Post Surgical Nutrition

Great liposuction or cosmetic surgery results depend not only on your surgeon’s skills but also on your pre-operative condition and your determination not to slack off after surgery. Before considering a bit of nick and tuck, make sure you are in tip top shape. Try to be as physically fit as you possibly can to decrease your post-operative recovery and enhance your new appearance. Eating nutritionally dense food and staying away from sugars, sweeteners and other carbohydrates will minimize bloating and inflammation. Taking supplements if you are not sure you are getting enough vitamins, minerals and building blocks from your diet is smart and will boost healing and immunity.

Post-Surgery Nutrition

Depending on your anesthesia, you may be allowed to eat shortly after surgery or advised to stay off food and liquids until your gastric motility returns to normal. In short, if you are able to hear your stomach rumbling, then you can have a bite to eat.

Healing Fast, Healing Right

Bloating can be minimized by limiting salt and soda intake post-op. It is best to avoid colas, drinks with added sugars and caffeine (especially after breast surgery). Your goals are typically two-fold:

1. Boost healing with sound nutrition
2. Maintain the ideal post-op weight

During the first few days after surgery, it is important to keep yourself well-hydrated. Fluids are needed to kick the healing process into high gear. At this point, the fluids draining out of open sutures are mostly those that were introduced during surgery (especially in the case of tumescent liposuction). Compression garments will aid in expressing the fluids out and promoting better skin-to-tissue adhesion.

Assist your recovering system by opting for fruit or vegetable smoothies on a base of water, juice, milk or soymilk. Water or green tea are the healthiest choices because some people don’t react well to soymilk or cow’s milk and others may find fruit juices too fattening due to excess sugar. Protein shakes which may contain soy, whey or green concentrates are nutritious, easy to digest (except if you have food intolerances) and blend with practically anything. Other easy to digest foods are rice porridge, oatmeal and steamed or pureed vegetables. Avocado, once notorious as a high calorie treat is now considered a healthy option. Aside from being good for the heart, its monounsaturated fatty acid content has antioxidant properties which aid healing. Applesauce and yogurt are highly recommended for those who have undergone facial cosmetic surgery because you don’t need to chew or contract your facial muscles too much. Try to drink liquids with a large caliber straw.

In the next week or so following surgery, you can ease back to a normal diet by:

1. Changing your plate size to 60% of your usual plate. You cheat your eye and end up with smaller portions.
2. Filling your plate 70% full with greens and complex starches, 20% with a protein source (e.g. braised fish, poached egg) and 10% fat preferably from olive oil and other “good fat” sources. 
3. Have more whole grains, sprouts and healthy nuts like almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts which provide fiber and “good” fat respectively. 
4. Chew small morsels slowly. This simple step allows your salivary glands to pre-digest carbohydrates and to render protein into manageable bits which can be easily digested by intestinal enzymes.

Toward a Brand New You

Life after liposuction or cosmetic surgery is a chance to start over. When you take off your compression garment for the last time, this signals a whole new lifestyle of healthy eating, active lifestyle and a younger-looking, trimmer silhouette!