Start Curbing High Fat Meats and Introducing Leaner, Healthier Protein Options
In the United States, around 36.5 percent of adults are obese, this is around one third of all adults. Furthermore, an additional 32.5 percent of American adults are overweight. Obesity is a chronic disease that can severely impact a person’s quality of life and cause a number of health related complications.
Fortunately, with consistent effort, permanent lifestyle changes, and in some cases, the assistance of surgery, obesity can be overcome. Bariatric surgery, also referred to as weight loss surgery, comes in a variety of procedures from, gastric bypass surgery to sleeve gastronomy, and more.
Gastric bypass surgery, also divided into many forms, is the most commonly performed bariatric surgical procedure. But before this can happen, you must first understand the procedure and necessary changes that will follow -- because surgery is just the beginning. The rest is related to lifestyle changes and mental persistence that will help bariatric patients reach their long term goals.
Adults that qualify for surgery are usually more than 100 pounds overweight or have a body mass index (BMI) over 35. Additionally, those with a BMI between 30-35, have potential health risks due to weight, or have not seen any weight loss through lifestyles may qualify.
After surgery, the necessary lifestyle changes include being willing to change your dietary habits and learn new ones, as well as following a controlled plan for food intake throughout the day. A major part of this new plan is following a high protein diet both before and after surgery.
We will walk you through the importance of having a high protein diet -- what it does for your body and what types of foods you should be eating.
- Importance of Protein
- Pre Op Diet
- Post Op Diet
- Complete vs Incomplete Proteins
Importance of Protein
Out of all other necessary nutrients, protein is the most important to the bariatric diet. Protein plays a critical role in the body for daily life, but is also necessary to help bariatric patients immediately following surgery and during their weight loss journey.
Protein is essential following invasive surgery because it helps the body build and repair tissues like skin, muscle, and major organs, making it a necessary component for wound healing.
Protein helps the body burn fat rather than muscle to aid in healthier weight loss. The body naturally preserves fat because it burns lean muscle mass for energy before fat. High protein intake on a daily basis requires your metabolism to use fat for its energy because the protein will preserve muscle tissue.
The higher the muscle density in the body, the higher your metabolism and as a result your body will burn calories from fat first. Therefore, protein helps you lose weight faster.
Adding more protein to your diet will assist in your necessary lifestyle changes, and may even make it easier. This is because eating protein first will keep you feeling fuller for longer, which will help you eliminate snacking in between meals, or maybe even temptation altogether. Protein increases the feeling of satisfaction, meaning your hunger level will be neither hungry or overly full -- and it can even decrease hunger.
Pre Op High Protein Diet
Before surgery, you should be focused on losing weight as it helps to reduce the amount of fat around your liver and abdomen. The more weight you lose, the higher possibility of having a laparoscopy as opposed to open surgery. This type is less invasive, easier on your body, and requires less recovery time.
The pre op diet, much like the post op diet, consists primarily of protein shakes and powder because it essentially preps the body for healing following surgery. It protects muscle tissue while keeping the body strong for a swift recovery.
During this time you should also prepare your body for a new way of eating after surgery. This includes limiting food intake and exercising portion control, cutting out saturated fats, foods high in carbohydrates, high-sugar beverages, and harmful substances like tobacco, alcohol, or other illicit substances.
As the date of surgery approaches, you may be on a mostly liquid, or liquid only diet.
Post Op High Protein Diet
It’s important to remember that every patient is different and the protein intake recommended by your doctor will be based off of a few factors -- age, sex, lean muscle mass, daily exercise, and overall health.
The post op diet will follow four stages: liquids, pureed foods, soft foods, and stabilization or the reintroduction of solid foods.
Immediately after surgery most patients feel a significant decrease in hunger levels and may not feel hungry at all. The stomach has been decreased in size, so as you get used to adjusting to a smaller stomach and a new diet plan, your protein intake will range between 40-60 grams per day.
The initial days after surgery will follow a clear liquid diet -- a few ounces at a time. After, you will upgrade to additional liquids -- decaf coffee and tea, skim milk, thin soup and broth, unsweetened juice, sugar-free gelatin, and ice pops.
During these first few months, most of your protein intake will come from protein shakes and powders. This again promotes wound healing and helps minimize loss of lean muscle mass.
After two or three months, your doctor will allow you to transition to traditional proteins and foods and once they decide you’re ready and you’ll upgrade to stage two -- pureed foods.
These foods will mainly consist of ones that liquify well -- fruits, vegetables, and proteins. Avoid fruits heavy in seeds and vegetables that are too fibrous to liquify. The proteins will include: yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, beef, chicken, turkey, white fish, and scrambled eggs.
Some patients may find that beef, pork, lamb, and chicken are difficult to digest, so you may want to wait until your third month to introduce these foods. Introduce new foods over the weekend or when you have down time to see how they affect your body.
Stage four, stabilization, includes the reintroduction of solid foods. Once you have reached this stage, your new daily goal will be somewhere between 60-80 grams of high quality protein. These foods will need to be diced into smaller pieces because large foods can block the newly sized stomach. The final diet should consist of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and healthy carbohydrates.
Lean protein is defined by the USDA as having less than 10 grams of total fat and fewer than 95 milligrams of cholesterol in a 3.5 ounce setting. Lean proteins can also be determined by any protein that has two to three grams of fat per ounce. As a result of lower fat content, lean proteins also tend to have fewer calories.
The best lean proteins to eat are:
- White meat chicken
- White meat turkey
- Lean pork
- Lean beef
- Eggs and egg whites
- Cod
- Salmon
- Oyster
- Shrimp
- Greek yogurt and Icelandic yogurt
- Tofu and tempeh
- Beans, peas, and lentils
All meats and seafood choices should be consumed in 3.5 ounce servings or less.
Complete vs Incomplete Proteins
Proteins and amino acids are used for nearly every metabolic bodily process. Amino acids are what is left when proteins are broken down or dissolved, they are the main building blocks of proteins. The body needs nine essential amino acids from your everyday diet. However, not all proteins contain these nine amino acids -- this is where complete and incomplete proteins come into play.
Animal-based proteins are known as complete proteins because they contain all nine necessary amino acids. These are needed in order for your body to function properly. These proteins are:
- Beef
- Poultry
- Pork
- Seafood & fish
- Eggs
- Dairy
Plant-based proteins are known as incomplete proteins because they lack one or more of the nine essential amino acids. These are:
- Beans
- Lentils and split peas
- Nuts and seeds
- Grains and rice
- Vegetables
Incomplete proteins need to be combined with other incomplete proteins to form a complete protein. This could be beans and rice, or toast with peanut butter. However, this is often not an adequate source of protein for patients who receive bariatric surgery because plant based proteins are naturally higher in carbs or fat and calories.
As we’ve said, a bariatric diet mainly consists of protein, but along with complex carbohydrates. However, these carbs are to be consumed through vegetables, fruits, and legumes as opposed to rice, bread, crackers, noodles, and cereal.
With the right types of proteins outlined in this article in combination with fruits, vegetables, and complex carbs, you can begin to lose weight following your bariatric surgery. Along with a positive attitude and motivation, you can begin to make the necessary lifestyle changes to help you in your weight loss goals.
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