Am I Allowed to Eat That?

We see endless questions on particular food products and whether they are ‘allowed’ or ‘not allowed’, or whether they are good to eat after weight loss surgery.

We often see people posting pictures of food products seeking feedback. Note that these are most often packaged food with clever marketing and tag lines.

Here’s a few facts about the foods you are ‘allowed’ to eat post surgery:

• You are allowed to eat whatever food you would like to eat – it is the amount and the frequency which is important.
• There is no one food that should NEVER be eaten after weight loss surgery.
• There are no magic foods that all weight loss surgery patients should eat – none that will tick off all of your nutrition goals or magically cause you to lose more weight.
• Normal, basic foods are fine and adequate for people after weight loss surgery, it is the balance of these foods that is important.
• Seeking out and only eating the lowest energy (calorie or kilojoule) foods or diet products is not always the best option.
• The less processed, packaged, highly-marketed-for-magic-health-benefit foods we seek out, the better!

Do you find this surprising?

Maybe.

We can assure you we have worked with thousands of weight loss surgery patients over the last 15 years and the people we see doing well eat normal, healthy food most of the time.

However, rest assured, normal healthy food doesn’t mean lettuce leaves and apples!

You do not have to eat foods you don’t enjoy.

There are so many foods available to us, that there is always another option.

Don’t like yoghurt? There are other ways to get calcium.

Don’t like tuna? There are other ways to get protein.

Don’t like carrots? There are other ways to get fibre.

Just because a food may be “good for you” or “high in protein” or even marketing with a clever tag line, you don’t have to eat it.

In summary, you are ‘allowed’ to eat whatever you like. But for long term weight management, you need to find a middle ground of eating foods you enjoy, in a balance that is nutritionally reasonable.

If you need some guidance getting the balance of foods right for you, our Meal Plans may be a useful place to start. Find out more here.