Food, Recipes & Nutrition
...it's not just about eating less!
Carol Bowen Ball, the UK's 1st Bariatric Cook offers some advice
Losing and keeping the pounds off after weight-loss surgery largely depends on not just eating less, but upon eating the right foods, with the right nutrition, in the optimum amounts. But finding the food you can, and moreover want, to eat, and making the transition from your 'old life' to a healthy new one, can be challenging. Even if you know a great deal about nutrition, putting this into practise is hard.
From the early post-op days on fluids and soft foods, moving onto what I call 'Food for Life', it is important to practise 'mindful eating', making sure that you eat right with every bite.
Ironically, this can often be easier in the early 'honeymoon' stage after surgery when you might not have any real appetite or hunger for food, than the later stages, although there can be the danger of not eating or drinking enough. During this time you can maximise your weight-loss results by eating right and exercising regularly.
Protein will be your greatest priority during this time and it is fair to say will always be. Most patients are told to aim for 70g per day to facilitate good healing. Carbohydrates come next, and although these vary by surgical procedure as well as medical issues (like diabetes), 130g per day is often what is quoted in bariatric surgery scientific literature. The aim here is to ingest many of these as complex ones, found in plant-based foods, rather than as simple sugars. This figure may sound overwhelming and most likely won't happen in the first few months after surgery, but it is certainly something to aim for at least 6-9 months post-op.
Fats, often labelled the bad guys, also have a place but vary enormously according to procedure, and the mantra here is to steer clear of saturated fats keeping the level down to under 3g fat per 100g.
Add to that advice about eating '5 a day'; keeping up the fibre; hydrating well with at least 2 litres of water; not forgetting the daily taking of multi-vitamins and calcium supplements; and you have a regime that is more than a little testing.
It has been my challenge as a food and cookery writer to develop recipes for all these stages of post-op eating, taking some of the guess-work out of cooking on a daily basis. The recipes, on my website, www.bariatriccookery.com and in my book 'Return to Slender…after weight-loss surgery' have all been devised and tested to not only work (a minimum requirement!) but to also adhere to these nutritional guidelines and to be deliciously tasty too. Some are very simple and will not test even the most basic or inexperienced cook and others will offer ideas for those who like to entertain. All have been considered carefully in terms of cost, seasonality and cuisine so offer the virtues of variety. They have also have been devised to suit the needs and appetites of everyone, so that mealtimes can be a pleasant experience with family and friends.
They have been classified with a traffic-light coded system as suitable for the Red/Fluids Stage; the Amber/Soft Foods Stage; and finally the Green/Eating for Life Stage, to guide a patient on the journey of eating well again. People's tolerances vary greatly; so while these recipes may be recommended as being appropriate for a specific stage, only the patient will know for sure when they can best be tolerated.
Each recipe also has a nutritional analysis breakdown so that you can keep a check on the calories, protein, carbs and fat. Used in conjunction with a food tracker you can see how your levels are working out over a day and the week.
Recipes are however one thing and general eating is another. I would still advocate that patients become avid, if not fanatical, back of pack or label readers. Understand and be aware that food manufacturers add sugar, salt and fat to foods to make them taste better. Check out the best nutritional options - take a little extra time in the supermarket to find them; speak to other bariatrics on websites and forums for advice; and pass on anything you find that is good at support groups for everyone to benefit.
However, the best advice has been left until the last, LEARN TO COOK - that way you can control your food intake, know just what you are eating and still have a good, healthy relationship with food. Remember, it is not just about eating less, although you will undoubtedly have a smaller plateful than your non weight-loss surgery counterpart, but about nourishing yourself with inspiring dishes to ensure success, long-term.