Diet After Stomach Reduction

After you have had your stomach reduced with a bariatric surgery, you will not necessarily be able to eat all the same foods you used to eat. You will also not be able to eat the same amount of food you used to be able to eat, as your stomach pouch has been reduced in some cases to the size of a golf ball. The following four stages are the common dietary procedure assigned to gastric bypass patients.

Stage One: Liquid

• One to two days after surgery, you will start out drinking sips of clear liquids such as apple juice, broth and water. You may be able to consume sugar-free gelatin as well. In order to prevent regurgitation, you will be advised to sip slowly and take the time to consider how full you feel. As soon as your doctor determines that you are able to handle clear liquids, you will graduate to a semi-liquid diet. In most cases, you stay on a liquid diet for one to two days.

Stage Two: Semi-Liquid

• At this next stage, you will be able to consume liquids and foods that are semi-liquid at room temperature, such as strained cream soup, pureed fruits and vegetables, mashed potatoes, and cooked cereal. In the beginning of this stage, you will initially be able to consume only about 2 to 4 ounces of pureed food within 30 minutes. After a few days you should be able to consume about three cups in a day. You should also sip about four cups of low-calorie, sugar-free liquids between meals throughout the day.

Stage Three: Semi-Solid

• Between the third and fourth week after surgery, you will begin to consume semi-solid foods such as low-fat cottage cheese, macaroni and cheese, canned chicken, and sugar-free low-fat yogurt. This diet consists of between four and six small meals (6 ounces or less) a day. You will be encouraged to take a vitamin supplement to ensure that you are getting adequate nutrition. You will also be encouraged to chew tiny bites thoroughly, and avoid sipping more than 1 ounce of liquid during your meal. This diet stage will last six to eight weeks.

Stage Four: Low-Fat Solid Diet

• In this final, lasting stage of your post-bypass diet, you will be encouraged to add only one food at a time in order to note whether your new digestive tract will react well to it. You should eat plenty of protein to compensate for poor protein, iron and zinc intake during the first few months after surgery.

Dietary Assistance

• In order to eat well following gastric bypass surgery, you will need to team up with a registered dietitian who can help you create a meal plan tailored to your specific dietary needs after surgery. For the first few weeks you may be advised to avoid consuming things that will potentially cause your body to want to "dump" them out. These include candy, alcohol, cakes, sugary drinks, ice cream and cakes. After you are finally eating solid foods, you will still be told to reduce the amount of certain fatty foods you eat, such as regular mayonnaise, sour cream, potato salad, avocados, ice cream, shortening, gravy, bacon, etc.