Foods to eat after Tummy Tuck

For some, this question could be answered with common sense, but actually there is a reason for every food to be consumed after a surgery, specifically a tummy tuck. For a post tummy tuck diet you should keep a light diet for the first days, such as water and softer foods like soups and pudding. Keep in mind that you will have to develop healthy eating habits and stick with those that you can do for a long-tern, a few examples can be not binge eating at late night or early morning and cut off fast food gradually; these should be a little more do-able but go a step at a time.

In this article we can tell you specific ingredients or lone foods you can eat, while also giving your some options for dishes! They shouldn’t be hard to cook but always be careful.

BEST FOOD TO EAT AFTER TUMMY  TUCK

Protein

Protein works in cells and is required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs. Foods filled with protein include:

– Meats (Chicken, Cow, Pork, Fish).

-Legumes (soybeans, beans, peas, peanuts, tamarind, etc.).

-Eggs (and egg white).

-Seafood (tuna, shrimp, fish, etc.).

-Dairy products (such as yogurt, milk and cheese.)

Protein found in mushrooms can help to reduce swelling, some examples of these are

-Shiitake .

-Maltake.

-Reishi.

Vitamins

Vitamins A and C after surgery will ensure optimal healing of the incision, aid skin regeneration, and reduce bruising and the risk of infections.

Vitamin A is important for vision, the immune system and helps various organs. Vitamin C is a vital nutrient for health. It helps form and maintain bones, skin, and blood vessels. It is also an antioxidant.

For these vitamins we recommend you eating:

-Dairy (Milk, eggs)

-Citrus (Oranges, Grapefruits.)

-Tomatoes

-Strawberries

-Leafy vegetables (Spinach, Lettuce)

-Guava

-Broccoli (Steamed or cooked)

-Sweet potatoes

-Carrots

-Kiwi

-Cantaloupe

-Mango

Zinc

Zinc helps with your body’s recovery and build new cells, it helps your immune system and is very important in wound healing, which will be found after your tummy tuck.

The foods with zinc are:

-grains

-squash

-nuts

-meat (chicken and red meat)

Carbohydrates

Carbs help restore body strength, speed up recovery and prevent muscle loss. Carbohydrates provide fuel for the central nervous system and energy for working muscles. They also prevent protein from being used as an energy source and enable fat metabolism.

Foods that contain healthy carbs are:

-whole grains

-brown rice

-oatmeal.

These are often portrayed as the reason you gain weight, and that is not entirely true. Portions are extremely important, and also what kind of carbohydrate they are; here is a small list of what are“good” carbs and the “bad” carbs:

Good carbs are:

Low or moderate in calories

High in nutrients

Devoid of refined sugars and refined grains

High in naturally occurring fiber

Low in sodium

Low in saturated fat

Very low in, or devoid of, cholesterol and trans fats

Bad carbs are:

High in calories

Full of refined sugars, like corn syrup, white sugar, honey and fruit juices

High in refined grains like white flour

Low in many nutrients

Low in fiber

High in sodium

Sometimes high in saturated fat

Sometimes high in cholesterol and trans fats

Foods that promote healing after tummy tuck

Here are 2 recipes to give you a general idea of what is needed in your daily meals:

OVERNIGHT OATMEAL

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of raw oatmeal
• ½ cup of almond or coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon of sliced almonds
• 1 teaspoon of chia
• ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon of honey or any sweetener

Instructions

• Place all the ingredients in  glass
• Let it sit overnight in the fridge
• Next day serve and eat with fruit

For this example it is recommended a bland diet after surgery to avoid gastric acidity, nausea and vomit that can be caused as side effects. A bland diet doesn’t only mean its soft foods, depending on the surgery of course, having a bland diet means that spicy food, low fiber, fried foods, alcohol and caffeine need to be avoided and anything else that might catch inflammation in the stomach. In another view, foods that you are welcome to eat are dairy low in fat, cooked vegetables, fruits such as apples, bananas and melon, bread and pasta. Things get tricky with meat; you need to choose the ones low in fat, meaning red meat should be avoided while fish and chicken are welcomed.

CHICKEN BOWL WITH CILANTRO DRESSING

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato or carrot cut in squares
• 2 zucchini’s cut in round slices
• 1 cup of mushrooms
• 2 chicken breasts cut in squares
• 1 cup of cooked quinoa
• Onion and herbs condiment
• Oregano
• Olive oil in spray
• 1 tablespoon of mustard
• Powdered garlic
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Marinate the chicken breast in mustard, powdered garlic, salt and pepper
• Cook the chicken in a pan
• Remove the breast and cook in that same pan, the vegetables and condiment at your liking with onion, oregano, salt and pepper
• With the cooked veggies, incorporate with the chicken
• Fit everything in a bowl, adding the already cooked quinoa
• Add cilantro dressing
• mix everything

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CILANTRO DRESSING

• 1 avocado
• ¼ of a cup of cilantro
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice
• 3 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oi;
• ¼ of a cup of plain greek yogurt
• salt and pepper at your liking

Instructions:

• Mix everything and it’s done.

 

A complete dish

This is a complete dish with protein, carbohydrates and vegetables. As we have mentioned, protein helps in repairing the tissue and improving the immune system. Adding vegetables like zucchini also helps to improve the immune system while also helping the wounds to heal. Quinoa, beans and/or – have a high quantity of iron, iron is handy because when you undergo a surgery it is more likely that our hemoglobin lower, this is why the ingest of iron (like quinoa in this dish) is so important. The protein in the meal comes from the chicken. You can add a little lemon juice since it is a citrus fruit which contains vitamin C and helps absorb the iron in the quinoa.

These 2 recipes are just examples of an endless world of ingredients and dishes, just know how to portion your meals and keep trans fat, excess sugar and similar components at the bare minimum, that does not mean you can never eat them, once in a while it’s fine but avoid them as you recover.