After having bariatric surgery, a proper diet is essential for ensuring adequate nutrition and healthy weight loss. The different types of bariatric surgery each have their own complications, depending on how they change the digestive tract, but all include a relatively restrictive diet after the fact.
Here are some tips in the short and long term for following a healthy bariatric diet:
All Surgeries
Eating a balanced diet that is reasonably high in protein is essential after bariatric surgery because post-surgery foods contain far fewer calories than the body needs to maintain itself, which causes weight loss; however, while fats and carbohydrates are mostly used for energy, protein is required for cell maintenance. This does not necessarily mean that more protein is needed than before surgery, but that it will make up a much higher percentage of the post-surgical reduced-calorie diet.
Including a vitamin or mineral supplement may be helpful to the diet and patients should ask their doctor about their potential needs. Because of the reduced amount of food a post-surgery patient eats, it can be difficult to acquire enough of some essential nutrients, even without the complication of lowered absorption caused by bypass-type surgeries.
Surgeries Involving a Bypass
If your bariatric procedure involved a bypass in which the doctors moved the opening of the stomach further down the intestines, diet is even more important. Your doctor or qualified nutritionist should provide a balanced diet plan for you to follow. Because bypasses reduce the absorption of some--but not all--nutrients, most people who have had a gastric bypass must take vitamin supplements for the rest of their lives.
Results
Bariatric surgery patients lose an average of 100 pounds in the first year; however, this number can be considerably more or less depending on individual factors, one of which is diet. Eating too few calories can actually trick your body into thinking it needs to save energy, so balance is critical. The right bariatric diet will create maximum weight loss while supplying all the necessary nutrients.
Long-Term Bariatric Diets
In the short term, most people who have bariatric surgery do very well. They physically cannot eat a lot, so they lose weight quickly. It is possible for people to get around the restrictions imposed by surgery, either accidentally or on purpose and in order to avoid regaining weight, it is essential that patients continue to maintain a healthy diet and eating practices.
There are two main ways that post-surgery patients can wind up putting on the pounds again: they re-stretch the stomach pouch to a much larger size than it was immediately post-surgery or they drink a lot of high-calorie liquids. Eating a high-fat diet can also cause weight gain. Maintaining a balanced diet that does not include things like soda and eating suitably-sized portions go a long way towards avoiding regaining the weight.
Here are some tips in the short and long term for following a healthy bariatric diet:
All Surgeries
Eating a balanced diet that is reasonably high in protein is essential after bariatric surgery because post-surgery foods contain far fewer calories than the body needs to maintain itself, which causes weight loss; however, while fats and carbohydrates are mostly used for energy, protein is required for cell maintenance. This does not necessarily mean that more protein is needed than before surgery, but that it will make up a much higher percentage of the post-surgical reduced-calorie diet.
Including a vitamin or mineral supplement may be helpful to the diet and patients should ask their doctor about their potential needs. Because of the reduced amount of food a post-surgery patient eats, it can be difficult to acquire enough of some essential nutrients, even without the complication of lowered absorption caused by bypass-type surgeries.
Surgeries Involving a Bypass
If your bariatric procedure involved a bypass in which the doctors moved the opening of the stomach further down the intestines, diet is even more important. Your doctor or qualified nutritionist should provide a balanced diet plan for you to follow. Because bypasses reduce the absorption of some--but not all--nutrients, most people who have had a gastric bypass must take vitamin supplements for the rest of their lives.
Results
Bariatric surgery patients lose an average of 100 pounds in the first year; however, this number can be considerably more or less depending on individual factors, one of which is diet. Eating too few calories can actually trick your body into thinking it needs to save energy, so balance is critical. The right bariatric diet will create maximum weight loss while supplying all the necessary nutrients.
Long-Term Bariatric Diets
In the short term, most people who have bariatric surgery do very well. They physically cannot eat a lot, so they lose weight quickly. It is possible for people to get around the restrictions imposed by surgery, either accidentally or on purpose and in order to avoid regaining weight, it is essential that patients continue to maintain a healthy diet and eating practices.
There are two main ways that post-surgery patients can wind up putting on the pounds again: they re-stretch the stomach pouch to a much larger size than it was immediately post-surgery or they drink a lot of high-calorie liquids. Eating a high-fat diet can also cause weight gain. Maintaining a balanced diet that does not include things like soda and eating suitably-sized portions go a long way towards avoiding regaining the weight.