Four Pillars of Bariatric Living

Other resources mentioned in this video:

The Bariatric Meal Plate (and more on the 2:1 Protein method I prefer)

Meal Planning Resources live under the “Meal Planning” tab left side menu.

Transcript:

In a later lesson we are going to talk about popular mainstream diets like Keto or Noom. Before we start talking about those plans, let’s reorient back to the basics of the bariatric lifestyle. That way we can better compare and contrast those eating plans and what we know is ideal for bariatric surgery patients.

We can get into the nitty gritty with the bariatric recommendations but instead I want to keep things simple and review what I call the 4 Pillars of Bariatric eating.

Hydration, meal planning and quality, movement and sleep.

When it comes to getting back on track and feeling more in control with your hunger, your weight, your energy levels, we can usually bring it back to one of these pillars. If there is a pillar that has crumbled, the entire foundation will struggle.

Hydration is a great place to start because dehydration can impact so much in the body. Aim for at least 64 ounces of water a day and even better if you can get to 96 ounces. I will link a blog post below for tips on water intake but for this lesson, know that it is a pillar worth focusing on.

Meal planning and quality of course encompasses a lot of things. You might wonder things like “how much protein? How many calories should I be eating?” and those are good questions but I also don’t want to you hype fixated on numbers. The key here is QUALITY and again we want to focus on hunger management. Planning your meals in advance to focus on lean protein and non-starchy veggies will do wonders for you. Trust me.

So programs may have you use a calorie counting approach though many bariatric programs will not. Calorie counting can be tedious and doesn’t give us the full picture. Other programs might use what’s called the bariatric plate method which I will link a blog to below. My personal approach is what I call the 2:1 Protein Method.

Eat 2 bites of protein to every 1 bite of vegetables (or fruit at one meal a day). Take small bites, eat slowly, don’t drink with the meal and stop at the first sign of fullness. This ensures you fill up on the solid protein to keep your hunger control and meet your protein needs.

Again, programs differ on how much protein you should be eating. The ASMBS recommends 60 grams of protein per day. I like the 2:1 method because you do hit protein goals without having to weigh and count your food. It also allows your pouch to tell you when you stop instead of numbers telling your body what it should do. Eating too little protein at your meal because you want a smaller portion size might make it harder to manage your hunger.

Planning ahead is key to making quality meals happen, they don’t tend to happen on accident! I will link to more meal planning resources below because Bariatric Pillar 2 is Meal Planning & Quality.

Our next pillar is movement. We used to say exercise but in recent years there has been a push to using the word movement or activity because we tend to associate exercise with negative thoughts and feelings. We might associate exercising hard to lose weight. Instead, the goal with movement or activity is to support the body’s natural processes. It helps decrease stress, improve sleep and support better metabolism in the body. Consistent body movement supports so many things in the body that it’s another pillar.

The final pilar is sleep. For some, this is the hardest one of all. Maybe you work nights or maybe you’ve never been a consistent sleeper. It’s worth revisiting what sleep habits to focus on or if you need to see a physician regarding sleep health. Sleep impacts metabolism, hunger, energy, cognition and more so it’s another pillar to check in on!

Which pillar do you feel you need to spend the most time on? What would support you to build up that pillar? Be sure and utilize the many resources here on Bariatric Food Coach to help and as always you can hit the contact button on the site to ask for more help!