Bariatric Surgery Diet Guidelines

After bariatric surgery, you must change your diet and lifestyle to support rapid weight reduction. Proper nutrition is vital to maintain lean body mass, stay hydrated, and keep your skin elastic.

Your nutrition goals after surgery should be as follows:

* Adopt proper eating habits to promote weight loss while maintaining your health.

* Eat enough protein to minimize loss of lean body mass and promote healing from the surgery.

* Drink enough fluids to stay hydrated.

* Take vitamins and mineral supplements to compensate for your reduced food intake.

Post-Op Bariatric Surgery Diet

Most weight loss surgery patients will be put on a liquid-only meal plan for two to three weeks after they leave the hospital. Patients then graduate to soft foods for the next six to eight weeks and then transition to regular foods over the next six to nine months.

Depending on your individual medical history and the type of weight loss surgery, you may also need to take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement.

Starting on the day you go home from the hospital, you should drink two ounces of high-protein liquid nutrition supplement every hour throughout the day. This must be a nutritionally-complete liquid that can pass through a standard strainer.

In addition to this nutritionally-complete liquid, you should attempt to consume two ounces of water or non-carbonated low calorie liquid every 15 minutes, for a total of eight fluid ounces per waking hour.

The most important thing is to drink enough liquids to prevent dehydration. Protein consumption is less important. You must drink a total of six to eight cups of liquids per day to avoid becoming dehydrated.

Drink slowly, and don’t rush it. Over a period of several days, you will become accustomed to consuming the necessary liquids.

Do not start solid foods until you have your three week follow-up visit with your doctor and bariatric surgery dietitian.

Protein is vital to support healing and maintain muscle mass after weight loss surgery. It may also help reduce hair loss that may come with rapid weight loss. Try to consume 40 to 60 grams or more of protein per day.

Three weeks after surgery you will follow-up with your surgeon in clinic and learn how to successfully incorporate soft solid foods into your meal plan.

Soft foods will be gradually incorporated into your meal plan over the course of the next 6 to 8 weeks. During this time you must continue to focus on high protein foods and stay away from foods that are high in fat, sugar, or fiber.

You may still need to get some of your protein from vitamin supplements until you are able to consume enough solid food to meet your nutritional needs.

Eating enough protein will help you maintain muscle mass and heal your body as you lose weight. Remember that you will not be able to eat a large volume of food at one time. Be prepared to eat small meals four to six times a day.

It is important that you recognize when you are full. Signs of fullness are pressure, tightness, or heaviness in the center of your abdomen just below your breast bone. A feeling of nausea, regurgitation, or heartburn is a sign that too much food has been consumed or was eaten too rapidly.

After 10 to 12 weeks, you should ready to go from soft solids to regular foods. Eventually, you will probably be able to eat many of the foods you were eating before bariatric surgery, but in much smaller amounts.

Try to make healthy food choices that include lean meat or vegetable protein, low-fat dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables. Do your best to avoid junk foods that are typically high in fat and sugar.