23 St George Obesity Surgery Unit | Bariatric Book | Day 5 – 3 Weeks Puree Diet Approximately 4-5 days after your operation you may start a puree diet. Your stomach is healing and the swelling is slowly improving. You may not be feeling hungry and you will feel full with a small amount of food. It is important to listen to your small stomach; do not push your small stomach and stop when you feel satisfied. • Only include pureed foods. Use a blender and ensure all your meals are a smooth pureed consistency. • Avoid all solids. Solid foods are not suitable choices as they could get stuck. • Eat slowly – take 30 – 40 min to eat each meal • Have small mouthfuls – use a teaspoon to eat your meal • Stop when you feel full – do not push your new stomach • Add 1 x salt sachet to your cooking daily as at this stage your diet is a VLCD and is also low in sodium – this may result in exacerbated dizziness and lightheadedness Tips to puree food 1.) USE A BLENDER Most foods can be pureed in a blender, a Nutribullet™ or using a handheld stick mixer. 2.) PUREE MOIST & WELL-COOKED FOODS Foods puree best when they are: Moist – you may need to add some water, stock, sauce or gravy (but not creamy and cheesy sauces) Well-cooked (until soft) –especially chicken and meat 3.) FREEZE IN 1/2 CUP PORTIONS Make a protein-based puree soup, using chicken/ meat/fish/milk and freeze it in 1/2 cup portions. You then have several meals preprepared, which you can reheat in the microwave. 4.) AVOID STRINGY & DRY FOODS Some foods don’t puree very well. These may include very stringy vegetables (such as celery) and dry meats (such as breast of chicken/steaks). Puree diet challenges You may not be hungry and you will feel satisfied with a small amount of food. It is important to listen to your small stomach, do not push yourself and stop when you feel satisfied. At this stage you are getting used to the capacity of your smaller stomach and therefore the first few months are your learning curve. REMEMBER – you are changing habits of a lifetime. You may experience some gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and discomfort. • Most symptoms are generally because of: eating too fast, trying to eat too much, trying to eat solids and doughy foods or drinking fizzy drinks • If you feel discomfort: slow down your eating, take smaller mouthfuls, and make sure you chew everything thoroughly. If symptoms persist please contact your clinic. • If you have any problems with constipation: to prevent constipation, we recommend taking 20 ml lactulose 2-x day on discharge from hospital. One week after surgery you can have some Benefiber fibre supplement and remember to drink plenty of low-calorie fluids between meals. Later on you can include some pureed fruit & vegetables – e.g. pureed prunes. Contact our clinic to discuss your specific bowel management. You may be advised to take one or a combination of: Durolax, Coloxyl or Movicol. Avoid products with Senna. Avoid granularly items such as Normacol. Your bowel function will be different after surgery as you are not eating as much bulk and therefore your fibre and fluid intake is often reduced. Puree Diet Meal Plan At this stage your nutrition priority is protein. You can physically only tolerate up to half a cup (100 -150 ml) at a time. Therefore we recommend that you eat mostly protein at each meal. We will introduce all the other food groups and aim for a balanced diet at later stages.
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