A bariatric diet is the diet you will use for the first 60 days following your gastric bypass surgery. The diet does not designate between the roux-en-y and the lap band. Although, the consequences for not following this diet are more severe, if you had the roux-en-y. With this type of weight loss surgery you are recovering from a major reconstructive surgery. You will experience pain from the surgery itself and not just the small size of your stomach.

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.