Put Down the Popcorn! After WLS a Definite Don't

By Kaye Bailey

Brand new patients are not likely to ask if popcorn is a do or a don't after gastric bypass. They don't ask because the stomach is too tender and sensitive to even consider the intake of roughage like popcorn. But almost universally, you will find patients two or more years out have dipped into the popcorn bowl.

My trespass in the popcorn bowl resulted in a constant state of low-grade dumping and a 5-pound weight gain in two weeks. I called my WLS counselor and she gave me a big “NO! NO! NO!” She said popcorn is a high carbohydrate food that rapidly dumps into the small intestine causing insulin to drop and dumping to result. Patients also tend to out-eat their pouch with popcorn because they usually consume a beverage as they eat popcorn creating a slurry that quickly moves through the stoma – thus more can be consumed in a single sitting. Finally, she said, eating popcorn is mindless and not generally related to hunger. It is a perceived to be an acceptable return to snacking and leads to other snacking abuses.

I stopped the mindless munching on popcorn and feel a whole lot better. But I do miss it and when I smell a fresh batch of microwave popcorn I am likely to lose my mind! But it’s just not worth it.

For conventional dieters popcorn itself is a nutritious snack choice, containing more fiber than snacks made with refined flour. In the standard three-cup serving (the size of a small mixing bowl), air-popped popcorn contains just 93 calories and less than 1.5 grams of fat and 3.6 grams dietary fiber. Dietary fiber — also known as roughage or bulk — includes all parts of plant foods that your body can't digest or absorb.

Kaye Bailey © 2005 - All Rights Reserved http://www.livingafterwls.com http://www.livingafterwls.blogspot.com