The Post Op Meal Plan from My Bariatric Center of Excellence

I resisted this as long as I could.  I decided to give some details on my Bariatric Center of Excellence meal plan for Roux-en-Y.
I will not be able to give full details as they are the for their patients and probably have been revised as they are carefully dated.  But the following is a general overview of what I believe was an absolutely excellent progressive meal plan for RNY post op patients.

Phase I-- Pureed Food - Weeks 1-3.  Food types are provided and sources of concentrated sweets to avoid are included.  A lot of emphasis is placed on protein and how to increase the protein intake.  Exercise, post op care and vitamins are included in this very very detailed 8-page patient education document.

Phase II-- Soft Foods- Weeks 4-6.  Examples of soft textured foods are documented.  It also warns against intake of high fiber foods.  This is also a very detailed 3-page document.

Phase II- Regular Consistency.  This is the return to regular foods, increasing fiber back into the diet, maintaining the 60 grams of protein for RNY and moderate / controlled fat consumption.  Physical activity is advised at 30 minutes a day.

That is similar to what we got and do but ours was broken down even further into 5 phases with one more at 6 months.  We had classes with each phase to be sure we understood.  I do think some Dr groups do a much better job than others in education, before and after surgery.

Yes Price!  There is a lot of variability in the post op meal plans.  You are correct as some doctors groups do a much better job in patient education than others.  Thank you for adding to this discussion.  It should help others who may not have received the education that we received.

Janet

Your introduction to soft foods was way earlier then mine. I am 5 weeks out and still on pureed food. But as you said this was your specific plan and others will be different. I can't wait to get to soft foods.

Hi!  Yes, my bariatric team keeps good records on how their patients do on the meal plans.  My team had good success with their strategy.  I took each phase slow and easy.  Thank you for contributing your meal plan to this discussion. 

P.S.- You'll love the soft foods stage!!!


Janet

My doctor was far more conservative (I think too conservative):

Weeks 1-2 - clear liquids

Weeks 3-4 - full liquids

Weeks 4-8 Pureed Foods

Weeks 8-10 - soft foods

Thereafter - normal consistency

I'm currently in the full liquid phase but I don't think I will be on it for 2 full weeks.

Yes, your plan is conservative, but I am sure your team achieved a lot of success with that approach.  Thank you so much for contributing your post op meal plan to this discussion!

Janet

1-3 full liquids NO Lumps
4-6 puree's, Thin enough to drink
7-9 soft solids- more like puree's but not quite real foods.
9-12 medium solids -some like real well cooked veggies basically are added.

then slowly add back regular foods, minus seedy, nuts, and roughage. That comes at 6 months.

Teri

This is so interesting.  I enjoy reading the different approaches.  Terilynn, you have a nice conservative approach that I am sure is very successful!  Thank you so much for sharing and contributing to this discussion.  This is great for others who may have little patient education. 

Janet

Thank you Janet,

I had nothing by mouth for 24 hours, then a swallow study (nastiest stuff I've ever had in my mouth), and then after the results were in, I got clear liquids for 24 hours, then started full liquids.

I too wanted to say I went to a certified center of excellence. Truth is at this point, with the exception of wanting despirately an egg, I'm loving the concervative plan . I'm doing great on liquids, don't want anything BUT an egg.


Teri