Confused on what I should eat

Hello Valen,

Welcome! I have had my pouch for 21 years now. I do struggle with what to eat sometimes too. I pretty much eat what I want. I cannot eat a big green salad, or a large helping of any vegetable. Too many nuts. Anything with a lot of fiber will give me tons of gas. Very uncomfortable.

I try to eat several small meals a day. Egg in the morning. Mid morning snack- mozzarella cheese stick. Lunch might be tuna on saltine crackers with half an apple or peach, banana. I do eat potato chips sometimes! And candy. I’m interested in people on this site talking about sugar. I have never been told by a doctor to stay away from sugar so I’m following that. Maybe that is causing some of my issues from time to time.  

I think just trying new foods a little at a time. You will learn what you can tolerate.

So glad you found us 😊

Hello Valen, and welcome! 😀

I’ve had my pouch for 30 years and it took a little time to figure out what works. Sugary treats and really spicy and fried foods would increase frequency so I focused on eating healthier and fun foods I enjoyed. (That included pizza because I don’t have problems with dairy.) UMass Medical Center has a bunch of information for people with IBD with lists of foods and recipes to check out that might give you some inspiration on what foods to experiment with. https://www.umassmed.edu/nutrition/ibd/

Mrs. P had great advice—try new things a little at a time. Trust your body.

Thanks so much for introducing yourself and best of luck with your journey!

I agree with Portia. I can’t eat spicy things at all. I don’t have a problem with dairy either-milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, pizza ( no spicy pepperoni). I especially love peanut butter. On crackers, celery or whitebread.

Thank you for the link Portia. I’ll check it out.

Hey there. . .if I read your post correctly, your 17 and just got your pouch a year ago?  I honestly forget how long it took for my system to sort itself out, but I can eat about anything without issue. . .except broccoli, vile weed.

You probably need a fall back meal that you can go to when your system gets out of whack.  For me, in the beginning, banana's or oatmeal would help slow things down.  On the oatmeal, you can play with adding sugar or honey and see if that lets you process it a little more easily. 

I love sugar cookies, but I would crap burning tar after eating them. I have no problems now, so hang in there.

You'll have to play around with meals. . .admittedly much easier when you have your own kitchen. . .and find out what types of foods work and don't work.  And those that don't work today, you can try and add back in later.

The most important rule I've learned. . .chew, chew, chew!

Ok - so what could I eat in the beginning?

Breakfast - I'm not a big breakfast fan, so usually a english muffin with egg, oatmeal, or simple toast (very little butter - would make me queasy that early)

Chicken noodle soup - with saltines to help absorb and slow things down.  Don't go crazy, keep it simple.  Chicken, carrots, egg noodles, broth.  Maybe celery if you can tolerate it. . .I did without in the beginning.

Cream of chicken - any canned variety

Lunchmeat sandwhiches worked too - although no lettuce for me at first.

Dinner:  meatloaf, chicken breast, mashed potatoes, canned veggies were easier to process as they were almost mush already.

Loaded baked potato (don't eat the skin)

Spaghetti with a simple tomato sauce or meat sauce

Tortellini/Ravioli with a fettucini sauce.

You can spice up the chicken breast with a pan tarragon sauce or even simpler, a brown gravy.

The key is to go slow, find the basics you handle well, and then start adding things back in.  For me, although I love beans, my system just doesn't handle them well anymore.

Pizza, steaks, chocolate. . .it was all back on the table for me after a couple years.

Good luck!

I had my takedown 17 months ago. I was scared to eat anything for awhile but now I just try stuff and see how it goes. You'd be surprised at what you find you can eat. Last night I had a chili dog from dairy queen. Told my husband I was just waiting for the hell trip to the bathroom. But no issues at all! My point is just try things you're hungry for from time to time. You might be surprised.

Wow a chili dog…..that sounds fantastic….I’m too scared to try that at this point, but good for you…maybe some day I will try one

@Ryan138 it was fantastic. Had a Stromboli last week too, no issues. But then Chinese food last night had me burning. The dq chili sauce is beanless.

Hi Valen, I've had a pouch for 28 years now. I found the FODMAP diet helped. It is low in lactose (dairy), fructose (sugar) & Gluten (bread) etc. But I got a bit tired of being strict with my diet. So now I avoid lactose, and limit gluten and onions and garlic.

I tried a diet this year that was part of a research & it was high fibre, low sugar, low gluten and it actually made me lose a lot of weight. So, I had to go back on Ensure to try and put some weight on. I suggest talking to a dietitian and keep trying different foods.

Hang in there!

I second  the FODMAP diet!! That has made a real difference for me.

I also take 2 Visbiome every day.

You are not alone.