The diet and nutritional rules that patients must follow after Bariatric Surgery are essential for maintaining a healthy life. The bariatric surgery post-op diet, which consists of certain stages, should be applied under the supervision of a doctor. This article will give detailed information by talking about the foods to be consumed and the rules to be followed after obesity surgery.
1-) Liquid Diet Period
In the first 15 days after the Bariatric Surgery operation, patients should follow the liquid nutrition period. Firstly, during the liquid nutrition period, the “clear liquid” diet is completed, and after the 3rd day, “liquid” foods are switched to. The clear fluid diet period starts before the patients are discharged and ends on the 3rd day of the operation.
Foods to be taken in the clear liquid period:
- Water
- Beef Broth
- Buttermilk
- Soy milk
- Chicken Broth
With the end of the clear liquid diet process, the normal liquid diet continues. During this period, again, no solid food should enter the stomach. In this transition period, which starts due to the stomach volume reduction, attention should be paid to the calories of the liquids consumed during the feeding period. Patients should be careful not to consume spicy, acidic, or sugary liquid foods during that process.
2-) Mashed Diet Period
The second stage of the nutritional procedure after the Bariatric Surgery operation is the mashed diet period. In this period, liquid foods are gradually abandoned, and transition to denser foods is applied in the 3rd and 4th weeks after the operation.
During the mashed diet period, which requires the foods to be consumed to be mashed with the help of a blender, the foods should be taken slowly, and if possible, a new food should be tried every day. If there is a sudden swelling in the stomach, awareness should be raised about that kind of food consumed.
During the mashed diet period, spicy, sugary, acidic, and salty foods should be avoided. Carbohydrate consumption should be kept to a minimum, and foods that cause swelling, such as rice and pasta, should not be consumed. Water consumption should not be disrupted during the mashed diet period.
This Bariatric Surgery Post-Op Diet, which should be adopted due to the serious reduction of stomach volume, should also be considered an essential requirement not to regain weight.
3-) Solid Nutrition Period
Patients can now switch to a solid feeding period one month after Bariatric Surgery. In this process, it is not necessary to pass the foods through the blender as in the mashed diet period. In the Solid Nutrition Period, it is required to chew solid foods many times in small bites.
As a result, patients who follow these stages carefully, eat a controlled diet, and exercise according to their general health and age can quickly lose weight. Nevertheless, it is recommended to contact doctors to not decrease the weight loss rate during the Bariatric Surgery Post-Op Diet process and not to regain the weight lost afterward.
