Gastric Bypass Diet Plan: In A Nutshell

The life-saving process of gastric bypass surgery helps you shed weight and mitigate your co-morbidities also. It helps you look better and feel better. You need to change your diet if you want long-term success in this surgery. Although it sounds simple, it is not. You need to struggle and avoid your bad eating habits and follow healthy life building habits. Knowing what to eat after the weight loss surgery is the initial step towards a healthy gastric bypass diet plan. This weekly diet plan after gastric bypass surgery is essential for 2 reasons:

  • Changing your poor eating habits and converting them into healthy ones.
  • Your safety. Eating bad food products could affect your stomach.

Gastric Bypass Diet Plan

Gastric Bypass Diet Plan

You need to follow some dietary guidelines after bariatric surgery and before the same surgery to be a viable candidate. Healthy dietary habits help the surgery have lifelong and positive impacts. The diet before the surgery is followed for shedding fat in and around the liver. It lowers the risks of complexities amid the surgery.

Your doctor will customize the gastric bypass diet plan after the surgery. The diet contains some weekly phases. It helps you fulfill the requirements of your smaller stomach, recover, and obtain healthy eating habits.

1. Dietary Guidelines before Weight Loss Surgery

Shedding weight before surgery helps eliminate fat amount in and around the abdomen and liver. This may help you have a laparoscopy which is less invasive and needs lesser recovery time and convenient too. Shedding weight before surgery not just keeps you secure amid the process but also train you for a new eating habit.

Your precise weight loss goal and eating plan prior to surgery will be decided by your doctor. This diet plan may start as early as you are ready for the process. If enough weight loss doesn’t happen, the process may be delayed or canceled. Hence, you must begin the diet plan ASAP.

What to eat before surgery

The diet before surgery contains mostly of high protein shakes and low-cal foods which are easy-to-digest. Protein safeguards and bolsters muscle tissue. It helps a body burn fat rather than muscle for fuel. It also keeps a body strong and speeds up recovery. Before going through the surgery, you should follow a liquid-only or mostly-liquid diet. Depending on your entire health and weight, your doctor may suggest you eat some solids amid this time.

These might incorporate soft-boiled eggs, watered-down hot cereal, or fish. Prior to the surgery, ensure to communicate with an anesthesiologist for guidelines regarding what to have or not have. These suggestions can change. They may ask you to drink fluids enriched with carbohydrates up to 2 hours prior to surgery.

2. Revisiting Your Diet after the Weight Loss Surgery

Your gastric bypass diet plan goes through different phases after surgery. Your doctor or dietician will decide what to eat after the weight loss surgery and how long every phase lasts. All phases emphasize the necessity of portion control. Following this habit, you can lose weight constantly and make yourself ready for how to eat for the rest of your life.

Phase-1: Liquid Diet

Your nutrition consumption is tailored to help your body heal from surgery amid phase 1. This diet helps you abstain from complications after the surgery. You can drink just a few clear liquid ounces at a time for the initial few days. Without stretching your stomach by food, this helps it heal. You can consume other kinds of liquid after having clear liquids. These incorporate:

  • Sugar-free popsicles
  • Sugar-free gelatin
  • Unsweetened juice
  • Broth and thin soup
  • Skim milk
  • Decaffeinated tea and coffee

Phase-2: Smashed/Pureed diet

You can step into phase 2 when your doctor finds you prepared. This phase contains smashed foods which have a pudding-like, thick consistency. Some foods can be smashed at home using a blender, a food processor, or other devices. Your stomach may get irritated with spicy seasonings; so it’s better to avoid them. Avoid fruits with a lot of seeds like kiwi or strawberry.

Foods which are very fibrous for liquefying like cauliflower and broccoli should be avoided. Rather select foods which easily liquefy, such as first-stage baby foods and V-8 juice which don’t consist of solids. You don’t need to drink fluids while eating as you begin to incorporate purees into your diet plan.

Phase-3: Soft diet

Apparently, you will eat nothing but smashed food for some weeks. You can start adding easy-to-chew, soft foods to your diet if your doctor finds you prepared. These may incorporate:

  • Canned fruits like pears or peaches
  • Cooked white fish
  • Ground Meat
  • Soft-boiled eggs

Keep in mind to eat a little, use good portion control and eat small bites.

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Phase-4: Solid diet

This phase of your gastric bypass diet plan incorporates solid food’s reintroduction. It basically starts nearly 2 months after surgery. You will require chopping or dicing your food into tiny bites as your stomach is quite tinier. Large food pieces may lead to a blockage which can cause vomiting, nausea, and pain. Introduce foods gradually. This way, you can decide which foods your stomach can bear and which ones to stay away from. Reduce every food which leads to nausea, vomiting, or abdominal discomfort.

Some foods must not be tried yet, such as hard-to-digest foods. Foods which should be avoided in phase 4 include:

  • Bread items like muffins and bread
  • Dry fruits
  • Crunchy foods like nuts, seeds, granola, and pretzels
  • Fried food items
  • Tough meat
  • Carbonated drinks like seltzer
  • Corn on the cob
  • Popcorn
  • Stringy or fibrous veggies like pea pods

Conclusion

You may resume eating normally nearly 4 months after weight loss surgery. Nevertheless, you must remember the portion control. Ensure your diet contains mostly of healthy carbohydrates, lean protein, veggies, and fruits. Stay away from unhealthy food products which are high in calories, carbohydrates, and fat. Eating properly means you can enjoy a healthy lifestyle without gaining weight again.

Author Bio

Dr. Alejandro López is a dedicated bariatric surgeon who has performed more than 4,000 bariatric surgeries and is a pioneer in Mexico weight loss surgery, being one of the first Mexican doctors to perform Duodenal Switch with only one anastomosis. Dr. Alejandro López trained in his specialty both in the US at Cook Country Hospital in Chicago, IL and in Mexico at the IMSS.

Dr. López currently operates ALO Bariatrics surgical weight loss centers in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, and Tijuana.