Bariatric Food Guide Pyramid

Good morning all. I'm Tammy's sister Deb. Thought I'd share this with you all. In reading "Bariatric Surgery for Dummies" there is a great food pyramid guide for all of us. Here's what it says..different from the regular food pyramid. At the bottom: Protein: Minimum 8-10 servings: can include-1/2 C cooked beans, 6 oz yogurt, 1/4 C cottage cheese, 1 egg or 1/4 c egg substitute, 1 oz lean meat, poultry, fish, cheese; 8 oz non fat milk Vegetables: 2 Servings a day - 1 Cup Raw, 1/2 Cup cooked Fruits: 2 Servings a day - 1 cup berries; 1 small banana; 1 peeled apple (samples) Grains/Beans/and Starchy vegetables: 2 Servings a Day - 3/4 C cereal (less than 6gr sugar); 1 small sweet potato; 1 slice 40 cal wheat bread; 1/3 c brown rice or wheat pasta Fats: 4 servings a day: 2 tbsp avocado, 1 tsp olive oil/butter/margarine Your surgeon and nutritionist may provide some helpful menus, but the bariatric food guide pyramid will help you design your own daily menus. The base of the pyramid is protein, the sources of protein are meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and legumes. Half of your daily diet (calories) should come from these sources. I don't know about you guys, but I really didn't know exactly how to balance out my daily food. This is a good guideline for a balanced diet. Hope it's helpful to all of you. Debra NOTE: INFORMAION PROVIDED FROM "WEIGHTLOSS SURGERY FOR DUMMIES" BY Marina Kurian, MD, FACS, Barbara Thompson, and Brian K. Davidson.

Hey Deb, Thanks for posting this for us....... Great Info Tam

Thanks Debra! This is EXACTLY what I needed. I was wondering how many servings of each food I should be eating. I was quite clueless really! I just made sure to get the protein in and then just winged it on the rest. Thanks again for posting this! YOU LOOK AWESOME!! Lori

You're welcome. It's been a while since I've been peaking in here. The book is great. I think everyone should read it. Have a great one!! Deb

Thanks for posting that. I have that book and read through it every once in a while at work when I have a few minutes. But, I somehow slid past that area. This just shows me that I need to go back to the beginning of the book and read it again. I probably hit that section right after surgery when I was pushing to get in just the protein, much less veggies and fruit. Now that I am a year out, I have to concentrate on the basics again to keep losing. Best of luck to you --- and you are always welcome here! Eileen 337/208 (backslide here)/160-170ish

Hi Debra, Thank you for the info. I was planning on getting the book just for the extra-post op life. Was the book overall good? I have an even harder time balancing my diet as my doctor's orders are 75% protein and 25% everything else! I obviously don't always make it. Dawn

Hi Debra, Thank you so much for posting this. I have been struggling with what to eat and how much for so long. My surgeon is not very helpful when it comes to letting me know how much of certain foods to eat. He always says, "Three meals a day, no more than that and protein first, if there's room you can have a little of something else." Real helpful, huh!? This is perfect and I just printed it off and plan to give it to a friend of mine who has gained about 20 pounds and wants to loose 12. I gave her the plateau busters diet, but think this is much better. Again, I appreciate your posting this very helpful information! Lori 293/191.5/135