Our Featured Recipes

Bariatric Advantage Recipe Book(opens in a new tab)

M&L Kitchen Chia Pudding 2 Ways

Thanksgiving Recipies: Sweet Potato Dish

Thanksgiving Recipes: Sheet-pan Fall Roasted Vegetables

Healthy Easy Halloween Treats s

Low Calorie Halloween Treats

What are Slider Foods?

Why is it important to Separate liquids and solids?

Calorie Tracking

Vitamin Needs

VSG and RNY are malabsorptive procedures, requiring adequate vitamin supplementation to prevent deficiencies due to the reduction in food intake after surgery.

Always work closely with your Registered Dietitian for a personalized supplement regimen based on your individual bloodwork. Here are some basic pointers:

• Our office recommends Bariatric Advantage, Celebrate, or Bariatric Fusion supplements because they use premium ingredients, providing a higher degree of safety and efficacy.
• Unfortunately, many companies use lower-quality ingredients to reduce costs. This is not typically reflected on the label.
• Remember: the FDA does not regulate vitamins, so using a reputable company is important. If you are thinking of trying a new product, always check with your Registered Dietitian first, even if the supplement claims to be a bariatric product.
• Taste, although important, should not be the main factor in choosing a vitamin. Many “gummy” vitamins offer little to no nutritional value.

When choosing a multivitamin after weight loss surgery, it's important to ensure the product meets the ASMBS supplement guidelines in order to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies throughout the lifetime. Over-the-counter supplements do not provide adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals after surgery which can lead to bone loss, muscle loss, neurological issues, and anemia after weight loss surgery.

The recommendations for bariatric supplements are as follows:

In our office, we have several products that are safe to consume and meet the requirements. Below are some of the options available:

• Bariatric Advantage Ultra Solo with iron: Serving: 1 capsule per day.
• Bariatric Advantage Chewable Advanced Multi EA: Serving: 2 tablets per day.
• Bariatric Advantage Ultra Multi with iron: Serving: 3 capsules per day.
• Bariatric Advantage Multi Chewy Bite: Serving: 2 chews per day. Does NOT contain iron, copper, or enough thiamin. Would need to also take the Bariatric Advantage iron capsule with thiamin and copper with the multivitamin in order to meet needs
• Celebrate One Multivitamin w/ 18 mg of iron: Serving 1 capsule per day.
• Bariatric Fusion MVI Capsule with iron: Serving: 1 capsule per day.
• Bariatric Fusion Chewable Complete Multi: Serving: 2 tablets in AM and 2 tablets in PM. Has multivitamin, iron, and calcium all in one.

For more bariatric multivitamin recommendations, please contact your dietitian or find a complete list on the Baritastic App.

Why is it important to take Bariatric specific multivitamins after surgery?

Supplement Schedule - Start on Day 8

Atlanta Bariatrics has created this easy-to-follow schedule for your daily vitamin and mineral intake.  We hope that this schedule provides clarification to any questions you may have about your daily vitamin requirements. As always, we recommend Bariatric Advantage® and Bariatric Fusion® products, as they are the leader in post-operative vitamin and mineral supplementation for weight loss surgery patients.

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Protein Supplements

How to choose a protein supplement?

The number of protein powders out there is a little overwhelming. Your dietitians have created a list of good quality protein powders/ready-to-drink shakes for you. You may be wondering how it decided on which protein supplements make the cut. Here are some of the items that are considered:

• Macronutrient Content - < 150 calories, < 7 g sugar, ~ 20 g protein
• PDCAAS Score - Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score
• Adulteration - Manufacturers may add taurine to trick the protein content tests, which is known as protein spiking
• False Advertisements - For example, a company claimed their protein powder could be triply absorbed and 1 tablespoon would provide 30gm protein. Unfortunately, that is not possible and the people using the supplement were only getting 10gm of protein, not the 30gm they were promised.  The studies done with this product were on < 20 participants, which is not a large enough sample size to be considered significant research

If you have questions about protein supplements, please contact your dietitians or download the Approved protein list on the Baritastic app OR have a link to download the document.

Pre-Op Diet information

In preparation for surgery for those with a BMI >50, there is a 2-week pre-op diet to follow. The diet is low in fat and sugar in order to shrink the liver, which will give your surgeon a better visual of the GI tract. Solid foods are still allowed during this time. It is not a liquid only  Please refer to the appointment guide that your scheduler will send you for when to start the diet.

One meal each day will be a protein shake, and it's fine to use anything on the approved protein shake handout, not just Bariatric Fusion shakes. Please let your dietitian know if you have any questions about the plan.

If you are below a BMI of 50, please do not follow the pre-op plan unless instructed to do so by your medical team.

Post-op diet progression for sleeve and bypass

The standard post-op diet progression is below. The phases will be discussed in detail during pre-op class and you will receive a packet with the diet information. The packets are posted to Baritastic as well.

• Sleeve: 
  • Week 1: Liquid Diet
  • Week 2-4: Soft Foods
  • Week 5 and Beyond: Solid Foods
• Bypass:
  • Week 1: Liquid Diet
  • Week 2: Pureed Foods
  • Week 3-4: Soft Foods
  • Week 5 and Beyond: Solid Foods

Examples

Support groups

One of the most important things to remember about your bariatric surgery journey is that you're not in it alone. Emory Johns Creek Hospital and Northside host support groups for patients and providers to connect and support one another in meeting and maintaining their goals.

AB Support Group Calendar

UNJURY Cares Support Group

Explore, connect, and find tools to help you succeed on your journey.

Unjury Cares offers two levels of support groups, which provide excellent pre-op and post-op support and education as a complement to Atlanta Bariatrics's educational program. The meetings are always FREE for patients.

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Exercise Guidelines

Week 1-6:

Walking or recumbent bike only. Other exercises will engage your core. Limit exercise to 10-15 minutes per day. No swimming/hot tub use. In the first 2 weeks post-op, make sure to get up every hour you're awake to walk a lap around the house, which helps with gas pain and blood clots.

Week 6 and beyond:

Most restrictions are lifted after week 6. Follow the guidelines that your surgeon provided. Aim for 150 minutes of cardio and 2-3 times per week of strength training. 

Cardio examples: walking, jogging, biking, skating, swimming, dancing, kickboxing

Strength training exercises: weight lifting, resistance bands, yoga, push-ups, rowing 

Until you are tolerating 3 oz of protein, 1/2 cup of vegetables/fruit, and 1/4 cup of starch, exercise should not exceed 150 minutes of aerobic activity and 2 days of strength training. Weight stalls can be caused when a person is performing vigorous exercise without being able to consume enough calories to support that workout.

Atlanta Bariatrics Blog

The team at Atlanta Bariatrics is here to support you with educational resources at every step of your journey. Check out our blog to read the latest info on life before and after bariatric surgery.

Read Our Blog

Quarterly Newsletter

Check out our quarterly newsletter to stay up to date with what's going on at Atlanta Bariatrics, from new technology to staffing updates. 

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