Diet Before And After Gastric Sleeve Surgery

Diet Before And After Gastric Sleeve Surgery : Many women have an impression that gastric sleeve surgery is a magic bullet to eliminate obesity. However, in reality, any bariatric surgery procedure will only facilitate your weight loss journey, while its success or failure lies almost entirely in your own hands. Your gastric sleeve before and after diet is (quite literally!) the needle-moving component in your endeavor to gain permanent freedom from obesity.

Your bariatric surgeon and their nutritionist team will prepare a detailed gastric sleeve diet plan for you. They will also provide you the long-term dietary guidelines and certain do’s and don’ts that will help you achieve and maintain your weight loss goals in a safe and sustainable manner. As long as you remain committed to following your gastric sleeve before and after dietary instructions, you are likely to attain your ideal body weight and reclaim your health and quality of life.

Gastric Sleeve Diet before the Surgery

Your pre-op gastric sleeve diet will come into play at least two weeks prior to your schedule date of surgery. At this preparatory stage, your surgeon’s goal will be to help you reduce the excess fat in and around your liver. As an obesity patient, chances are that you have a fatty liver, which can create obstructions in the performance of your bariatric surgery.

Many women do not realize that in their gastric sleeve before and after diet plan, the pre-op diet is the most critical component from a health and safety perspective. An experienced weight loss surgeon can educate you about the importance of this pre-surgery diet for your own safety and to minimize your risk of complications during the procedure.

If your gastric sleeve pre-op diet is rigorous in terms of calorie and fat reduction, you should know that it is for your own good. It is harder to follow the pre-op diet because your surgery has not yet taken place. So, your stomach is still large and your hunger hormones are still overactive. However, if you are determined to make your surgery a resounding success, it is time to commit yourself to the controlled diet as your surgeon has advised.

The last two days of your pre-gastric sleeve diet are going to be the toughest because you will be required to go on a 100% clear liquid diet for this period (with no sugary, carbonated, or caffeinated drinks). You will receive bariatric supplements at this time from your surgeon to maintain the essential nutrient levels in your body. Once you successfully cross this bridge, you are all set for a safe and healthy gastric sleeve surgery.

Gastric Sleeve Diet after the Surgery

Your gastric sleeve before and after diet will be an ongoing process that you are required to maintain lifelong for your own health, fitness, and longevity. Your post-op gastric sleeve diet will begin from day one after your surgery.

Week 1: The clear liquid diet that you began during the two days preceding your bariatric surgery will continue right after the surgery is completed and will last for much of the first week.
Week 2: You will continue with a liquid diet well into your second week, but you can choose thicker liquids at this time. These may include thick cream soups, protein shakes, puddings (sugarless), and milk.
Week 3 and 4: At this time, you will graduate to soft, pureed diet, such as cottage cheese, soft boiled eggs, mashed bananas, tofu, pureed white fish, and unsweetened yogurt. Continue to include thick soups in your diet.
Week 5 to 8: Your nutritionist will guide you to include adaptive foods during this phase of your post-op gastric sleeve diet. Cooked veggies, soft fruit, turkey, chicken, low fat cheese, and mince meats can be included.

Moving Towards a Normalized Diet

By the third month of your gastric sleeve before and after diet plan, you should be ready to move towards selected solid foods and a normalized diet. Continue to count your calories, measure your meal portions, and stay focused on including nutritious, low calorie, low fat foods in your diet. Keep the intake of sugary foods, carbonated and caffeinated drinks, empty calorie foods, and alcohol to the minimum.

Tips for Long-Term Healthy Diet

Do not skip breakfast
Eat lean proteins (fish, poultry, chicken, lean meats) first in your plate and reduce the intake of carbohydrates
Always choose low fat dairy products
Eat whole grains and good starches
Chew your food thoroughly and eat slowly
Drink plenty of water through the day
Take your daily nutrition supplements as advised

The success of your weight loss surgery is directly linked to the success of your gastric sleeve before and after diet. Right guidance from your bariatric team, support from your loved ones, and most of all, your individual will and determination will see you sail through your weight loss journey towards outstanding results.