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866-SLEEVED
(866-753-3833)
Become A Success Story Today!
Free Consultation
The most important part of treatment is your adherence to a healthy diet. This is what
determines your ability to keep your weight under control – following a diet after the
surgery as well as for the rest of your life. This diet is different from any other diet that you might have followed in the past. It will progress through a series of stages; you will be eating much smaller portions compared to what you are probably used to, and you will have to eat and drink regularly according to the schedule.
Nevertheless, you will have to learn to listen to your body in order to determine whether it got in a starvation mode. If you overeat it can cause stomachache and/or vomiting. After surgery most of the patients get full by eating very small portions. Eventually you will learn when to stop in order to get full and not overdo it
A permanent change of eating habits is necessary in order to insure both an adequate nourishment and successful weight loss on the long run. The surgery will help you make the changes. If your body does not get an adequate nutrition, it becomes vulnerable to fatigue, depression, infections and other diseases that can affect your organism, compromise your health, and even put your life in danger.
A permanent change of eating habits is necessary in order to insure both an adequate nourishment and successful weight loss on the long run. The surgery will help you make the changes. If your body does not get an adequate nutrition, it becomes vulnerable to fatigue, depression, infections and other diseases that can affect your organism, compromise your health, and even put your life in danger.
Common symptoms post-surgery:
The day after surgery you will be put on a clear liquid, non-carbonated and sugar-free diet. You will be required to drink at least 64 ounces (2 liters) of fluids per day in order to avoid dehydration. It might be necessary to drink even more during the hot weather. In the first few days drink your liquids with calm until you determine the amount of fluids that can be tolerated. Your first consumption will be ground ice only; make sure to drink it slowly as it will be your first intake experience after the surgery.
Begin with little sips. Avoid using a straw; this will prevent gas entering into your stomach. The amount of clear liquids you are allowed to drink is not limited.
At the beginning it will be easier to tolerate water rather than juices. If you take medication in a form of pills they will have to be crushed or changed to a
liquid form.
During the first two weeks after your discharge from the hospital you will have to drink liquids only. Solid foods could cause pressure on the sutured line of the stomach and stretch the new stomach pouch. This might cause vomiting and pain. Liquid diet will also give enough time for the stomach tissue to heal. To insure an adequate intake of protein, calcium and other nutrients, the liquid diet has to be based on foods that contain protein.
Calorie daily intake: 500 –600 kcal
Type of exercising: walking
Time: 30 Minutes
Calorie expenditure with exercise: 50 –100 kcal
At this point you can start eating pureed and soft foods that require minimum chewing. Solid food is not allowed at this stage; slowly, day by day start introducing moist and soft textured foods into your diet. This stage includes all kinds of fluids from the previous stage: clear and full liquids. Again preference will be given to the nourishment rich in protein, but low in sugar and fat. In a few more weeks after surgery the capacity of the new gastric pouch will increase. Stop eating as soon as you feel satisfied, and always eat foods rich in protein first.
Calorie daily intake 550–650 kcal
Type of exercising: Walking
Time: 30 minutes
Calorie expenditure with exercise: 50–100 kcal
In 60 days post-surgery you must increase your calorie rate. At this stage your wounds are healed enough to be physically more active. Depending on your individual characteristics and health status you will begin an exercise
program focused on your cardiac training. In order to maintain an adequate calorie
expense, you have to continue exercising in the same rhythm for at least 15 minutes,
preferably 30 minutes. Along with the increase of your calorie rate, your food intake
and nutritional needs will grow as well.
As your food options became more various, now you can also increase the percentage of calories coming from carbohydrates, not forsaking though an adequate protein consumption of 70 –100g per day. This stage is indispensable for your metabolic
balance: gradually your body starts adjusting, and increased physical activity will promote a stable, continuous and healthy weight loss. In those days when you are not physically active lower your carbohydrate intake; you can consume carbohydrates in the days of increased physical activity only.
At this point you are entering in a new sage of your long journey to a new healthy life style. By this time you have already lost a significant percentage of the excess weight. The following months are indispensable for a continuous weight loss process, although there is a risk of regaining weight during the very last months of this stage. Weight regain might take place only if you do not follow your diet plan and indications regarding your physical activity.
During these 8 months your weight loss process will slow down, but do not get discouraged. You will notice that while you haven`t lost much weight, your sizes went down, you will notice changes in your physical appearance, your neck will become thinner, your cheeks will deflate, your hips will get slimmer and your stomach will become smaller. If you follow your diet program and continue being physically active this stage will not constitute any difficulty for you. You will notice that your food intake ability has increased comparing to the first stages of your diet. This could make you return to your old nutritional habits that could cause a plateau in your weight loss process or even regaining of a few pounds by the end of this stage.
Do not get frustrated, you still have time to correct mistakes and reach the goal. And for this reason you will have an opportunity to increase the variety of food options, increase the amount of carbohydrates with complex sugars and avoid simple sugars. The consumption of carbohydrates will have to be limited and allowed only in the days of increased physical activity. You still need to continue your daily protein intake of 70 –100g, multivitamins, B-complex sublingual, calcium citrate + Vitamin D (Bypass patients only). These food supplements incorporated into your strict diet will provide you with adequate nourishment and satisfy your daily metabolic needs. You have already lost enough weight to increase your calorie rate and reach your daily goal of a balanced calorie intake and expense. If you have problems with your joints give preference to exercises that make less pressure on them, like swimmingor riding bicycle; yoga can help increase your flexibility.
Note that during Stage 6 the variety of foods has increased. Your diet includes fruit, greens and seeds; make it a habit to incorporate them in your meals daily but limit its intake when you are not physically active, especially fruits that contain lots of carbohydrates. Remember that the priority always belongs to the foods with high content of protein. Adding red meat to your diet is important at this stage, but you
have to be very careful as it can cause certain discomfort especially during the first intake. It is recommended to start with ground beef from the sixth month on, since by this time your stomach will be better prepared.
Calorie daily intake: 700 –900 kcal
Type of exercising: walking, swimming, jogging, Zumba, rope jumping, spinning, running, bicycle riding.
Time: 30 –60minutes in intervals of 30 minutes
Calorie expenditure with exercise: 200 –350 kcal
You come to a relevant point in its long path after his surgery, can you notice that there is ease of eating food that seemed impossible before, including the intake of alcohol and some types of junk food. It is quite common that at this point the patient has returned to old habits that do not contribute to general well-being, the increase of intake capacity tends to give confidence to get out of the routine and eat junk food. At this stage you have lost enough weight, the bariatric patient tends to lose between 50%- 70% of excess weight at this stage. It is rare that a patient loses 100% of their excess weight, this will depend on the individual characteristics of the person, do not compare yourself with other experiences, every individual is different and will have different results, remember this is not a competition.
The key to continue with their weight loss (if you require it) is the continuation of a healthy, low simple carbohydrate diet, high in protein and moderate fat, you’ve already lost enough weight and have been doing exercise by a year, the new challenge of this stage is to increase caloric expenditure by increasing the time devoted to your work out, continuing the food featured in the previous stages, taking into account that if your calorie expenditure is greater, their intake will also has
to be.
Calorie daily intake: 900 –1200kcal
Type of exercising: Running, walking, swimming, jogging, Zumba, rope jumping, spinning, running,
bicycle riding, muscle conditioning.
Time:60 minutes in intervals of 30 minutes
Calorie Expenditure with exercise: 300 –500 kcal
How you should eat the way you eat after your surgery is as important as what you’re going to eat after surgery. You need to reprogram your behavior from the moment you sit down at the table to focusing in every bite, even in the way you chew.
Avoid:
If you need additional help for your postoperative food and nutrition, we also offer our 2 year signature after-care support through our resident nutritionist:
Carla Lavin: carla@weightlossgetaways.com
Our food and nutrition counseling and post-op programs are on: