Post-Bariatric Surgery Diet : A Healthier You

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Post-Bariatric Surgery Diet A Healthier You
Bariatric surgery is the surgical option to
reduce excess weight maintain long term.
Following a healthy and regulated postoperative
diet is essential to promote healing for better
outcomes. Lets understand how to prepare for
your journey after bariatric surgery Post
surgery, the stomach or the pouch, is about
100-150ml in size and hence will require dietary
modifications to get adequate nutrition due to
reduced intake. Post-surgery, the pouch can take
about 3 months to heal completely. Hence, it is
recommended to seek a well-structured diet plan
that does not inhibit the recovery process. This
process will span over 4 dietary phases. After
every phase, you may address substitutions/
additions in your diet on your timely follow ups
with the team. The first phase of the
post-bariatric diet consists of clear liquids
that will be started soon after the surgery to
keep you hydrated. The diet will include water,
clear soups, limewater, coconut water and green
tea. That consists of 3 days post surgery. On
the 4th day the second phase starts, which is the
full liquids phase. That is when you start having
fuller liquids such as milk, buttermilk (chaas),
puréed soups, milky tea/coffee and most
importantly protein shakes. After 2 weeks you
will be advised to switch to a soft diet for a
span of 2 or 4 weeks depending on the type of
surgery. In this diet, you will be asked to
include high protein foods that are not
hard/crusty/flakey/chewy in texture and maintain
your fluid intake up to 1.5L a day along with
protein shakes. The fourth and final stage is
the full diet phase and is built to last long.
The protein shakes are advised to be continued
until the first 6 months post surgery. The full
diet consists of having small portions of food
(as you will not be able to tolerate larger
portions post surgery) with a constant focus on
protein rich, low-fat foods, fruits and
vegetables as well as drinking
2
low-calorie fluids between meals. Eating habits
like the size of morsels and chewing slowly is
equally important. You must stop eating once you
feel satiated. You should not worry about the
reduced food intake capacity causing mal
absorption of essential nutrients, as the
supplements will take care of that. The diet
focuses on eating healthy foods and proteins
first, with minimal snacking between meals,
leading to quicker satiation adequate fluids in
the diet plan. Patients who undergo bariatric
surgery must understand the importance of a
post-operative diet in maintaining weight. A
well-balanced diet will ensure early and
complications free healing process, and also,
help you to lead a better quality of life.