Gastric bypass surgery shrinks your stomach so you feel full faster, and it reroutes food in your intestines so fewer calories are absorbed. Because you must eat less, yet ensure that you still obtainproper nutrition, a specific diet must be followed after gastric bypass surgery. Before having surgery, most doctors advise you to start following the diet you will need to follow after the procedure. This helps to ensure you can stick to the regimen. Furthermore, the special diet can shrink your liver, so the doctor can make a smaller incision.
Dietary Requirements
Before the surgery, you need to get used to fulfilling certain minimum dietary requirements. Doctors recommend eating between four and five servings of protein daily. Two daily servings of vegetables are recommended, as well as two daily servings of fruit. Finally, two servings of starch and two servings of fat are advised. You should drink at lest six cups of low calorie or no calorie fluids (10 calories or less per serving). The fluids should be drunk between meals, not with meals (stop drinking at least 30 minutes before the meal, and wait at least 60 minutes after a meal to drink). Do not drink carbonated beverages, and do not drink from a straw.
Portion Control
It is essential that you manage strict portion control on a gastric bypass diet. Your stomach can only hold between 1 and 3 ounces of food, and if you eat too much, you will vomit. Eventually, if you overeat enough, your pouch (the part of your stomach portioned off to hold food by the surgery) will stretch and you will begin to have difficulty with managing your weight again. The presurgery diet helps you to practice portion control, although you will be eating larger portions than you will after the surgery. You need to get used to measuring food at home and understanding measure food when you go to restaurants. For example, one useful tip is 3 ounces of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. When eating foods before your surgery, eat the recommended portion size on the package. If the food is not packaged, consult your doctor or online guides to determine the appropriate portion for the particular food you are eating (for example, if you eat eggs you should eat one egg; if you eat cooked vegetables you should consume ½ cup, while you can eat a full cup if the vegetables are raw).
Food Recommendations
Recommended proteins include lean meats, nuts, eggs, low-fat cheese and beans. Typically, only one of your four to five servings of proteins should be nuts or cheese. Starches should be whole-wheat foods. Foods should be low fat (between 3 and 4 grams of fat according to the label). You should also aim to eat high-fiber foods. It is best to eat small meals every four to five hours, and include a protein at each meal. By beginning this regimen before the surgery, as well as an exercise regimen, you will ensure that you are able to maintain the lifestyle required for the gastric bypass to be a success.
