The gastric bypass diet has 4 stages and within 60 days you will be able to eat many of things you ate before. You will just be eating a lot less of it. This time will be challenging for you, but at the same time it will be exciting as you embark on a new chapter of your life.

Step 1: This is all clear liquids and gelatin. You should not have to think about this one too much because it is administered to you while you are still in the hospital.

Step 2: This is the phase that you will be using for the first 2 weeks following the surgery. You are allowed 3 types of food at this stage and they are protein shakes, baby food or strained and puréed foods. The important thing here is to consume 60 grams of protein per day. This can be a challenge, but is doable. You should consume 32 ounces of accepted liquids each day and chewable vitamins are also very important. You should not drink within 30 minutes of eating and that means before or after. You can stay on the step as long as 8 weeks, but you can move on to the next step at 2 weeks.

Step 3: This step can start anytime after 2 weeks. In this step, you will be introducing soft foods back into your diet. I started with cottage cheese and scrambled eggs. Vegetables and meats are going to be the most difficult. All foods should be chewed thoroughly at this stage. Food should be almost liquid when you swallow it. You can never chew it too much.

Step 4: This comes at 8 weeks and you can eat almost anything, but meat should be cut into small pieces and may need to be soften with liquids. Experiment with different foods and take it easy when you are eating a food for the first time.

If you had a roux-en-y, there is a good chance you may always have problems with sugar and some types of fat. You will find out in due time what types of foods your body can and cannot tolerate. Diet is always going to be very important, because the time will come when you will be able to gain weight again. Just because you had gastric bypass surgery does not mean you will not have to make healthy choices. It is essential that you have a good exercise and mental support program to be successful with gastric bypass surgery.

You will need the following ingredients:
butter-flavored cooking spray, 3/4 cup fresh white mushrooms, 1/4 cup chopped shallots, (2) 10 ounce packages of frozen chopped spinach, 1 tablespoon water, 1/4 cup egg substitute, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup low-fat diced Swiss cheese, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

1. Spray a microwaveable dish with the butter-flavored cooking spray. Add mushrooms and shallots, cover dish and microwave on high for 1 minute.

2. Place frozen spinach and water on top of mushroom mixture. Cover microwave on high for 3 1/2 minutes.

3. Uncover and break up spinach, flipping it over. Recover and microwave on high for another 3 1/2 minutes. Remove from microwave and drain of too liquidy.

4. In a separate bowl, combine egg substitute and milk and stir in diced cheese and nutmeg.

5. Stir spinach, mushrooms, and shallots in casserole dish to combine. Pour egg-milk-cheese mixture on top, cover, and microwave on high for 4 minutes.

This recipes makes 4 servings and contains 143 calories, 15 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 15 grams of cholesterol, 5 grams of fiber and 221 grams of sodium.

Bariatric eating is going to be what you make of it. It can be boring, but it does not have to be.

While you are in the hospital, you will consume clear liquids. This is what a step 1 meal consists of. After you leave the hospital and for a minimum of two weeks you will eat protein shakes, baby food or strained, pureed food. If you have to chew it, it is not step 2 and you may be sorry later if you are eating it.

Step 3 can come anytime from 2-8 weeks following surgery. I know I was anxious for the 2 weeks to be over, because I was ready to chew some real food. Start SLOWLY. Introduce soft foods and chew them well. It sounds awful, but what you are eating should be chewed until it is liquid and then swallowed.

After the 8 week, you can eat anything, but here again, take it easy. Do not think that you can sit down to a steak dinner. You will still need chew well and cut foods into small bites. Foods that are course, such as; meats are still going to be difficult to eat. Sugar will be almost impossible for a person that has had a Roux-en-Y and will probably be eaten again by a person who has had lap band surgery.

This is the first 8 weeks of the rest of you life and it will pass quickly. The true part of the lap band diet is going to be how you manage your eating from that point forward. In order to have a successful weight loss surgery, you will have to make the necessary lifestyle changes.

Part of your pre-op education will be learning about bariatric surgery diet foods. It is actually relatively simple. You can eat pureed and strained foods, baby foods and bariatric protein. Personally, I stuck with bariatric protein. I tried pureeing a few foods. But considering whatever food you choose to puree has to have a lot of protein, I was not satisfied. I did not care for pureed salmon. So, I chose to stick with the liquid protein.

Just try to remember that you will not be eating like this forever. Your doctor may allow you reintroduce soft foods back into your diet after the first 2 weeks of using bariatric surgery diet food. Make the best of this time and realize that it is the beginning of a new and healthier life.
Following a bariatric surgery diet is important, but what you do with your daily diet in the two months following your surgery is what is going to determine how much weight you will lose and if you will be successful at keeping the weight off.

If you are considering gastric bypass surgery, gather as much information as possible on the different procedures that are available. Research the different facilities that are offering the surgery options. Find out about their after care programs. Find bariatric surgery diet food resources. Begin a sensible eating plan immediately.

If your insurance company covers the surgery, get ready for an extensive pre op regime. Your insurance company is probably going to want to know what you have been doing for the past five years. It was almost a year from the time I decided to have the surgery before I had all the required presurgery requirements met.

I highly recommend that anyone considering this surgery go to the lengths to get counseling or perform self-evaluation exercises that help you get to the root of why you eat. Teaching someone the correct way to eat and making them aware of the exercise that is needed is the easy part. But dealing with the mental aspects of obesity are much more difficult and these will not disappear over night.

So not only do you want to follow a proper nutritional diet, but you also want to concentrate on your mental diet. This will play a big part on how well you maintain your weight loss. Some people will never tolerate certain foods again and it will be easier for these people to keep their weight off. But if you are like me, you will get to the point where you can eat almost anything again and if you don’t make sensible decisions, you will find yourself gaining weight.

The diet after gastric bypass surgery is fairly simple. While you are in the hospital you will consume only clear liquids. From the time you go home and anywhere from 2-8 weeks, you will eat pureed and strained foods, baby food or liquid protein. After that you will begin reintroducing soft foods back into your diet. These will need to be chewed thoroughly. You should be drinking about 32 ounces of permitted beverages per day and taking liquid or chewable vitamins.

It is very important that you do not drink 30 minutes before you eat and you wait 30 minutes after you eat before consuming any liquids. You may think that drinking is harmless, but trust me when I tell you this can be a source of great pain.

Within 3-4 months, you will be eating most of the foods you ate before. You will just be eating a lot less of them. Make sure everything is chewed well. Sugar will most likely cause discomfort or dumping syndrome, especially if you had a RNY. Some people will eventually be able to eat it again.

Your diet after gastric bypass surgery will be a big change, but remember certain parts of it are only temporary. What is important is how you manage your diet after your one year anniversary. That will determine how much weight you keep off.

If you are fortunate enough to have insurance coverage that pays for this surgery, the cost is probably not going to be a big concern to you. This surgery is still relatively new in this country (2001) and as time passes and the medical industry sees the benefits of the procedure, they add it to the list of procedures that are covered.

The biggest break came when Medicare announced that they would pay for gastric banding. Usually once that happens, the insurance companies are not far behind. Medical professional have had time to weigh the cost of the surgery against the cost of a person being obese.

When the lap band procedure first began being performed in this country it was priced at around $15,000, but the price has steadily increased as more facilities have begun to offer the gastric banding. This surgery can be gotten now for $7,500-$10,000, which makes affordable to almost anyone.

Most bariatric surgery centers offer financing for those patients that choose to have the surgery and do not have an insurance plan that covers the procedure. The cost of the surgery is less than the cost of a car and for some it is a life saving procedure. If you weigh the cost of this surgery against the cost of paying for obesity related medical issues, I think the answer is obvious.

The cost of lap band surgery should not stand in your way if you think gastric banding would benefit you. Now it is not difficult to find a surgery center or a hospital that will perform this surgery. The performing of lap band surgery is becoming more routine everyday.

Firstly, you need to concentrate on protein. You should consume about 60 grams per day. At first it will either be liquid or pureed and then you will gradually introduce soft foods that you will chew well. Liquid is also important. You will want to try to drink at least 32 ounces of water. This may not sound like much, but it will be a challenge the first few weeks.

Chewable prenatal vitamins are also very important. These will give you the nutrients that you are not getting due to the limits of the gastric bypass diet. So, as long as you eat protein, drink water and remember to take vitamins you will have a good start on proper gastric bypass nutrition.

You want lose the weight and not the muscle and protein will help you do that. Some of the other benefits of protein are:
* It helps with healing.
* Prevents break down of lean body mass.
* Minimizes hair loss, and keeps skin, bones and nails healthy.
* Helps with satiety.

Protein can be found in many forms. There are many food that are high in protein. During the first 2-4 weeks, these foods will need pureed and strained. You can also get protein as a liquid or a supplement. Making lean protein a priority will help you take the weight off and more importantly it will help you keep the weight off.

Familiarize yourself with the sources of protein and how much is in each source. You should try to consume 60 grams of protein daily. Protein is a big part of a post gastric bypass diet and should be eaten before other food items in early recovery.

The things you want to look for in liquid protein shakes are high protein content and little or no sugar. As a gastric bypass patient, sugar will most likely cause you more problems than any other food. At this time, calorie content is not that important and at this point more is better, because you will not be able to consume many calories.

It is also important to take chewable vitamins to make up for the vitamins that you are not able to consume, along with any other medicines that your doctor has prescribed. Remember, to eat slowly. Take extreme care not to overeat or you may be seeing your meal again. Overeating can cause vomiting and great discomfort in the early stages of your recovery.

A liquid diet for gastric bypass patients or bariatric surgery liquid diet is a necessary part of recovering from bariatric surgery.

Your meal will be liquid or pureed and in can include milk, vegetable or fruit juice. Sip your liquid meals very slowly and drink 4-6 ounces over a 20 or 30 minute period.

Drink at least 32 ounces of water or sugar-free beverages every day. Drink only between meals. Do not drink for 15 minutes before meals and wait 30 minutes after eating before you drink.

Avoid beverages with alcohol, caffeine or carbonation.

Take 2 children’s chewable vitamins daily. This will help to prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It is best to take this vitamin with a meal, in which you have included some fat.

Eat at least six times each day. You will only be able to eat a few ounces at first. Select one meat or one dairy item at each meal. These meals are high in protein and should be your first priority. It is necessary to help your body heal.

Keep a record of your what you eat for the next 3 days. Have it evaluated by your dietitian to make sure you are getting the proper nutrition.

Avoid restaurants for the first two weeks.

These bariatric diet tips will get you through the first two weeks following your surgery as you embark on your new life.

Tags: gastric bypass diet, diet for gastric bypass, bariatric surgery diet, bariatric diet, gastric bypass eating