What are some of the best choices we can make as bariatric patients? How do we know what to eat? Who do we listen to? Which is the next best diet that we need to be following?
How did all of this get so confusing? There is so much information and one thing contradicts the next. One person says to eat more protein and the next person says to go vegan. Sure, they can both work but you need to also find out what works for you as a biochemical individual. What works for you doesn’t necessarily work for everybody.
I want to make things simple and to give you a realistic nutritional plan that you can follow each and every day. That’s what I strive for. I strive to bring good nutritional advice to you and to educate you about the things we all should do to stay healthy, lose weight, maintain our goals and how to reach our best health yet.
What about “diets” ? Is there a specific diet we should be following as post op bariatric patients? After the initial post surgery phase of liquids and purees and soft foods, once we are past that – our diet should look like real food. We should be eating plenty of vegetables and berries, nuts and seeds, protein and healthy fats. We should be eating whole, fresh, live, good quality, real food.
If it comes in a package, put it down and find the fresher version. Shop on the outside of the grocery store. Read labels. Stay away from sugar. Stay away from processed foods. Become a BOSS in the kitchen. Purchase your groceries and then take the time to do a food preparation. Make your meals simple. Add a serving of protein and two vegetables with a healthy portion of fat. Plan a few days in advance.
Forget diet “labels” – Paleo this and Vegan that – treat yourself to real food and you won’t need to worry about dieting. Sure, I am a fan of the ketogenic lifestyle and I love a good detox but if you look at what foods are on these “diets”, you will see that they contain “whole foods”. They are not filled with canned food or boxed food or frozen meals.
2019 is the time to take your nutritional needs seriously and to work at cleaning up your diet so that you can feel better, increase your energy levels and stabilize your blood sugars. Let’s move towards a simple, clean diet of real, whole foods and let’s make our kitchens a place where we get serious about our health. This is the year of the “un”diet and the movement this year will see us healthy, and happy and glowing with energy and stamina.
We’ve got this.
About the Author: Sheri Burke is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
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