If you have decided to have gastric bypass surgery the way you eat is about to change. After surgery you will begin to eat following a plan that evolves in multiple stages in order to get your stomach used to solid food again. The food most essential to your health and success is protein. Besides eating foods high in protein, gastric bypass surgery will require you to add a high protein powder supplement to your daily diet.
Diet Characteristics
After the surgery, your daily dietary goal is to eat 60 to 100 g protein daily. This can be challenging considering your caloric intake will be 700 to 1000 calories per day and your stomach will be the size of an egg. This is why protein supplements are necessary.
The doctor may require you to be on a liquid protein diet for two weeks before your surgery. Take the opportunity to find a protein powder you tolerate well and experiment with making different protein shakes. Use only fruits without seeds and sweeteners instead of sugar or honey in your protein drinks.
You should always eat your protein first as it will keep you full and satisfied. You should not overeat and never eat more than 5 g sugar at one time.
Stages
According to dietitians Kuda Mushaninga and Robyn Stuewe, authors of "The Guide to the New You", after gastric bypass surgery, there are five stages of eating that will prepare the stomach for eating regular food again.
In the first stage (the first two days after surgery) you can eat only clear liquids: sugar free jello and sources of protein like clear broth and protein drinks. The second stage is that of full liquids. Cream of wheat or rice, skim milk, fat free cream soup, sugar free pudding and yogurt are introduces in this stage.
The third stage is pureed food, which can include lean meats for protein, low fat cottage cheese, cooked cereal, mashed potatoes, fruits and vegetables. The fourth stage includes ground meat--chicken or turkey--for protein. After three to six months most soft vegetables are tolerated well.
The fifth stage allows diced lean meat and eggs, so the challenge to eat 60 to 100 g protein a day gets easier in this stage. Other allowed foods are whole wheat breads, pasta and brown rice. If your stomach tolerates soft food well, you can move to the final stage, which is represented by regular food, when you can eat all the foods from the preceding stages but without the special processing.
Considerations
Eat nothing hard like nuts, seeds, bran cereal until you are well into eating normal food. Do not eat sugar coated cereal, coarse bran cereal and any starches made from refined flour or sugar added items. The stomach needs time to heal.
Do not eat vegetables with seeds, tough skins, or stringy like celery. Vegetable juice, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and squash my cause uncomfortable gas.
Avoid eating anything made with white flour, white rice or processed sugar. Weeks before the surgery start eliminating caffeine slowly. Do not drink carbonated drinks because it will stretch the stomach pouch. Drink 8 glasses (64 oz) of water and three protein drinks daily.
