The Post Gastric Bypass Diet

The post gastric bypass diet is designed for people who just had gastric bypass surgery. A bypass surgery will change and restructure your digestive system. The way you eat, how you eat, and the amounts you eat will significantly change after this invasive surgery.

Since your stomach itself actually becomes smaller, you will need to change and modify your eating habits. You will also have to say goodbye to the unhealthy foods that you usually ate before the bypass. That means no more trips to Burger King every day.

Gastric bypass surgery must not be an end in itself. You will have to incorporate a healthy lifestyle, as well as following a strict diet after gastric bypass surgery.

The post gastric bypass diet involves four phases to help you adjust to the changes in the consistency and texture of the food, as well as your eating pattern.

Phase 1: Clear Liquids Diet

After gastric bypass surgery, you will not be allowed to eat, so that the staple line in your stomach can heal. After a day or two, you will be given a diet of clear and room temperature liquids such as water, clear broth, flat diet soda and sugar-free juice; as well as semi-solid food such as diet gelatines. You will be given small amounts of these foods and drinks of at least two to three ounces at a time, to see how you can tolerate food after the surgery.

In this phase, you will be given two to four weeks of eating only pureed foods that have a soft consistency and a smooth texture.

You are also already allowed to intake high-protein liquids and foods; if no problems have occurred in phase one. Make sure that all foods are pureed and blended well.

If you have not encountered problems after a few weeks of eating pureed foods, then your doctor will advise you to proceed to eating soft, solid foods. Foods such as finely diced meats, soft, fresh fruits and cooked vegetables can be eaten. If you cannot mash it with either a spoon or a fork, then it is not soft enough to be part of this diet.

After eight weeks or so, you can slowly start eating firmer foods without mashing or pureeing them. Start slowly and see what your stomach can tolerate. Eat your portions slowly so that your stomach can keep up. Some foods may irritate you at first, but will gradually become tolerable as your stomach heals.

Eating too much and not following the gastric bypass surgery diet may lead to risks and result to complications.

• Dumping Syndrome: This complication occurs when too much sweets are eaten. A series of nausea, vomiting, weakness, diarrhea, light-headedness and cramping may occur. The food passes into your stomach too quickly, thus causing these complications. You must be cautious of what you eat and how fast you consume foods.
• Dehydration: Your stomach can hold small amounts of food or water. Drink water or any low-calorie drink between meals, when there is no food in your stomach. You must not eat and drink at the same time. You can prevent dehydration by sipping 48 to 64 ounces of water throughout the day.
• Weight gain: Your old eating habits cannot be changed in an instant and you might be having constant urges which may lead you to eating more and eating foods that have high-calorie counts. This may cause a lot of vomiting, stomach expansion, as well as stomach rupture. With these, you might even gain more weight than losing those pounds because of eating the wrong food.

The success of the bypass procedure highly relies upon you and how religiously you follow your post gastric bypass diet. You will need constant monitoring, as well as group support and a lot of determination. Having a gastric bypass surgery will result in a lot of change in your lifestyle. Make sure you are prepared for it, as well as the people who are with you, for you will need all the help and support that you can get in undergoing this process.