When you make the big decision to choose surgery to help you overcome your struggles with obesity once and for all, there are many things that you will need to keep in mind and consider. One of these many factors to consider is how your eating habits and diet will need to change once the gastric sleeve surgery you have opted for is over. After you leave the stomach surgery clinic in Belmond, Iowa with a much smaller stomach thanks to your gastric sleeve procedure, you need to have a plan of what to eat and what not to eat so that you do not cause yourself unnecessary discomfort and complications. Get to know some of what you should eat after your gastric sleeve surgery so that you can enjoy your weight loss complication-free.
The First Week After Surgery
Right after you have your gastric sleeve surgery, you will need to stick to clear or semi-clear liquids for about a week. While this is certainly a restrictive diet, it will allow your stomach to heal and will not put any undue strain on it as the incisions close permanently.
These clear liquids should not contain any sugar nor should you consume any carbonated liquids or caffeine. Stick to decaffeinated coffee and tea, chicken or vegetable broth, water (of course), and Jell-o. These are safe to consume and will not irritate your stomach lining.
Weeks Two and Three
In the next few weeks following your gastric sleeve surgery, you will gradually be able to introduce very soft and pureed foods into your diet. During the second week, you will want to stick to mostly liquid-based foods. This can include soups with very soft noodles, sugar-free instant breakfast drinks, very watered down oatmeal, non-fat yogurt with no sugar added, and most importantly, protein powder mixed into clear liquids that are not carbonated and do not contain sugar.
When you get into the third week, you can start increasing the variety of foods in your diet. Because you are not yet fully healed, this diet will still restrict your sugar and all foods will need to be pureed. You can now consume mashed fruits if you keep your daily sugar consumption extremely low. Pureed steamed vegetables, scrambled eggs, soft cereals, hummus, and protein shakes made with nonfat or almond/coconut milk (no sugar added) are also options. Soft fish that is chewed thoroughly or small amounts of ground beef or chicken in chicken or vegetable stock to make it soft are also options for added protein.
Week Four and Beyond
After a month, you will be almost fully healed from your gastric sleeve surgery. This means that you can start to eat real food again. You will still need to make sure you eat small amounts of food at a time and you chew everything A LOT. The softer the food and the smaller the particles, the easier it is to digest.
Be sure to continue drinking a protein shake daily so that you get the proper amount of protein in your diet. You still want to avoid foods high in fat or grease as well as foods that are high in starches, sugar and the like. As you add real food back into your diet, do so slowly and wait to see how your body reacts to each new addition in case you experience gastric issues. Every person will react differently to different foods.
Now that you know what you should eat after your gastric sleeve surgery, you can be sure that you are prepared for the recovery process and keep yourself from dietary distress and discomfort after you take this major step.
