Why is it important to follow your doctors Post Op diet after WLS
If you are planning on having Weight Loss Surgery, you need to be aware of the importance of following the Post diet created by your bariatric surgeon for after your procedure. Weight Loss Surgery is not the ‘the easy way out’ as many people think it might be, when in reality it requires discipline and the ability to follow a strict diet for success post-surgery. Weight Loss surgeries can help obese people not only lose weight and improve their health problems related to obesity, but the surgery also improves the patient’s quality of life and allows them to live longer and healthier lives. That said, the results are not magic, they are directly related to the effort and commitment that patients put into their diet, exercise and habit changes after the surgery.
It is correct to say that Weight Loss surgery can help train patients to eat less but the procedure is only one part of the whole weight loss journey. As a patient, you still have to make good choices every day after surgery and the first one is to follow your Post Diet given to you by your surgeon right after the surgery. For example at Weight Loss Team the bariatric surgery center for one of Mexico’s leading bariatric surgeons Dr. Juan Francisco Hidalgo, his postop surgery diet consists of the following:
STAGE 1: CLEAR LIQUID DIET (Day 1-3)
Water, sugar free gelatin, ice chips, clear Isopure protein (or similar), sugar free popsicles, nonfat broth, sugar free juices.
+ Take liquids slowly and avoid very hot liquids
STAGE 2: FULL LIQUID DIET (Day 3 – Day 17)
Low Fat /High protein/Sugar free
- Include liquids from stage 1
- Use a blender to make cream soups
- Vegetable juices
- Chicken, beef or vegetable broth
- Skim milk
- Protein shakes
- Consume a minimum of five meals per day
STAGE 3: PUREED DIET (Day 17 – Day 30)
Low Fat /High protein/Sugar free
- Pureed and very soft food not requiring chewing
- Protein shakes (these are the most important so you maintain your energy levels)
- Soft scramble eggs, low-fat or fat free cottage cheese
- Eat slowly and stop eating if you are full. Allow yourself 30 minutes to eat your meal
- Continue drinking liquids slowly
STAGE 4: SOFT / REGULAR DIET (4 WEEKS POST OPERATIVE)
- No concentrated sweets, low fat, low fiber, high protein
- Protein rich food should remain a priority at each meal
- Start with soft protein (fish, eggs, chicken, thigh ground turkey, and work your way to tougher protein like steak or pork
- Low fat soft cheese
- Canned fruit sugar free or soft cooked fruit without skin
- Soft cooked vegetables (squash, carrots and green beans)
- Small amount of carbs (potatoes, low sugar cereals, etc.)
After the Stage 3 your real weight loss diet begins, and here you MUST focus on eating right according to Dr. Hidalgo.He wants his patients to go sugar free when possible, avoid carbs and to eat high protein, fiber and a vegetable diet.This is a STRICT diet that does not allow cheating until the patient reached their goal weight.Dr. Hidalgo has created a macro that helps his patients reach their goal.That macro is: 90 grams of Protein, 30 grams or less of carbs and 10 grams or less of sugar. It is known at the 90-30-10 macro and his patients live and succeed by following this guideline. By eliminating the carbs and sugars the weight and size will come off the patient.When the patient eats carbs and sugars, they will cause a plateau in their weight loss journey.Plain and simple, do what the doctor asks and you will succeed!
Weight Loss Surgery makes patient’s stomach smaller and changes the way their body handles the food they eat. Patients will certainly eat less food, and their body will not absorb all the calories from the food they eat. However, diet continues to be very important after weight loss surgery. By making the wrong choices or not following the 90-30-10 guideline, patients might have a stop in weight loss or even have a weight gain if they are not careful. Even once the patient has achieved their goal weight they will still need to live a healthy lifestyle and watch what they eat. If the patient returns to their old patterns such as snacking, drinking high-calorie beverages, high-sugar and high-fat foods, and failing to exercise daily, their weight loss success will last only 18 months and they may experience a gain in weight.
Good nutrition through balanced meals is the key to a healthy lifestyle. So, it is essential to follow-up your surgery with a successful diet and follow all your surgeons suggestions.
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For more information regarding Clinics/ Hospitals and Weight Loss Options mentioned in this article:
Weight Loss Team – Bariatric Clinic of Dr. Juan F. Hidalgo
Website: www.weightlossteam.com/
Email: info@weightlossteam.com
Telephone: Toll free 1(800) 404-9064 or + 1(818) 949-6911
