After getting the gastric sleeve surgery, you’re going to be put on a multi-stage restrictive diet. This diet is meant to help your digestive system recover from the surgery while also allowing for rapid weight loss.
Following this diet is an absolute must for people who have just undergone gastric sleeve surgery. So before you decide to get the surgery, you need to learn all about this post-op diet so you can understand the lifestyle changes you will need to make.
What Is The Post Gastric Sleeve Diet?
After getting the gastric sleeve procedure, a strict diet must be followed. It has four distinct phases, the specifics of which will be given to you by your doctor.
The gastric sleeve procedure completely reshapes the stomach, making it into a small tube that can only handle a very small amount of food. What’s more is that any bariatric surgery causes the digestive system to be unable to handle many different types of food. This diet allows for the slow reintroduction of foods while forming healthy eating habits for a lifetime.
The Diet
NOTE: The days given are guidelines only. The specifics of the diet will be given to you by your doctor. Every patient is different and their requirements will change.
Phase 1: Clear Liquids Only (0-3 Days)
Right after having gastric sleeve surgery, you won’t be able to eat solid foods. They will not be possible to digest and will likely either be rejected or cause serious abdominal pain. Because of this, you will be put on a clear liquids diet.
This diet allows you to consume only water, decaf tea and coffee, electrolyte beverages, and thin broth. It’s essentially a liquid fast. Some patients will be asked to do a liquid fast for some time before surgery, so this may not be too unfamiliar.
Phase 2: Purees Only (3-14 Days)
After a few days of only being able to tolerate clear, thin liquids, your body will be able to consume food again. However, it will not be able to digest food like it was before. For this reason, you’ll need to puree your food in a blender.
The kinds of foods that can be consumed are yogurt, puddings, cream of wheat, applesauce, and pureed seedless fruits like bananas and apples. At this stage, getting enough protein will be difficult. You will be asked to supplement your diet with protein shakes: make sure to do this!
Phase 3: Introduction of Soft Foods (14-28 Days)
In this stage, certain foods like ground meat, eggs, cottage cheese, and cooked fish will be reintroduced. Your doctor may require that you puree these foods, however, these foods are soft enough that the body should be able to digest them.
You’ll still be supplementing with protein shakes at this stage.
Phase 4: Reintroduction of solid foods (28+ Days)
After about a month, your doctor will start you on reintroducing whole foods. Foods like cooked meats, whole fruits and vegetables (without roughage), potatoes, and sweet potatoes will start being reintroduced.
However, some foods will still not be allowed for some time.
What Foods Can You Not Eat After Gastric Sleeve?
- Greasy, high-fat foods, including anything deep-fried.
- Alcoholic beverages.
- Spicy foods.
- Fibrous vegetables
- Nuts and seeds.