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Sunday, October 14, 2007

What are weight loss surgery "slider foods"?

Good Morning Neighbors!

Since we have been talking about the 5 Day Pouch Test so much the word "slider foods" has become a regular part of our vocabulary. Slider Foods is a commonly used term in the bariatric community to describe foods that simply slide through the pouch without providing the sensation of fullness.

In a malabsorptive procedure the pouch is made and the stoma or outlet is attached to the lower part of the middle intestine called the jejunum. The majority of caloric absorption takes place in the jejunum, so depending upon where your surgeon created the outlet the level of absorption can vary. Skilled surgeons will adjust the length of intestine bypassed according to their patient's projected needs based on dieting history and pre-op psychological screening.

Helpful Video: Eating After Weight Loss Surgery

Slider foods slide right through the stoma into the jejunum. My first test of the slider foods was graham crackers and coffee for my after work snack. Now imagine, I could eat a stack of graham crackers and wash it right through the pouch with the coffee and never feel any satiation. What resulted was an easily absorbed slurry that my jejunum sucked up like a sponge - it didn't have to do any work to absorb this simple carbohydrate slurry. Of course, weight gain resulted and I had to give up this little indulgence. Another popular slider food is pretzels. I speak with post-ops all the time who are addicted to pretzels - again, this is a simple carb that your jejunum is very happy to receive and convert to fat. Traditionally dieters are encouraged to eat pretzels or popcorn - fat free and fiber, right? But that doesn't work so well for us. Giving our re-routed bodies these simple carbs is dangerous because our bodies have spent years perfect the art of fat storage - slider foods are to the body a great big lotery win.

Read more about the carb cycle

3 comments:

Moby Dick said...

Amazing that even after WLS surgery there are ways to gain weight.

I knew a guy who had stomach stapling and a year later he was at around 250 lbs., though he had maintained about 100 lbs. of weight loss.

bluebird said...

OMG.. I have a serious addiction to my pretzles, and don't WANT to give them up. They offer me the CRUNCH that I feel I need. Celery just isn't the same.. so now what?? I know I need to do the 5-day thing... but haven't done it yet.. I feel like I'M the slider here.. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Mindy,

I hear you on that crunch addiction. Try some protein chips like Kay's naturals (the chili nacho cheese are good). I've only found those on-line. Soy Crisps may be a better alternative to your pretzels, but I think they are still a little high in carbs. You can find these in most grocery stores.