After undergoing bariatric surgery, your diet is a crucial part of your life and health. You’ll receive strict regulations from your surgeon that you’ll need to follow after your surgery, starting with a liquid diet and slowly graduating onto solid foods.

After the initial few weeks, you’ll be able to reintroduce more foods, but there are a few very important diet changes that you will need to stick to for life. Here are a few lifelong improvements you can make after your surgery.

Protein Intake

An adequate amount of protein is an important part of any healthy person’s diet and will be especially important for someone who has had weight loss surgery. The average person should be getting around 70g of protein daily.

Achieving a sufficient protein intake, especially on a low-calorie diet, can be challenging. You’ll want to focus on whole food, easily digestible protein sources like lean ground meats, eggs, and dairy. You could also look into trying out some bariatric protein powder samples to see if they will fit into your diet as a supplement.

Calorie Intake

Alongside monitoring your protein intake, you’ll need to be extra cautious of calories. For the first while after your surgery, your caloric intake will usually be below 1000 calories per day, and this number will gradually increase as your stomach adjusts.

Even after you have recovered, it’s crucial that you maintain a low-calorie diet in order to lose weight, maintain weight loss and take care of your digestive system. Be sure to follow instructions from your health practitioners before seeking any advice online.

Low Fat

A low-fat diet will not only help you to lose weight but maintain a good level of overall health. You can keep your fat intake low by focusing on natural foods – lean protein, cooked vegetables, and healthy starches like potato and sweet potato.

Processed foods are typically high in fat (and other elements you’d rather avoid), so steer clear of these and rather focus on cooking healthy, balanced meals at home.

Low Sugar

Taking in too much sugar is unhealthy for anyone, and a low-sugar diet should be strictly adhered to after a weight loss surgery. You’ll want to avoid sweets and other foods or drinks that contain a lot of added sugar. Try to keep your intake of natural sugars low too by limiting your intake of fruit and carbohydrates.

Smaller Meals

Rather than eating three large meals a day, try to instead eat 5 or 6 much smaller portioned meals or snacks across your day. This is easier to digest, and after your surgery, your smaller stomach will struggle to cope with large amounts of food at one time and this could harm your recovery.

Try to also sip on calorie-free liquids (mostly water) in between meals in order to stay hydrated throughout the day. However, you’ll want to be careful to avoid drinking 30 minutes before or after your meals and drink your liquids slowly.