Eating For Your New Life

You have made an important first step in achieving your weight loss goals through bariatric surgery.  For the next four weeks, you will participate in an eating plan designed to support your recovery and allow your stomach to heal.  You will also learn about meeting your nutritional needs and adjusting your eating habits for the new you.  As you recovery from surgery, the Barix Clinics program staff members will guide you through te eating steps that will help your stomach to heal and prepare you for the new eating pattern you will keep for the rest of your life.  Here is a summary of the steps for you.

The first stage of your eating program last approximately four weeks.  During the "eating for healing" stage, you will progress from fluids to foods in a more solid, but still easily digestible form.  This gradual progression to foods with a firmer consistency will allow you to heal.  You will learn what kinds of foods to eat at each step so you receive the nutrition and fluids you require.

Stage 1:  Full Liquids

Liquids will provide your body with nourishment during the healing process.  Choose fluids wisely, avoiding those with empty calories and those containing more than 2 grams of added sugar.  Sip a total of 64 oz of fluid per day.  This stage will last for one week.  A list of full liquid choices and high protein recipes are available in the Barix Clinics Guide to Good Health. 

Stage 2:  Pureed Foods

One week after discharge from the hospital, your diet will advance to thicker, yet still smooth foods.  There are three ways to obtain foods in this consistency:

• Use foods with a naturally smooth consistency such as applesauce or mashed potatoes


• Choose baby foods


• Blend or puree your own foods

Stage 3:  Soft Foods

Two weeks after discharge from the hospital, your diet will advance to regular consistency foods that are easy to tolerate, the stage called soft foods.  You can enjoy small portions of toast, crackers, cooked vegetables, ground meats, flaky fish, eggs or egg substitute, and soft fruits. 

Stage 4:  Eating for Life

Once your stomach had healed, you will begin an eating program you will keep for life.  You will reintroduce regular, healthy foods into your eating program and learn a new eating schedule designed for your new, smaller stomach. 

The Barix Clinics Guide to Good Health describes your Eating for Healing and Eating for Life program in detail.  This invaluble resource is available to you at pre-admission testing which occurs about 2 weeks prior to your surgery.