5 tips to minimize cravings after bariatric surgery

Are you looking for ways to minimize cravings after bariatric surgery?

I completely understand.  After counseling tens and thousands of bariatric patients this was a common conversation.  

Not to mention, slightly confusing and frustrating.  As many of you experienced most cravings quietly go away after bariatric surgery.  But now, months or years later they’ve returned.  For some, in an extreme way.  Like nothing seems to resolve them.  Until you indulge.  

And you know it’s holding you back from attaining your health goals. 

For example, maybe diabetes has returned. 

In fact, you’re concerned because you find yourself in a vicious cycle.  So, my hope is to offer tips that can help you minimize cravings enough to reach your ultimate health goals. 

Now I do want to preface this with, there are individuals with genetic SNPs that fall in the addiction category.  And cravings, hunger & appetite can be quite complicated.  Requiring medication or abstinence from certain foods to be successful with managing your health. But for the sake of this talk, we’re approaching this with tips to minimize cravings.  To help you make informed choices, while motivating you to stay the course until resolved. 

What are cravings?

Cravings are your desire for specific foods.   At no surprise, cravings can be driven by genetics, microbes, hormones and emotions.  So as you can imagine, they can be complicated to resolve.

Of course, I look at cravings after bariatric surgery through the lens of nutrition and lifestyle.  Focusing on strategies that influence genetics, hormones, and gut bacteria positively.  Without destroying your relationship with food. 

So, let’s dig into the 5 tips to minimize cravings after bariatric surgery.    

1. Maintain consistent blood sugar balance
2. Quality carbs
3. Improve sleep
4. Add good gut bugs
5. Boost dopamine

How to maintain consistent blood sugars to minimize cravings

Hands down this can be one of the most effective ways to minimize cravings.  Especially sugar and carb cravings.  You see, anytime your blood sugar goes high and low multiple times daily your desire for food goes up.  In fact, this is by design.  When you blood sugar is low, your desire for sugar and carbs go up.  Your body is intuitive and knows what it needs. 

So, how can you maintain a consistent blood sugar?

There are eight ways to maximize blood sugar balance…

1. Consume a low-carb, high-protein diet
2. Fiber filled carbs(fiber, resistant starch) such as Beans, lentils and potato salad
3. Get adequate Omega-3, magnesium & vitamin D
4. Move your body, especially after meals
5. Add apple cider vinegar mixed in water to high-carb meals
6. Increase short-chain fatty acid(SCFA) production
7. Consider Berberine
8. Consider a continuous glucose monitor

If you want to have a better understanding of balanced blood sugars, you can read all the details on “Why bariatric patients should care about blood sugar”. 

Get Quality Carbs for better craving control

Carbs, the new demonized food.  

Although I don’t fully align with “all foods fit” and “everything in moderation”, carbs are definitely not the enemy.Now, I know Keto has been quite popular.  But let’s face it, not many people truly need to follow a keto diet long-term.  

Regardless, I still remain neutral on following a ketogenic diet.  As there is a lot of evidence supporting its benefits.  But I’m also realistic in understanding how restrictive it can be.  Yet additionally harmful for some individuals.  In my opinion, being evaluated first by a practitioner like myself before starting a ketogenic diet is important.  This can help determine its appropriateness. 

So carbs are all about quality when it comes to cravings.  

You see not all carbohydrates are equal.  In fact, more and more studies are finding those ultra-processed carbohydrates can lead to increased cravings.  This is why it’s so important to choose fiber-filled carbohydrates. Although I’m all for following a low-carb diet.  I do think we need to normalize the amount of carbohydrates most of you will likely need to maintain cravings in a balanced way.  You see, this is where genetics can be helpful.  There is only one YOU!  Because no one formula seems to work for everyone. 

Check this out…

This recent 2022 study “Craving for carbs: food craving and disordered eating in low-carb dieters and it’s association with intermittent fasting”, they found significant association between cognitive restraint toward carbohydrates, food craving levels, and disordered eating behaviors in low-carb dieters, compared to non-dieters. 

Yet, this 2020 study, “The psychology of food cravings: the role of food deprivation”, states, “Dieting’s bad reputation for increasing food cravings is only partially true as the relationship between food restriction and craving is more complex.  While short-term, selective food deprivation may indeed increase food cravings, long-term energy restriction seems to decrease food cravings, suggesting that food deprivation can also facilitate extinction of conditioned food craving responses.”

So, is the unanimously prescribed high-protein, low-carb bariatric diet hurtful? Helpful?

Again, using genetics is the key.  Understanding those appetite, satiety, mood and behavior pathways that most definitely determine how YOU deal with hunger, cravings and appetite. 

This is where, for most people staying low-carb but not ketogenic low carb can be helpful. As a matter of fact, a carbohydrate intake of 150 grams or less a day is still considered “low-carb”. 

But for most, you’ll likely land somewhere between 75-120 grams of carbohydrates daily in order to meet your fiber needs and provide the fuel you need to feel good and maintain good levels for your health.  Think of it this way.  In most cases less carbohydrates is not always the answer.

Yes, you’ll likely lose weight on a very low carb diet, but will you struggle with more cravings?  And eventually regain the lost weight because it’s not sustainable.  The bottom line is you can’t be “afraid” of carbohydrates.  

To further elaborate, try increasing your carb intake with whole food sources.   These include…

• Brown rice
• Whole grain pasta and bread
• Sweet potatoes
• Cooked, chilled potatoes
• Beans and lentils

Then when you combine these whole food sources of carbohydrates and monitor your blood glucose response, you’ll fully understand what your genetics and current health conditions can handle. 

How to improve sleep to minimize cravings

Sleep, the ultimate replenisher.  Sleep is when your body repairs and resets.  Without adequate sleep most experience increased cravings the next day. As a matter of fact, a 2019 study, found those whose sleep was decreased by 33% consumed more food and had increased food reward the next day.  So consistently missing sleep will negatively influence food choices and cravings long-term. 

So how can you optimize your sleep?

1. Keep your room a cool temperature
2. No electronics 1 hour before bed
3. Room darkening curtains or shades
4. Keep your bedroom environment for sleep and sex only
5. Avoid eating 2-3 hours before going to bed
6. Turn on your parasympathetic nervous system “rest & digest”
7. Get morning sunshine in your eyes within 1 hour of waking(cortisol awakening response)
8. Limit caffeine after 2:00pm for slow caffeine metabolizers
9. Exercise regularly
10. Unload mental worries with journaling

There are many ways to improve sleep quality.  Personally, when stress levels are high, your best option is to get morning sunshine in your eyes within the first hour of waking.  This will optimize your circadian rhythm and stress response. 

Increase good gut bugs to control cravings

The almighty gut microbiome.  This ever evolving area of research is growing and quite fascinating.  It’s very clear the gut microbiome shifts are directly related to weight loss outcomes, especially after bariatric surgery.  

Not to mention, the ability of gut bacteria to influence cravings.  A 2012 study found that gut bacteria will change your taste receptors and increase sweet cravings. 

So how can you boost beneficial gut bacteria?

1. Increase vegetables and fibrous foods with broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale
2. Increase polyphenol rich foods with berries, cocoa, dark chocolate, cherries
3. Choose whole grains over refined grains
4. Be careful with artificial sweetener use
5. Add fermented foods with sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, kefir
6. Improve nervous system regulation with mediation
7. Take a high potency probiotic
8. Boost short-chain fatty acid production with beans, oats and psyllium. 

Boost dopamine to minimize cravings

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is notably involved in helping you feel pleasure as part of the brain’s reward system.  This feel-good hormone is involved in reinforcement.  Things like sex, shopping, smelling fresh baked cookies can trigger a dopamine release.  Once you taste one of those fresh baked cookies it makes it easy to come back for more. 

Additionally, certain genetics affect your ability to manufacture and balance brain chemicals that are necessary to manage mood, anxiety, depression, addiction and related behaviors. 

So how can you optimize dopamine to minimize cravings?

1. Consume foods high in tyrosine, the building block of dopamine(almonds, bananas, avocado, egg, beans, fish, chicken and dark chocolate)
2. High protein, low-carb diet
3. Increase exercise
4. Get a massage
5. Meditation
6. Include outdoor activities to increase Vitamin D uptake
7. Get morning sunlight in your eyes within the first hour of waking
8. Take a cold shower or consider cold-emersion therapy
9. Complete an important task
10. Organize your workspace or area
11. Get adequate sleep
12. Listen to calming music
13. Consider supplments: curcumin, L-theanine, L-tyrosine, ashwagandha, rhodiola

So, as you can see there are many ways to boost dopamine that can minimize cravings. 

Conclusion

Hopefully you can see that there are options to help you minimize cravings.  For some, you can accomplish full resolution of cravings, others they may just be quieter.  Your genetics will likely determine this.  But to optimize your genetics, consider these five tips of maintaining consistent blood sugar balance, consume quality carbs, improve your sleep quality, improve gut bacteria and boost your dopamine.