What To Know About Gastric Bypass Diets After Having Weight Loss Surgery

Obesity is becoming increasingly rampant. One looks at the facts and it’s apparent that it’s a growing global health concern. Obesity has doubled worldwide since 2008 affecting 1.4 billion adults worldwide. Rigorous exercise and healthy eating are perhaps the best way to reduce this weight but another alternative exists Gastric bypass surgery.

This procedure involves stapling the stomach together to form a smaller pouch to restrict food intake. Patients are then put on a strict gastric bypass diet designed to help get them accustomed to eating smaller portions and into better lifestyle habits.

The diet consists of five phases all carefully planned ahead of time: Clear liquids, full liquids, pureed foods, soft foods, and a regular diet. Closely following the diet cannot be stressed enough and ensures safe weight loss.

The following are important points to remember when following this diet.

Keep meals small: Following gastric bypass surgery, eating habits need to change. This might be difficult to do especially if you are used to eating much larger meals. The diet calls for eating several small meals per day with a limited amount of liquids.

Eat meals slowly: Dumping syndrome occurs from eating or drinking too quickly. The largely undigested meal enters the small intestine causing it to expand too quickly. Symptoms include nausea, cramping, dizziness, and even diarrhea. Eating all meals and drinking liquids slowly prevents this from happening.

Avoid unhealthy foods: All foods high in fat and drinks high sugar should be avoided as your digestive system might have difficulty digesting it. The primary emphasis of the gastric bypass diet is for healthy eating.

Take vitamin supplements: The changes in the body following weight loss surgery make it difficult to absorb nutrients, causing malnutrition for some patients. Multivitamin supplements will need to be taken daily to account for this deficiency. Consult with your doctor first to determine which ones are right for you.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle

Gastric bypass surgery is a life-transforming operation as the results are often dramatic. Weight loss over 100 pounds is certainly not uncommon. Randy Jackson, the American Idol judge, reportedly lost 110 pounds after undergoing the procedure.

The exact results will vary for you but what matters most is maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Returning to unhealthy eating habits or being inactive could lead to gaining back any weight that was previously lost. Fortunately, there are plenty of support groups available for gastric bypass surgery patients.