The Ultimate Bariatric Post-Op Diet Guide You Need

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The long road to get to bariatric surgery can be tough. There are so many habits to change, tests to complete and doctor appointments to attend. After surgery, you face a whole new set of challenges. One of those biggest challenges is the bariatric post-op diet. You’ll slowly progress through various food consistencies and volumes of food. Throughout the progressive post-op diet, you’ll focus on staying hydrated and developing new eating patterns. The bariatric post-op diet allows your stomach to heal and retrains your eating habits.

Post-Op Diet Tips

You’ll come home a day or two after your bariatric surgery. One of the things you’ll find is that the body you’ve known for the majority of your life no longer exists. Sure, you look the same, except for maybe some bruising and bandages. However, your digestive system is altered. No matter which type of bariatric surgery you get, you’re going to have to go through a progressive post-op diet phase. A progressive diet means that you start slowly with some basic fluids and gradually add more solid foods over time. The reason for this progression is that your stomach just had major surgery and needs time to heal. You also need time to relearn how to eat, figure out your hunger and full cues and know the right foods to eat. After all, the way you’ve been eating for most of your life hasn’t worked and landed you into obesity. Now, it’s time for you to get out of it. Here are some post-op diet tips you’ll want to follow for each of the bariatric post-op diet stages:

• Drink six to eight cups or 48 to 64 ounces of water a day
• Consume 60 to 80 grams of protein per day once you hit stage two and beyond
• Sip constantly throughout the day to hit your fluid goals (Try setting a timer to remind you to sip every five minutes)
• Do not drink through a straw or carbonated beverages, as this can introduce excess air in your stomach that is painful and can cause post-op issues
• Do not drink beverages that contain calories
• Always stop eating when you are full, not satisfied
• Chew each bite 20 to 30 times and put your utensil down between bites
• Each meal should take you 15 to 30 minutes to eat
• Do not drink fluids 30 minutes before or after you eat, as there simply isn’t enough room in your stomach for food and fluid
• Eat protein first, then vegetables, then either carbohydrates or fruit
• Begin with gentle walks for five to 10 minutes every hour to help prevent blood clots. When your doctor clears you for exercise, slowly return to a normal exercise routine
• Consider journaling or meditating to help manage stress and the emotions you feel
• Get seven to eight hours of sleep per night

Following these tips for the bariatric post-op diet will help ensure your success for years to come! Now, let’s dive into each phase of the progressive diet.

Clear Liquid Diet

A clear liquid diet is the first stage of the bariatric post-op diet. In this stage, you’ll only consume foods that are liquid at room temperature. During these few days, you’ll focus just simply on staying hydrated. Don’t worry about protein at this point. You just want to make sure that you stay hydrated, as dehydration is one of the most common, but preventable reasons for hospital readmission after bariatric surgery.

Stage One Information:

• Duration: Five Days, or as your doctor recommends
• Focus: Hydration, drink six to eight cups of water per day
• Example Liquids:
  • Water, plain or with sugar-free flavor enhancers
  • Decaffeinated tea or coffee without sugar or milk
  • Sugar-free gelatin
  • Sugar-free ice pops
  • Broth
• Liquids must be without:
  • Calories
  • Carbonation
  • Caffeine
  • Sugar

To make it through this diet stage, you’ll want to sip constantly throughout the day. Try setting a timer for every five minutes, and when it alarms, drink 1/2 ounce to one ounce of fluid. I invite you to download my free grocery list and cheat sheet for this phase to prepare yourself for life after surgery.

Full Liquid Diet

Next, the full liquid diet is the second bariatric post-op diet phase that you go through. At this point, your stomach is starting to heal and you may even begin to get some energy back. Also, you will start to drink some protein shakes to help with healing and energy. Make sure you consume 60 to 80 grams of protein per day. You will sustain this requirement for the remainder of your life. You’ll also want to keep up on the six to eight cups of fluid per day, but remember that gelatin, broth and ice-pops all count as fluids. Here are some basics for this stage:

Stage Two Information:

• Duration: Two weeks, or as your doctor recommends
• Focus: Hydration (six to eight cups of fluid) and protein (60 to 80 grams of protein)
• Example fluids:
  • Any fluids from the clear liquid diet
  • Protein shakes, like Isotope from RedCon1 (Use code T20NickyBi to get 20 percent off your order!)
  • Low-fat, skim, Lactaid, rice, almond or soy milk
  • Blended and strained low-fat cream soups or tomato soup
  • Vegetable juice, such as tomato or plain V8
  • Grits, baby oatmeal, Cream of Wheat or Cream of Rice, thinned down
  • Sugar-free pudding, egg custard, light yogurt or Greek yogurt, thinned down and no chunks
• Fluids must be without:
  • Carbonation
  • Caffeine
  • Sugar
  • Solid pieces
• Volume per meal: Approximately two ounces or 1/4 cup

The consistency of the fluids should be like a thick soup. To thin down thicker fluids like yogurt or Cream of Wheat, use equal parts liquid, like water or milk, to an equal part thick fluid. For more recipes, check out my in-depth look at the full liquid diet. I also have a free grocery shopping list and more tips to survive this stage of your progressive post-op diet.

Pureed Diet

Now, the third stage of the bariatric post-op diet is the pureed stage. Most patients dread this stage the most as the consistency of the pureed food is a little off-putting. However, the best food I ate after my surgery was a pureed chicken breast. It tasted so good after nearly a month of mostly sweet fluids. This phase isn’t as bad as you imagine in your head, and thousands of bariatric patients have survived. You can too.

Stage Three Information:

• Duration: Two weeks, or as your doctor recommends
• Focus: Hydration (six to eight cups of fluid) and protein (60 to 80 grams of protein)
• Example foods:
  • Any fluids from the clear liquid diet or full liquid diet
  • Pureed scrambled eggs, egg whites or egg substitute
  • Crustless quiche, hummus or soufflés
  • Pureed cottage cheese
  • No-sugar-added applesauce and other pureed fruits
  • Light or Greek yogurt
  • Pureed cooked vegetables
  • Cooked meat, beans or refried beans, pureed
  • Pureed chili or stews
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Stage one or stage two baby foods
• Foods must be without:
  • Sugar
  • Solid bits
• Volume per meal: Approximately two to three ounces

Try one new food at a time and measure what you’re going to eat and drink. This phase prepares you for the next post-op diet phase, but you still need to go slow. Determine your tolerance and look for signs of fullness, such as burping, hiccuping or sneezing. You can download a free grocery list with tips and a sample menu for the pureed diet stage by clicking here.

Soft Foods Diet

Next, the fourth stage of the bariatric post-op diet is the soft foods diet. Finally, you can eat solid foods. This stage helps transition you from smooth liquids to more solid foods in the next stage. You’ll continue focusing on hydration and protein, and foods should be able to be cut with a fork. No tough or grisly meats at this point.

Stage Four Information:

• Duration: Two weeks, or as your doctor recommends and you can tolerate
• Focus: Hydration (six to eight cups of fluid) and protein (60 to 80 grams of protein)
• Example foods:
  • Any fluids from the clear liquid diet or full liquid diet
  • Any foods from the pureed diet
  • Canned meats
  • Low-fat cottage cheese or other soft cheeses
  • Eggs, egg whites, hard-boiled eggs or egg beaters
  • Soft fish or crab
  • Ground chicken or ground veal
  • Soft, canned vegetables or well-cooked frozen vegetables
  • Soft, canned fruits or bananas
  • Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat or saltine crackers
• Foods must be:
  • Sugar-free
  • Chewed well
  • Low-fat
  • Not fried or fatty
• Volume per meal: Approximately two to three ounces

Try one new food at a time. If you have a bad reaction to a food, like vomiting, wait a few weeks before trying it again. Sometimes your tolerance improves overtime. You can get a grocery shopping list with tips and a menu plan for this stage by clicking here.

Regular Bariatric Diet

Finally, the fifth stage of the bariatric post-op diet plan is the regular bariatric diet. This stage is the one you’ll remain on for the rest of your life. You’ll take all the habits you worked on for the past several months and continue to apply them to your eating habits. It can be hard to figure out exactly what to eat, so I encourage you to check my healthy recipes for more ideas of foods to eat. Chew each bite 20 to 30 times and put your utensil down between bites. Don’t stray from your plan and eat slider foods again. Your success as a bariatric patient depends on how well you adhere to these guidelines.

Stage Five Information:

• Duration: Rest of your life
• Focus: Hydration (six to eight cups of fluid) and protein (60 to 80 grams of protein)
• Example foods:
  • Any fluids from the clear liquid diet or full liquid diet
  • Any foods from the pureed diet or soft foods diet
  • Fresh fruits, without skins or membranes (like oranges or grapefruit)
  • Fresh vegetables, without skin, but avoid fibrous vegetables like celery or broccoli for the first six months
  • Boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast
  • Lean ground beef
  • Lean pork or steak can be eaten after six months post-op
  • Low-fat, low-sugar yogurt
  • Skim milk
  • Low-fat shredded or string cheese
  • Low-fat, low-sodium deli meats
• Foods must be:
  • Low-sugar (less than five grams per serving)
  • Low-fat (less than 10 grams per serving)
  • High-protein (at least 10 grams per serving)
  • Not fried, fatty or tough.
• Volume per meal: Follow these guidelines–
  • One to three months post-op: 1/4 cup
  • Three to six months post-op: 1/4 to 1/2 cup
  • Six to nine months post-op: 1/2 to 3/4 cup
  • Nine months to one-year post-op: 3/4 cup to one cup
  • 12 months+ post-op: one cup

Again, chew your food well and measure what you are eating. For a grocery list with tips and sample menu, check out my free download here.

Bariatric Post-Op Diet

Now you have an overview of what to expect on each diet phase after bariatric surgery. The bariatric post-op diet allows your stomach to heal and retrains your eating habits. I invite you to download the free grocery list and tips for each phase of the progressive diet to help prepare you for success after bariatric surgery. While it can seem daunting to not eat solid foods for a few months, I promise that it’s not as bad as you imagine. However, downloading the free grocery lists will help reassure your success. Get them today to help prepare you for your future, fit self!

In Summary

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