Meal planning after sleeve gastrectomy: step-by-step

Meal planning after sleeve gastrectomy can be painful. So painful in fact, that lots of people don’t actually get around to it. BUT… having a meal plan can make life a lot easier in the long run for a number of reasons:

• You’re less likely to waste food,
• You’re more likely to get a good balance of nutrition
• You’ll have less daily stress from deciding what to have for dinner each night, and
• You’ll be more likely to maximise weight loss when you’re not grabbing food on the run or ordering takeaway when you have nothing in the house.

So how do you put a meal plan together? And then how do you stick to it? Follow the steps below to put your weekly meal plan together and maximise your sleeve.

Step 1

Grab a note book, an app or a meal planner template (see the bottom of the page to download one) and a cup of tea!

Step 2

Think about what is on this week. Do you have any meals out planned? Are there any late finishes at work, or things on the kids calendar that need to be considered? It may be that you pull something out of the freezer or whip up an omelette that night.

Step 3

How many people are you planning for? Will you have food left over that you can take for lunch the next day? Or do you need to pack lunch for the whole family? Usually after a sleeve, one normal portion will give you at least two serves, so if you’re cooking a recipe that serves 4, you’ll likely get 8+ portions from it, or 3 “normal” portions and two “sleeve portions”.

Step 4

Consider your brekkie – are you happy to have the same thing every day? Or a few standard choices to select from based on what you feel like? If it’s the same thing every day, it will be easier to plan. Different options can still be easy, but might need a little more forethought.

Step 5

Think about the bariatric pyramid. Remember after a sleeve you want to aim to have around half your plate protein and half your plate vegies or salad. It’s best to have a range of foods so you get in a good variety; and to go for good quality foods as you can’t eat much.  So, when planning, vary your protein and vegies so you get a good balance – aim for red meat 3-4 times and week, fish 2-3 times a week and chicken/pork/turkey/eggs at other meals.

Step 6

Work out how many meals you need to cook this week. Now you know how many serves you need from step 3 above, and you know what type of protein to base your meals on from step 5, put it all together and work out what recipes you’d like to try. Mostly, go for family favourites or things you know how to cook easily (there is no point cooking a recipe that takes hours on a week night!). It’s a good idea to try something new each week so you can slowly expand your repertoire, and also good to cook something that freezes at least once a week so you can build up the meals in the freezer for those nights you get stuck. Often people like cooking these freezable meals on Sunday night, and while you’re in the kitchen, doing a bit of meal prep to make lunches easier throughout the week (chopping vegies or pre-portioning protein is a good thing to do here)

Step 7

Make sure you include a meal you LOVE. Meal planning doesn’t have to be punishment – it’s all about enjoying your food and enjoying the process. Throw a meal or two in there that is your favourite, even if it isn’t the most well balanced.

Step 8

Go through your cupboards and fridge to see what you have and what you need to buy. Make a shopping list so you don’t get carried away in the supermarket. If you’re really good, divide your shopping list into the sections of the supermarkets e.g. group the things you’ll find in the dairy aisle, or the fruit and veg. This way you won’t miss anything as you go through and avoid the dreaded “double back” – you’ll be in and out faster and won’t buy things you don’t need.

Step 9

If this week’s plan works well, next week try to alter only a few things. For example, swap one beef dish for another or try a different meal out of the freezer. This way, every week you’ll get faster and faster at creating your plan!