The Gastric Bypass Diet

When you first discuss the possibility of gastric bypass surgery with your physician, you will be asked to begin a diet to help you lose weight before your surgery.

A gastric bypass diet actually has several different stages.

Before your surgery:

Most surgeons ask their patients to lose up to 8% of their body weight prior to the surgery. A nutritionist will work with you to develop a low-calorie diet to help you lose these pounds. Since the weight loss prior to your surgery will determine your eligibility for the procedure, most weight loss centers provide plenty of ongoing counseling and support.

Many patients are unable to tolerate sugar after their surgery, (it can cause very uncomfortable symptoms). For this reason you may be encouraged to eliminate sugar from your diet before your operation. This dietary change will help you adjust to the changed requirements of your body after the weight loss surgery. This can be one of the most difficult parts of the pre-treatment program for people who are addicted to sugar.

Your diet after your gastric bypass surgery:

Following the surgery, you will probably be on a water fast in the first week or so while your body heals. This period of fasting is required to make sure there are no "leaks" in the sutures, which could cause inflammation, infection and serious complications.

in the next stage of your post gastric bypass diet you'll be allowed clear liquids and broths. You then move to liquid foods, such as yogurt and thin oatmeal. The next stage will allow pureed foods in small quantities, then you'll move to chopped foods, and eventually you'll be allowed "real" food, in small bite-sized pieces.

The diet following your gastric bypass is so limited in calories that it essential that you stay in touch with your nutritional counselor and take any supplements that are recommended. Moving through the various stages of this diet will take approximately a year. By the end of the year you should have lost up to 75% or more of your excess weight. You will want to continue with nutritional counseling beyond your first year to avoid regaining any of your lost weight.