Finally, you can reenter the world of solid foods. All the same foods you enjoyed pre-surgery are yours to consume once again, right? Well… not exactly. While you may be able to eat solid foods now after this seemingly endless break from them, your diet can no longer be the same as it once was. It’s not just about eating the same foods in a smaller quantity, either. Instead, you need to completely change your eating habits and learn to enjoy nutritious, planned meals. Gastric band, duodenal switch, gastric sleeve, and gastric bypass patients are typically allowed to reincorporate solid foods into their diets by week four of recovery.
One of the first things to remember is to proceed slowly. You cannot simply start eating solid foods. Instead, you must introduce each food slowly and in very small quantities to test your stomach and make sure it can tolerate the food. The pureed-foods stage of your post-surgery diet will have started to prepare your body for solid foods, but it’s a good idea to keep a large portion of your diet in the soft-foods category until you’re certain that your stomach can handle the new food you’re adding to it. Make sure to chew your food thoroughly and, as always, cut it into very small, bite-sized pieces. Space out your meals so that you have three to five hours between each of them.
During this stage, as you begin to feel more and more satisfied by the foods you’re eating, you need to watch carefully that you do not neglect your liquid requirements.
You still need to drink 40 to 64 ounces of liquid each day, and at least half of that should be water.
Do not drink the liquids during your meals. Instead, wait 30 minutes after you’ve finished eating before you drink. Avoid carbonated and caffeinated beverages, as well as sugary drinks. You should also limit your fruit juices.
Next, we’ll talk about the actual foods you should—and shouldn’t—be eating.
What to Eat and What to Avoid
Choosing the right solid foods to eat is relatively simple. There are two aspects to consider:
- Is the food nutritionally appropriate for you?
- Can you eat it without upsetting your stomach?
Generally, if you can answer yes to both of the above questions, then you’ve probably chosen the correct type of food to eat. When eating the food, be sure to eat your proteins first so that you don’t get full before you’ve had enough.
Here are some general tips to help you when making food selections:
- Protein: Low-fiber meats, seafood, chicken, turkey, and pork are your best options. Dry, overcooked meats and red meats will be difficult or impossible for you to eat without discomfort.
- Fruits and vegetables: You may not ever be able to tolerate the skins on your fruit, so try to add them gradually to discover how your stomach reacts to them. Coconut, seeds, dried fruit, and nuts may all be difficult to eat. You can eat raw vegetables, but be sure to limit the high-fiber vegetables like asparagus and celery.
- Grains and cereals: Popcorn, white rice, pasta, doughy white bread, and high-fiber grains will all be difficult to digest. As a general rule, limit any carbohydrates made from refined sugar or flour.
- Dairy: In general, stick to low-fat dairy products. Cream, whole milk, and other fatty dairy products will be hard to tolerate and can contribute to dumping syndrome if they’re high in sugar.
- Other: Be sure to avoid candy and other sugary snacks. These items have no nutritional value and can contribute to dumping syndrome. You should also avoid spicy foods and fat-filled foods like fried and battered items or hot dogs. Some tomato-based products that are highly acidic may cause heartburn or other stomach upset.
The last point you should keep in mind involves any “trigger” foods you ate before your surgery. If you were an emotional or stress eater, then it’s possible that you reached for certain foods to make you feel better. These foods are considered triggers because they can spark your emotional need to overindulge. Be sure to avoid them in your post-surgery diet.