Post Surgery Dietary Adjustments

Bariatric surgery modifies your gastrointestinal tract and requires permanent changes in your eating habits that must be adhered to for successful weight loss. Your surgical and nutrition team will provide you with post-surgery dietary guidelines. It is most important that you adhere strictly to their recommended guidelines.

General Dietary Guidelines 
The following are some of the generally accepted dietary guidelines a weight loss surgery patient may encounter post-surgery:

• When your doctor tells you to start eating solid food it is essential that you chew thoroughly. Digestion begins in your mouth and may help protect your smaller pouch.  
• Chew your food at least 20 to 30 times before swallowing. 
• Don't drink fluids while eating. Consume fluids between your small meals. They will make you feel full before you have consumed enough food.
• Omit desserts and other items with sugar listed as one of the first three ingredients.
• Omit carbonated drinks, high-calorie nutritional supplements, milkshakes, fruit smoothies high-fat foods and foods with high fiber content. Discuss specific appropriate beverages with your bariatric surgery team. 
• Avoid alcohol.
• Limit snacking between meals.
• Do not chew gum.
• Do not drink through a straw.

Support from a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and Psychologist  
Compliance with post-operative dietary guidelines is very important. For this reason, follow up with your nutritionist and/or bariatric surgery psychologist.

Your nutrition and surgical team will help  support you on what foods and fluids to eat and drink following the surgery. A bariatric surgery psychologist will support both you and your family for the changes that accompany weight loss, and assist you in following the post-operative guidelines.

Protein Sources 
After transitioning from the full liquid diet, you will start on a soft or pureed diet as specified by your surgical and nutrition team. You will be eating very small amounts of food. In order to prevent malnutrition, your body needs an adequate amount of protein to remain strong and healthy. Protein is the building block that the body uses to build new tissue, preserve muscle tissue and repair wounds. It also helps the immune system fight infections.

Good protein choices are lean meats like skinless chicken or turkey, trimmed round steak, lean pork chops and fish. Low-fat or fat-free cheeses, cottage cheese, skim milk, fat-free plain yogurt, whole eggs or egg whites, and beans are also good protein food choices.

Aim for 60 grams of protein a day and gradually increase to 80 to 100 grams a day.

Protein Supplement List 
Using a protein supplement will be helpful post-surgery to meet your minimum protein requirements.  Eat your protein foods first. Drink your protein supplements between meals.

It is important to use your protein supplement drinks to get enough protein in a day.  Some proteins are not always tolerated right away. Keep track of this and reintroduce at another time. Please check with your bariatric surgery team for a list of approved protein drinks ideas for the pre-operative and post-operative diets.  ggg

Nutrition Counseling 
Holy Cross Health's registered dietician offers outpatient nutrition counseling at Holy Cross Hospital. Kaiser patients will work with a Kaiser registered dietitian/nutritionist once a Bariatric Nutrition referral has been placed by the bariatric surgeon.