veggies...), unprocessed grains (any bread that crunches in the middle, like 12-grain or things like that, anything Kashi, Sun Chips), seeds (including most berries), and pretty much anything with extra fiber added.

I'm very mildly lactose intolerant too, so while I do eat a good bit of cheese and ice cream, I can't drink a glass of milk.

I can eat small amounts of nuts, and beans occasionally in small amounts. Generally, if I'm eating nuts or beans, I make sure to eat fewer vegetables...I have to be careful which foods I combine.

I looked up low-residue, and I'm guessing you have to be even more careful than I do, but hopefully I can make some recommendations that might help! It's been about six years or so since I was diagnosed and figured out what my trigger foods were.

Some foods I rely on:
-V8 Fusion juice - it's got lots of vitamins without the fiber
-Mini cucumbers - they don't have big seeds like regular cucumbers do, and their skins are thinner. I can eat them with the skins, whereas regular cucumbers I have to skin. You could easily skin these too if you needed to, though.
-Bananas. In addition to being healthy, they're filling.
-Tomatoes in many forms, including a lot of tomato sauce
-Potatoes, both white/red and sweet potatoes

I generally eat more fruit than vegetables. I do eat some whole wheat bread (but only ones that the flour has been well-ground), but I also eat a lot of potato bread and white bread. White flour tortillas are also a good option, especially when I'm trying to cut a few calories here and there. I usually stick to either white pasta or veggie pastas like Ronzoni's Pasta Delight. It's a tri-color pasta that has pureed veggies mixed into the flour. Same amount of fiber as white pasta, but a few more vitamins and an extra gram of protein.

Another thing I've found to be helpful is to snack. It helps keep me full, because one thing I find is that without a lot of fiber, I get hungry quicker. My typical day is breakfast around 8:30, a snack around 10:30 or 11, lunch at 1, another snack around 2:30 or 3, and dinner at 7.

I do still struggle to stay within a calorie limit, though. I have a sweet tooth too, so that doesn't help! Right now, I'm trying to lose just a few pounds, and then try to just get in better shape. When I was in college I was stronger and more fit; I want to build some muscle again. But I'm on my feet most of the day at work, so it's hard to find energy to exercise. Plus, I'm in my first year at a new school (I work with kids, doing tutoring and after-school programs) which means I'm getting sick constantly. Currently getting over cold number 5 in as many months. I have asthma, too, so it usually takes me a solid two weeks to get over a cold enough to do aerobic exercise. So I have my work cut out for me!

Have you been on a low fiber diet long? What things have been working for you?