Joseph Lederman
Perhaps the most important part of post gastric or bariatric surgeries is what you eat, how you eat and how much you eat. Gastric bypass surgery completely changes the anatomy of your digestive system to aid in weight loss. Any Bariatric or weight loss surgery will lead to a reduction in the volume of the stomach and can be accompanied with different psychological responses to food. Normally resulting in dramatic weight loss, these surgeries can swiftly reduce obesity.
With your stomach pouch reduced to a size of a small egg, you will need to follow a rigid diet in a post gastric bypass setting. Getting help from a professional dietician can aid in creating the proper post surgery diet. This includes: what type of food, how much you eat with each meal and the necessary consistencies with foods. A diet that closely monitors all of these factors will lead to a much healthier weight loss, nutrition and decreasing your chances from any severe complications. .
Post Bariatric Surgery Diet
Once the surgery is completed, you will not be able to eat for one to two days and only eat specific foods according to the healing progress. Most physicians and dieticians recommend common phases within the gastric bypass diet eating patterns. Liquids that are at room temperature such as broth, juice, milk and creamed soup will help you attain sufficient vitamins during the first couple of days. After the liquid phase, eating pureed foods is recommended. These are foods with a consistency of a smooth paste or a thick liquid. This kind of diet generally lasts for three to four weeks. Soft foods that are soft, easy to chew such as diced meats, fruit and vegetables often last for eight weeks or as recommended by your physician.
Any kind of Gastric Bypass surgery will lead to a reduction in the volume of the stomach. This can also be accompanied with psychological responses to food. Normally resulting in dramatic weight loss, these surgeries can remarkably reduce morbid obesity. Dividing the stomach into an upper pouch and a larger lower pouch, this part of the gastric bypass procedure will allow both stomach pouches to stay connected to do reorganizing the small intestine.
Other bariatric and weight loss procedures include Laparoscopic gastric binding. Some advantages with Laparoscopic procedures are as result to the closed incision made. This can greatly reduce the chances of in surgery and post surgery complications, such as: blood loss, infection and pain.
After surgery, your stomach holds only about 1 ounce of food. Though your stomach will stretch over the following three months, you will be able to eat about 1 ½ cups of food with each meal. Eating an excessive amount of food during this time may cause nausea and vomiting. Most Doctors recommend eating the daily amounts and discontinue eating prior to feeling full.
General Information
The National Institutes of Health sponsored a consensus panel whose recommendations have set a standard for those considering weight loss surgery. The panel recommends any one who has a body mass index of 40 or higher should consider weight loss surgery. The BMI, or Body Mass Index, defines your body fat percentage and is the main tool in determining your health risks. The panel considers the surgery as a tool that enables the patient to alter his or her lifestyle and eating habits. In many cases, bariatric surgeries simply save lives.
In 2004, the American Society for Bariatric Surgery concluded that Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for people who are morbidly obese. Due to technological advancements, gastric bypass is now one of four other weight loss procedures, including Laparoscopic surgery, which is a new safe way for open surgery. Patients who feel they are candidates for surgery should make sure they undergo all of the preliminary tests and have physician as well as family support to make an adequate decision.
[page updated December 2008]