How to eat popcorn after weight loss surgery

When it comes to foods that cause weight regain, for surgical weight loss patients, popcorn is one of the worst offenders. By all accounts, it’s a high-fiber “healthy” snack. However, for many gastric patients, popcorn becomes the king of slippery foods leading to digestive upsets, dumping syndrome, and ultimately weight gain. Many bariatric centers advise patients to eliminate popcorn from their diets, firstly because it is a starchy carbohydrate snack and secondly because eating it puts the patient back in the mindless snacking habit that contributed to morbid obesity before surgery.

When a gastric bypass, gastric band, or gastric sleeve weight loss surgery patient is forced to eat popcorn, they should follow these eating guidelines provided by most weight loss surgery centers. Applying these guidelines is not radical or misleading, it is to follow the rules that we agreed when we signed the gastric surgery.

• Measure out a 1-cup serving for your meal or snack. Do not butter, salt, or season the popcorn. Compressed air is preferred.
• Stop drinking fluids 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after enjoying your 1-cup serving of popcorn.
• Do not consume liquids while eating your 1-cup serving of popcorn.
• Do not exceed 1 cup serving of popcorn.
• If you choose to eat anything else with your popcorn meal/snack, you must decrease the volume of popcorn by the volume of other foods you will be consuming so that the total volume of food is 1 cup.

Nutritional Per Serving: 1 cup of lightly buttered popcorn has 82 calories; 1g of protein; 6g fat; 6g of carbohydrates. It is 1/2 exchange of starch/bread and 1 exchange of fat.

Many patients who eat popcorn following these guidelines report an unpleasant experience: their bag feels tight and stuck because the popcorn just sits there. With no liquids to wash it down (and make it a slippery food) and with our limited gastric enzymes and digestive juices, “dry” popcorn takes a long time to digest in the bag. In addition we experience dry mouth, bad breath and thirst. This is your bag doing its job: You’re supposed to feel uncomfortable when you follow the guidelines and eat something that appears on most “avoid these foods” lists provided by bariatric centers. Thank your bag for doing a good job and accept the message it is telling you.

If we ignore the guidelines and eat popcorn while drinking a beverage, often our portion size is not measured and we move on to eating grass-fed style. This is a problem with popcorn because popcorn is a high glycemic index food and it raises blood sugar. If the drinks that are consumed with it also raise our glycemic load, we are in danger of dumping syndrome. Most commonly we find people suffering from “low-grade dumping” where their blood sugar rises to the point of dizziness or “sloppiness” but not high enough to manifest the signs of full-blown dumping. Soon, this “off” state begins to feel normal and can only be maintained by nibbling or eating similar simple carbohydrates, such as crackers and crackers.

I have had my hand in the popcorn tub several times since the weight loss surgery. It’s so delicious and so tempting and apparently such a smart and healthy choice. I understand. But sadly, I have responded well to the hundreds of emails, phone calls, and inquiries with patients who are struggling with weight gain that started innocently enough with a hand in the healthy snack bowl filled with popcorn.