The old standard for successful weight loss is a simple formula: move more, eat less. But after weight loss surgery, that formula gets a bit more specific. Just eating less doesn’t provide any insight into how much you should be eating and when, or what kinds of food are best for you to be dining on.

Bariatric surgery makes it more important than ever to be conscientious about every dietary choice you make. This is because when you have weight loss surgery, the amount of food that you eat will be greatly limited. Changes to your stomach or digestive tract will mean that you’ll grow full after just having a small amount of food. The food that you do eat has to have the nutrients that your body needs to thrive. So when it comes to portion control after weight loss surgery, the issue goes far beyond measuring how much; you have to measure what every bite is worth.

What to Look For in Each Portion

After weight loss surgery you want to make sure that every bite you take is nutrient dense. This means that the ratio of nutrients to calories is high enough that you can get the biggest bang for your buck.

Specifically, you want to make sure that the foods you are eating are loaded with the following:

• Protein
• Minerals
• Vitamins
• Mono and poly unsaturated fats
• Complex carbohydrates

The best way to find this information, and to manage portions in general, is to look at the back packaging of your food items and to read the nutrient label closely. The nutrition label is going to give you detailed information about how many calories are in each portion, as well as a breakdown of the vitamin and mineral content. At the very top of the nutrition label you’ll find a crucial piece of information: the portion size. It is important to recognize that not every package of food is meant to be eaten in one sitting. This is especially important to take into account after weight loss surgery.

Measure your portions by the ounce and make sure that you are eating small meals spaced apart evenly throughout the day. Eating an oversized meal can stretch your stomach pouch after surgery, but eating too little or not having enough nutrients in the foods you do eat can leave you hungry. Managing portions is the secret to success when it comes to eating healthily after weight loss surgery.