How to eat popcorn after weight loss surgery

When it comes to foods that trigger weight regain, for surgical weight loss patients, popcorn is one of the worst offenders. It’s clearly a “healthy” high-fiber snack. However, for many gastric patients, popcorn becomes the king of slippery foods causing digestive upset, dumping syndrome, and ultimately weight gain. Many bariatric centers advise patients to eliminate popcorn from their diets, first because it is a carbohydrate and starchy snack, and second because eating it returns the patient to the mindless snacking habit that contributed to morbid obesity before the 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 following the rules we agreed upon when we signed up for gastric surgery.

• Measure out a 1-cup serving for your meal or snack. Do not butter, salt, or season the popcorn. Air trapping is preferred.
• Stop drinking fluids 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after enjoying your 1-cup serving of popcorn.
• Do not drink liquids while having 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 need to decrease the volume of popcorn by the volume of other foods you will consume so that the total volume of food is 1 cup.

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

Many patients who eat popcorn following these guidelines report an unpleasant experience – their bag feels tight and stuck because the popcorn just stays there. With no fluids to wash it off (and turn it into a slip-on food) and with our limited gastric enzymes and digestive juices, “dry” popcorn takes a long time to digest in the bag. Additionally, we experience dry mouth, bad breath, and thirst. This is your bag doing its job – you are supposed to feel uncomfortable when you follow the guidelines and eat something that appears on most of the “avoid these foods” lists provided by bariatric centers. Thank your suitcase for doing a good job and accept the message it is telling you.

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

I have reached into the popcorn tub several times since weight loss surgery. It is so delicious and so tempting and seemingly such a smart healthy choice. I understand. But sadly, I have responded well to the hundreds of emails, phone calls, and consultations with patients who are struggling with weight gain that started innocently with one hand in the healthy, popcorn-filled snack bowl.