OUR PROGRAM
Diet
The modifications made to your gastrointestinal tract during weight loss surgery will require permanent changes in your eating habits that must be adhered to for successful long-term weight loss. Post-surgery dietary guidelines will vary by bariatric surgeon.
You may hear of other weight loss surgery patients who are given different guidelines following their weight loss procedure. Bariatric surgeons do not perform the exact same weight loss surgery procedure and the dietary guidelines will be different for each surgeon and the procedure they perform. The most important thing to remember is to follow the guidelines given by your registered dietitian.
The following are some of the general guidelines for weight loss surgery patients of the Bridges Center for Surgical Weight Loss. You will progress through different nutritional phases. These phases allow your body time to heal. This progress from liquids to solids also gives you a time to change eating habits.
- Eat slowly (30 minutes to finish a meal).
- Stop drinking fluids thirty minutes before your meals and wait 30 minutes after eating to start drinking. Don't drink fluids while eating.
- Follow your post-operative diet, as directed by your registered dietitian.
- When you start eating solid food, it is essential that you chew thoroughly. You will not be able to eat steaks or other chunks of meat if they are not ground or chewed thoroughly.
- Eat only three meals a day at no more than a ½ cup portion. Avoid snacking between meals
- Omit desserts and other items with sugar listed as one of the first three ingredients.
- Avoid tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, and carbonation
- Take vitamin/mineral supplement as directed
- Exercise 40 minutes, 5 times a week