|
Home
>
Search
>
Weight Loss
>
Weight Loss
Surgery
Your Diet and Eating Habits After your Weight Loss Surgery
You
will need to adjust your diet because of the changes that were made
to your stomach during surgery. It is very important to adhere to
your surgeon's diet recommendations. Some common recommendations
include:
-
Chew your food
slowly and thoroughly, to reduce it to very small pieces. You
may want to grind your meat before eating it.
-
Wait two to
three minutes between bites.
-
Drink fluids at
a time other than when you are eating, to avoid a premature
feeling of fullness that may make you feel like vomiting.
-
Avoid eating
foods high in sugar and fat, such as nondiet soda, juices,
high-calorie nutritional supplements and milkshakes. Eating many
of these foods can lead to dumping syndrome, a rapid emptying of
the stomach into the small intestine that causes considerable
discomfort.
-
On the other hand, you should
prioritize foods that contain high amounts of proteins, such as
fish, dairy products, meat, beans and legumes. You should also
try to eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits.
-
Daily vitamin and mineral
supplements at higher than normally recommended doses are a
must, because you will not receive adequate nutrition from the
small amounts of food you eat. You may wish to use vitamins in
liquid or chewable forms, because they cause less discomfort
than swallowing large solid vitamin pills.
-
B-complex vitamins, iron and
calcium require special attention if you have had a Roux-en-Y
gastric bypass, because of the changes to your digestive system.
If you have had a gastric bypass or intestinal bypass, the
following information is important for you to know. (This does
not affect those who have had gastric banding operations.)
Vitamin B-12 is particularly difficult for your body to
absorb after surgery, and you should look into taking it in forms
other than a pill. Insufficient intake of vitamin B-12 will cause
you to become fatigued easily.
Likewise, you should take
calcium (as the citrate) in large amounts, to avoid early
osteoporosis, a disorder in which the bones become porous, brittle
and easily fractured.
Be careful with alcohol. It is
absorbed and metabolized much more rapidly after surgery. In
addition to the risk of rapid and unexpected intoxication, alcohol
consumption can cause ulcers in your stomach pouch or intestine.
-
Plan meal times, and avoid snacking. You should eat several
small meals per day because of your stomach's smaller capacity.
Below is an example of a daily diet.
|
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Dinner |
|
banana – 1/4 medium
scrambled egg – 1
ham – 1 slice |
broiled chicken
breast – 2 ounces
carrots, boiled – 1/4 cup
margarine – 1 teaspoon
pasta salad – 1/4 cup |
haddock, baked or
broiled – 2 ounces
green beans – 1/4 cup
rice – 1/4 cup |
|
|
Afternoon Snack (if hungry) |
Evening Snack |
|
|
fruit cocktail, water-packed
– 1/2 cup |
cheese, American – 1 ounce
saltine crackers – 2
mustard – 1 teaspoon |
|
Important:
Consume 6 to 8 glasses of water each day. |
|
