What Can I Eat After Bariatric Surgery
Weight loss surgery will be followed by 8 to 12 weeks of eating what is referred to as the gastric bypass diet. This is a diet that will be tolerated by a person who has just had surgery on their stomach and intestines. It will allow you to heal with the least amount of problems and will provide nourishment for a stomach that will only hold one ounce of food.
After leaving the hospital your bariatric surgery diet will consist of baby food, strained pureed foods or high protein drinks. Your meals will consist of these things for at least 14 days and can last as long as 8 weeks. Once you reintroduce soft foods into your diet, it will be necessary chew everything thoroughly. It should be liquid by the time you swallow it.
You will enter into the last step of this diet at about 2 months post surgery. This should be an exciting time for you as the weight should rapidly have begun to drop off. You can begin to experiment with foods you have eaten in the past. Remember to take it easy. Foods high in sugar or fat may not be tolerated by your digestive system. Meats and course foods may need to be softened with liquid.
The important thing to remember about the bariatric surgery high protein diet is it is temporary. You will be past it in 3 months or less and from there it will be up to you to make choices that will allow you to lose weight and regain your health. Weight loss surgery is a tool and should be used that way. Just because you had this procedure, you will not be immune from weight gain in the future.
A doctor should always be consulted before begining a new food plan.