How to Take Care of Yourself After Your Bariatric Surgery?

SO, YOU’VE HAD YOUR BARIATRIC SURGERY ALREADY?

You might be wondering what’s next? How should you take care of yourself? Your body has changed and will continue to change for the next few months, therefore it is important for you to keep in mind that you cannot continue with the same habits you had before your Bariatric Surgery. Here we have listed 5 important tips on how to take care of yourself now that you’ve had your Bariatric Surgery.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR WOUNDS

You may take a shower two days after surgery (unless instructed otherwise) while protecting your wounds with the sterilized tape.

Do not remove the tapes; they will start falling off by themselves.

If you touch your wounds, remember to do so with clean set of hands.

Try to avoid sunshine. If it’s impossible to do so, remember to apply sunblock on your wounds.

HOW MUCH TO EAT?

Your stomach is only capable to retain approximately 4 oz of food now. It is important that you eat small portions of low calorie food frequently during the day. Not eating enough food might result on a lot of stress on your body caused by long periods of fasting. Most importantly, listen to your body; stop eating as soon as you feel full.

WHAT TO EAT?

Your daily diet consist of 70-75% protein (chicken, eggs, fish, etc.), 10-20% of carbs (bread, potatoes, corn), and 5-15% fats (butter, cheese, etc). As you can probably tell, protein is the main “character” in your diet. If you decide on drinking a protein shake, make sure you check the nutritional labels to determine which one is the one that fits better into your diet. Remember to take vitamin supplements, since it your body will not be able to obtain them all from the small portions of food you will be ingesting.

WHAT NOT TO EAT?

Now that your stomach has been reduced, there might be some foods that, although you used to enjoy before, your stomach might not be able to hold down. For example: bread, pasta, sodas, coconut, dried fruit.

DOCTORS KNOW BEST

Finally (but most important), listen to your doctor’s recommendations. Ultimately he is the one that know your case better than anyone else. He will be the one to give you some diet recommendations that will help you achieve your desired goal. If you have any questions regarding your post op care, do not hesitate to ask him.

If you want more information on how to reach your ideal goal visit our website or contact us so one of our Patient Coordinator can help you achieve the best version of yourself.