If you’ve reached this milestone and are ready to start bariatric
meal planning, we’ve outlined some tips.
1. Pre-portion your smaller meals.
Portions need to be small on your weight loss surgery diet. When meal planning,
prepare regular-sized recipes, divide them into weight loss surgery-sized
portions, and store these portions in individual packets or containers
and freeze them.
The benefits are that you get to make more interesting recipes, and you
have multiple meals on hand after cooking only once. These meals can be
pulled out of the freezer and heated in a pinch when you’re too
busy to cook.
2. Use weekends for healthy meal planning, shopping and cooking.
Use the weekends (or your scheduled days off) to prepare what you can in advance.
- Figure out what to serve, buy ingredients, and prepare some recipes.
- Try to coordinate meal plans in conjunction with what’s on sale for
the week at your favorite grocery store so that your meals follow your
prescribed plan and are as cost-effective as possible.
- Use online resources such as BariatricPal.com and ObesityHelp.com to discover
new recipes to try. If you’re unsure if a food is on your plan,
check with your dietitian.
3. It’s ok to eat out when you do it right.
What to do when you’re low on food or have no time to cook? You might
be surprised to read this, but it’s ok to eat out, order in or (gasp)
even drive-through.
Remember your bariatric eating rules —
eat healthy protein-based meals. Go online to local restaurants and look at their menus before you go.
Whether it’s a side salad with low-fat balsamic vinaigrette dressing
and a grilled chicken patty from McDonald’s (150 calories, 22 grams
of protein) or half of a Chicken Bella dinner with zucchini and spaghetti
squash from Ruby Tuesday (260 calories, 23 grams of protein), you can
fit it into your new way of eating.
4. Use smart and fast cooking options.
When time is short and you’re hungry, try these three convenient
cooking ideas.
-
Use meal helpers. Heat up a bag of frozen vegetables and serve it with chicken or tuna,
or toss in some tofu. Add some spices or a touch of fat free, low calorie
salad dressing for added flavor.
-
Use low fat cheese or yogurt. This provides a tasty and protein-rich meal to give you energy. Try whole
grain cereal sprinkled on top of Greek yogurt and fruit or low fat cottage
or ricotta cheese with a dash of cinnamon or low-fat string cheese and
baby carrots for a snack.
-
Enjoy your frozen servings. Take advantage of those frozen servings you prepared during the weekend.
They were made for times like these. Problem solved!
5. Ask our bariatric dietitian for personalized guidance.
Your dietitian will help you plan your meals depending on your family circumstances.
If someone else in your household manages the cooking, bring him or her
along to your office visit. Your bariatric weight loss journey is a team
effort. The more people in your life who are involved in supporting your
efforts, the better! Bon appétit!
For more information contact one of our Registered Dietitian Nutritionists
at the Torrance Memorial Specialty Center: 2841 Lomita Blvd., 3rd Floor,
Suite 335 • 310-891-6707