Bariatric Snacks

Filling up on lean proteins and vegetables during mealtimes is ideal after bariatric surgery. Even then, there may be times when a snack is in order. In this post, we’ll talk about why or when to add a snack and some ideas for what to keep on hand!

When I was in high school I was on a big charter bus on my way to a Missions Trip, headed to a small town in West Virginia with a high poverty rate. After several hours on the bus, the leaders turned on a movie and my best friend Susan said, “who wants snacks?” I emphatically said “ME!” Apparently, I was a little too excited because the bus was cracking up at how pumped I was for some snackage.

Who doesn’t love snacks? The question I want to answer today is not whether snacks are fun and delicious, but when, how, and what might snacks can fit into your bariatric lifestyle.

Why you might need a snack?

When I first worked in a bariatric surgery clinic over 14 years ago we advised patients to eat three meals a day and no snacks, hitting their hydration goals in between meals. If you add in snacking, you take time away from drinking. Your meals should be filling you up if you’re focusing on lean, solid protein and vegetables, taking small bites, and going slowly.

While this is still an ideal situation in a perfect world, I’ve come to agree with my patients that there are other reasons for having a snack. It doesn’t mean someone is breaking all the rules especially if they’ve made a healthy choice and it’s keeping them overall satisfied and away from all-or-nothing thinking.

For more on THAT topic – here is a blog “All or nothing thinking? Try this instead”

Is it okay to snack after bariatric surgery?

Like so many questions, the answer to the question “Is it okay to snack after bariatric surgery” is it depends.

When you’re hungry in between your meals it is helpful to explore if you’re experiencing a true hunger or if it’s a symptom of something else. Our body often misinterprets cues for thirst as a hunger cue. You may be misreading a cue for hydration which is why you often hear the recommendation to start with water.

If you’re hydrated but you find yourself hungry within an hour after your most recent meal, that might be a sign that you were eating too large of bites or too quickly at your meal times. This is what we call “premature fullness” where you eat a little bit and feel full right away but hungry soon after. Food hits the stomach and signals you to stop eating but it wasn’t a true fullness.

Of course, you could be fully hydrated and you took small bites and ate lean solid protein slowly at your mealtime, but still want to snack in between your meals. If there isn’t a physical reason for hunger, it could be an emotional trigger which I cover here in a minute. Either way, it can be appropriate to have a planned healthy snack.

The trick here is that it is an actual snack that you consume mindfully rather than grazing or picking at foods and continually snacking. That’s a slippery slope as we all know, but take heart, it’s a habit that can be changed.

What kind of snacks are okay?

If you’re feeling a true physical hunger and your stomach needs more food, go for a protein-based snack. This will help control your appetite. Food choices like boiled eggs, low-fat cheese sticks, lean jerky, or a protein bar. (I cover what to look for in protein bars in my Food Fundamentals course inside Premier Access!)

If your hunger is not physical and it’s more of an urge to snack for a craving or to keep you from indulging in something you’re trying not to – then you could go for something less focused on protein and more focused on a lower-calorie version of what you’re looking for. This might be foods like sugar-free popsicles, low-sugar hot cocoa, a Quest® cookie, veggies with light dip or pickle spears.

The difference is in the type of hunger. You could have a protein snack anytime, but if you’re having physical hunger, you don’t want to opt for a low-calorie vegetable snack that doesn’t truly fill you up.

Reminder to grab your free list of over 90 snack ideas! You can grab it here!

Head hunger or physical hunger?

There are two types of systems in the body that impact our drive towards food. One is the homeostatic system (more physically related like hunger or blood sugar cues) and the other is the hedonic system (more emotional like stress releasing cortisol which drives hunger).

Head hunger isn’t something we can cut out of our human bodies. There are real triggers for real reasons. One of the best things we can do? Educate ourselves! When we understand why we feel hungry, we can better accommodate what our body is asking of us.

If you’re ready to go deeper and understand why stress, boredom or loneliness trigger our brains towards food – check out Premier Access Membership and unlock my Emotional Eating course inside the library! Everything is unlocked at one price – this is just one of 10 courses!