Bariatric Surgery Diet: Why Is Protein Important After Surgery? - Donna Simon, R.D.

Donna Simon, M.S., R.D.:
Protein is helpful and it’s important in your diet because it’s the only macronutrient our body does not make on its own.

It’s needed for healing. It’s needed for muscle and tissue repair and it also helps with metabolism, all right?

If you are not taking enough of protein your metabolism will slow down. If your metabolism slows down so does your weight loss.

So we use a standard of 60 to 80 grams of protein and to figure out how much protein your body needs there is a formula, but most people will not use the formula to figure it out. So the standard is 60 to 80 gram protein.

It’s also important to know that the amount of protein – each ounce of meat source, whether it’s fish or chicken or beef, is approximately 7 grams of protein for each ounce.

So if you are having a normal diet of three ounces at each meal you are taking in 63 grams of protein.

So you are at the low end but if you are also taking in any kind of dairy, whether it’s yogurt or milk, those contain protein, also.

So that’s why, I mean most people if they are eating a normal portion that they should be eating they are consuming the amount that is required.

About Donna Simon, M.S., R.D.:
Donna Simon, M.S., R.D., earned her B.A. in Food and Nutrition and her M.S. at Queens College in Flushing, New York. She practiced extensively in the state of New York. She was a Dietetic Technician at St. John's Hospital in Elmhurst. She held the position of Food Service Supervisor at Hempstead General Hospital in Hempstead, and Food Service Supervisor and Dietitian at Franklin General Hospital in Valley Stream.

Ms. Simon worked as Director of Dietary Services and Dietitian at Nesconset Nursing Home in Nesconset, and as a Dietitian at Patchoque Nursing Center in Patchoque. She was a Consultant Dietitian at Long Island Development Center. She served as a Registered Dietitian at Parkview Nursing Home in Massapequa, and at North Shore University Hospital in Plainview. Ms. Simon was a Clinical Dietitian and Bariatric Nutritionist at Banner Mesa Medical Center in Mesa, and is presently Bariatric Coordinator and a Nutrition Specialist at Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert, Arizona.

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