The Best Diet for After a Tummy Tuck

You may be proud of the way that you look after your tummy tuck, but if you fall back into unhealthy eating habits, you’ll be back to where you started. Unlike gastric bypass surgery, where you have to be careful about what foods you eat after the fact, you do not need to follow a specific diet once you’ve had your tummy tuck. Your diet simply needs to be healthy and well-balanced.

Nutritious Foods

It’s best to focus on eating foods that are healthy. You should eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables for their fiber, as well as their vitamins and minerals. Lean proteins help your muscles grow and rebuild, while complex carbohydrates like whole grains give you sustained energy. A small amount of healthy fat will keep you sated.

Though you don’t have to stick to a specific diet, some people find it helpful to follow a healthy eating plan in order to stay on track. The idea of “clean eating” or “paleo eating” might appeal to many, while the “Eat to Live” plan by Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a healthy plan for those who wish to be strict vegetarians.

Limiting Calories

Maintaining the results of your tummy tuck is ultimately about staying within your personal calorie limits. When you eat more than your body needs, you’re likely to put on weight. Though specific calorie limits vary from person to person, it can be helpful to keep track of how much you’re eating. A free calorie-tracking program like MyFitnessPal.com allows you to do this easily. If you see the number on the scale start to creep up, you’ll know you need to reign it in a bit more, eating fewer calories.

Portion control is a way to eat fewer calories for those who don’t care to track every single thing they put in their mouths. Rather than logging the foods you eat in a diary, you can just make sure that you’re eating a single serving of the foods you want. For example, you can still eat foods like potato chips or chocolate; you simply have to limit the amount that you eat. Smaller bowls and plates help you keep serving sizes low naturally.

There is no single best diet for after a tummy tuck. All plastic surgeons will recommend that you stick to eating healthy foods, in moderation. There’s no need to severely limit your food choices, or punish yourself for a single slip-up. Think about living your life one meal at a time, and choose the healthiest foods you can to nourish your healing body.