While most people understand that gastric-bypass surgery significantly reduces the size of a person's stomach, most do not realize how difficult it may become to digest certain foods after the procedure. While gastric bypass is usually a last resort for people who have tried diets without success, the surgery must still be coupled with changes in lifestyle and healthier eating habits.
Chewing Gum
Avoid all types of chewing gum after your gastric-bypass surgery. Chewing gum, if swallowed, may block your new, smaller stomach openings and cause significant medical complications. Chewing gum will also cause you to swallow excess air, which can lead to stomach and intestinal pains or gas.
White Foods
After your gastric-bypass surgery, it is extremely important to avoid anything that falls into the category of "white food," including white sugar, white flour and white fats.
White sugars include any sugar refined from sugar cane or sugar beets. Avoid them because they have been stripped of all their vitamins and minerals during the refining process. White flour is derived from whole-wheat flour but, again, has been depleted of bran, wheat germ and other essential nutrients. White fats include anything made with animal lard or anything that has been hydrogenated to ensure that it hardens at room temperature (like butter).
In short, avoiding white foods means you'll have to avoid most junk foods. These include---but are not limited to---pizza, candy, cookies, candy, jelly, pastries, soft drinks, and certain breads, cereals and pasta.
Carbonated Beverages
After your gastric-bypass procedure, avoid drinking any type of carbonated beverage. The first reason is because drinking carbonated beverages (even the diet variety) causes you to swallow excessive amounts of air, resulting in pain and discomfort. The second reason is because carbonated beverages are usually packed with high-fructose corn syrup, additives and other calorie-laden ingredients, causing you to ingest more calories per day than you should on a post-gastric bypass diet.
About Liquids
Continue to drink liquids as often as possible between meals. You cannot drink any liquid during your meals, including 1/2 hour before and 1/2 hour after each meal. This rule may cause your foods to flush out of your new stomach "pouch" faster, robbing your body of essential nutrients; it can also lead to dehydration.
Liquids will also make you feel full, making it more difficult for you to eat the nutritious foods your body actually needs. Sip liquids constantly throughout the day to ensure you are properly hydrated at all times.
