The mini gastric bypass procedure has helped countless people take control of their life by providing them the chance to lose significant amounts of weight and – if they are vigilant – keep it off for the rest of their lives. But just what does “vigilant” mean?
It means that you need to follow the advice of your medical team when it comes to your diet after mini gastric bypass surgery. It’s no more complicated than that. If they tell you to “Avoid refined sugar” then you should avoid refined sugar. If they say “No burgers and fries” then no burgers and fries. Below we’re going to go into more details about what you should and shouldn’t be eating after mini gastric bypass.
Following a Healthy Diet After Mini Gastric Bypass
Even before surgery your doctor and dietician will be discussing with you the importance of eating healthy foods and building new, healthy eating habits after your mini gastric bypass procedure. All the emphasis on diet and eating habits are intended to:
- Allow your stomach time to heal properly after the trauma of surgery.
- Start to build new habits wherein you eat smaller amounts on a regular basis.
- Reach your weight loss goals and help you avoid regaining any of the weight you lost.
- Minimize the risk of any side effects or complications.
The First 2 Weeks
With your post mini gastric bypass diet you’re going to be building new eating habits but, because you are also recovering from major surgery, you will first need to deal with that. In short, building those new eating habits will be a step by step journey with the first step being to make sure you don’t eat anything that could undermine the healing process. That means for the first 2 weeks you’re going to be on a liquid diet. The typical menu for those who have just undergone mini gastric bypass includes:
- Clear broth
- Unsweetened fruit juice
- Skim milk
- Decaffeinated coffee or tea
- Protein shakes
- Jello
After a week your doctor will typically allow you to start eating things like thinned cream of wheat, certain soups, pudding and the like.
2 to 4 Weeks
After 2 weeks you’ll introduce pureed food into your diet. While these will be more substantial than straight up liquids they still need to be smooth, without any solid pieces of food present. The food processor will be your best friend at this point. And you should choose foods that will blend well like eggs, fish fillets, lean meats, beans, well cooked vegetables, cottage cheese and the like. You can blend these with any of the liquids you were eating during your first week.
Typically sometime during the 3rd or 4th week your doctor and dietician will allow you to introduce foods that have not been blended. These will have to be soft foods in small, easy to chew pieces such as well cooked vegetables, soft fresh fruit like mango and small pieces of well cooked meat. You’ll need to be sure to chew everything thoroughly, even if it you don’t think it’s necessary to be doing so.
6 to 8 Weeks
After a couple of weeks mixing in unprocessed but soft foods you’ll be ready to try something firmer. At this point you should start eating small portions of regular foods. However, if anything causes you distress, nausea or any other negative blowback stop eating it and report the reaction to your doctor. Even though you may be feeling better there are still foods you should avoid at this point including:
- Popcorn
- Nuts
- Dried fruit
- Granola
- Tough meat
- Bread
- Fried food
- Carbonated beverages.
We also need to emphasize that you should not be drinking alcohol in any form at this point. Your tolerance will likely be much lower than it formerly was and the last thing you need is to be tipsy.
Long Term
By the end of the third month your post mini gastric bypass diet should consist mostly of normal foods. That means lean meats, vegetables and whole grains. Refined sugar along with saturated and trans fats should be eliminated from your diet for all intents and purposes and you should be in the habit of eating until your hunger is quenched, not until you are full. You should have kept a list of foods that didn’t agree with you and have discussed that list with your doctor and dietician. In some cases it might have been a matter of trying something too soon, but in other instances you might just have to forget about a particular food for a while.
Some Tips on Eating Right After Mini Gastric Bypass
You’ll need to be sure you get enough vitamins and minerals after your surgery while at the same time staying the course with your weight loss goals. To do so remember to:
- Eat small meals – The goal is to get used to eating small meals as the new normal.
- Make sure you eat slowly – If you eat too quickly you may experience something called “dumping syndrome”. Symptoms are nausea, dizziness and perhaps vomiting.
- Take your time introducing new foods – Try one new thing at a time and see how your body reacts to it.
- Avoid eating and drinking at the same time – Drinking liquids with your meals can cause nausea and vomiting.
- Chew everything thoroughly – Your stomach will work better if you don’t ask it to do too much by way of breaking down foods.
- Avoid fats and sugar – Steer clear of ice cream, fried foods, fast foods and sugary foods.
- Take your vitamins – Your new shorter intestine won’t absorb as many important vitamins and minerals as it used to. Make sure you take whatever supplements your doctor recommends.
- Eat high protein foods – High protein food will help you heal in the aftermath of surgery.
Your diet after mini gastric bypass surgery will be designed to help you lock in the weight loss you’ll experience. Your job will be to learn to appreciate smaller meals and fresh, low fat, low sugar foods.
