To help obese or severely overweight patients dramatically change their eating habits, many doctors suggest they undergo gastric bypass surgeries. The main purpose of this intervention is to get the patient used to eating smaller amounts of food. Since the size of the stomach is surgically reduced, its ability to digest is reduced as well. Because of that, a specific type of dietary regimen called a Bariatric Post-op Bariatric diet is required.
Here are some quick and simple tips to follow a healthy diet to reduce inflammation, and a couple of tasty recipes to help you fully recover from the surgical intervention.
Tips and Tricks:
- Chew a lot of the solid food you eat and sip slowly all the liquid food you drink. The slower you eat, the greater the feeling of fullness you will get after every meal.
- Eat as slowly as you can, and wait at least one full minute after every bite. Using an app on your smartphone can help you understand how much time has passed, to avoid your mind “cheating” on you.
- Do not drink anything liquid during your meal, or 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after. Liquids will help food move through the digestive system, making you feel hungry again much sooner.
- Take a picture of yourself every day. Not only pictures will help you gauge your progress, but they will also help you know you’re going in the right direction, giving you a strong sense of self-empowerment.
- Always keep yourself positive about the sacrifices you’re enduring. Do not complain too much, and avoid people that will let you slip into nasty self-indulgence!
- Be patient! You need time, hurrying this process can be dangerous for your health. Also, your body needs to slowly adapt to make these changes as permanent as they can be in the long term.
- Stop eating as soon as you’re full. Learn to listen to your body and its signals of satisfaction or upset, and always avoid all kinds of overexertion.
- If you need to take medication to ease one of your symptoms, always check with your doctor first.
Read Also: Benefits of Avocado for Health
Healthy recipes for bariatric post-op diet
Here are some nice ideas to plan a day with some healthy recipes that will help you start a new life after your bariatric surgery. You should not renounce anything: you need to know what and how much you eat, and that’s it!
Breakfast: Apple tuna sandwich for Bariatric Diet
A good way to start your day with a fresh and delicious mix of fresh fruit and fish! Tuna contains a lot of DHA and EPA, special fatty acids that will help your cardiovascular system. And apples… you know what they say: an apple a day keeps the doctor away!
Chop the apple into small pieces or slices, and drain the water from the can of tuna. Put the tuna and the apple in a bowl together with a quarter cup of low-fat yogurt, a teaspoon of mustard, and half a teaspoon of honey. Stir well, and spread the mix on the slices of bread. You may add some taste to each sandwich with freshly cut lettuce leaves!
Lunch: Pork and Black Bean Stew
What about a good-tasting protein lunch? Soft food is especially good for the first few months after the surgery as it will allow your stomach to heal.
Brown some pork loin cubes in an oven with some olive oil, then add onion and garlic until they all soften. Add the spices you like most, like peppers, cumin, coriander, curry, or rosemary, then stir while adding a can of broth, a can of rinsed black beans, and a can of diced tomatoes in juice. Bring stew to a boil then reduce heat to low, covering the pot for at least 45-60 minutes. Check when the pork is tender, and serve it!
Dinner: Baked broccoli and cheesecake for Bariatric A
What about a delicious salty cake with some nutritious vegetables and the added taste of some great cheese? You’re going to eat a superb meal, with only 120 calories in total!
Combine 6 large eggs, 4 ounces of light margarine, half a pound of low-fat cheddar cheese, two pounds of non-fat cottage cheese, six tablespoons of flour, a teaspoon of salt, ten ounces of chopped broccoli, and half a cup of sliced mushroom in a large pan and mix them up. Add (if you want) some black pepper, and a dash of either paprika, coriander, or some chopped pimento if you like spicy foods. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees, place the pan with all combined ingredients inside it and bake for 90 minutes. Serve it as hot as you want!
