While it’s important to exercise after weight loss surgery, eating healthier and controlling your portions is equally important to your success. Learn more about weight loss foods that can help you enjoy a healthy, balanced diet.
Breakfast, the most important meal of the day, will get your metabolism going and help you start your day with plenty of energy, and these breakfast foods are filling and healthy:
- Homemade raisin bran: Use Total cereal with your own raisins and non-fat milk.
- Scrambled egg whites with greens: Make this high protein meal using egg whites, spinach, and mushrooms.
- Breakfast drinks: Try a balanced diet shake or fruit smoothie (with no sugar, of course) for a quick meal. These are especially useful immediately after weight loss surgery when you may have difficulty eating solid foods.
Lunch regulates your metabolism and keeps your body burning calories, so it’s important to eat a good, healthy lunch, such as one of these alternatives:
- Vegetable burger: The Boca Burgers are a healthy alternative to the high-calorie, high-fat beef burger, and if you add some vegetables and condiments, you won’t even notice the difference.
- Subway roast beef sandwich: A 6-inch sub with no mayonnaise and no cheese can be a relatively healthy meal if you have to eat out.
- Salad with croutons instead of dressing: If you substitute croutons and beans, peas or raisins instead of a salad dressing, you’ll get flavor without high calories and fat. You should also avoid dressings after weight loss surgery because it can interfere with restricting portion sizes.
Snacks are not always bad. By having a small, healthy snack in the middle of the day, you’ll be less likely to overeat for your next meal. Try a few of these weight loss foods as snacks before you grab a diet-busting candy bar:
- Fruits: Eating small frozen fruits like grapes, bananas, or blueberries, or dried fruits like papaya, mango, or dates can provide you with a sweet, refreshing, nutritious snack.
- Soy crisps: These snacks are high-protein, low-fat, and low in calories.
Eating late night meals is a good way to gain weight, so it’s very important to have a satisfying dinner, with a combination of complex carbs and low fats:
- Spaghetti Squash: It tastes and feels just like spaghetti without the unhealthy carbs.
- Pure-lentil bean pasta: With more protein, full of nutrients, and fewer calories, this is an excellent alternative.
- Advantage\10 pizza: Yes, you can have pizza. This pizza was designed to be low-fat and healthy and will fill you up.
As you can see, it is easy to come up with alternate ways to make your favorite meals and still enjoy weight loss surgery success. The key is to find weight loss foods you enjoy and remember that a healthy diet is a long-term commitment.