Easing Back Into Eating After Your Weight Loss Surgery

ByAlex Andreev

No matter what kind of weight loss surgery you have had, the size of your new pouch limits the amount of food you can eat at one time. Before surgery, your stomach was approximately the size of your fist, with the ability to expand and stretch. After surgery, your pouch is much smaller and may only hold a few ounces of food at one time. If you have had GBP, your pouch is about the size of an egg. It cannot stretch like your old stomach, so because your food intake is limited, the food that enters your pouch needs to be nutritious.

Since you have just had stomach surgery, you need to let your insides heal. In order to facilitate this healing, you progress through four stages of a recommended post-surgery diet. The diet stages give your pouch time to heal and adjust without putting strain on it. You don't want to get food stuck that would cause you to vomit and run the risk of tearing the sutures your surgeon has made. Although no diet rules are set in stone, there are general nutrition recommendations written by bariatric medical professionals that most surgeons follow. The length of time you're instructed to follow each stage of the diet depends on the type of weight loss surgery you had and your surgeon's specific instructions.

You may also find that you don't have much of an appetite at first. If you had AGB surgery, you may find yourself getting hungry by about two weeks after surgery. This is because the swelling around the band has gone down. If you had GBP surgery, it may be weeks or months before you start to feel hunger.

Following your surgeon's guidelines

Every surgeon's schedule for getting you back to "real" food may be a little different. Their instructions are based on research, best practices, and personal experience. Although this book and other sources can give you good guidelines, it's important that you follow the directions your surgeon gives you.

Why is this important? You probably have heard over and over that your surgery is a tool in your weight loss journey. Hopefully, you wouldn't try to build a house without the right tools and a blueprint to show you how to complete your project. Your surgery is the tool you need, and the surgeon's guidelines are like the blueprint to success. They work together to help you achieve your goal without banging your thumb too many times!

Your surgeon's guidelines will have very specific instructions regarding the kinds and textures of liquids or foods you're allowed at each stage of your recovery, based on what kind of surgery you had. Remember, your body is healing for the first six to eight weeks after surgery. Some of the very good reasons for paying attention to these directions are to
Lessen the chance of an obstruction caused by eating food you're not ready for or too large a particleDecrease your chances of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and dumping syndromeKeep you well hydratedPrevent vitamin and mineral deficienciesReduce your risk of developing protein calorie malnutritionEnsure you lose weight and look and feel great!

Your surgeon will probably require you to return to his office for a series of postoperative visits (no, not just one) during the first year and then annually after that. Keeping these appointments is important even if you think you're doing fine. You need to have ongoing monitoring of your weight loss, lab values to detect possible vitamin or mineral deficiencies, and nutrition intake and a chance to address other medical concerns you or your surgeon may have.

The authors blog about Body Fat Calculator and other weight loss tools will be very interesting for you if you are going to start weight loss program. Spend some time and browse useful articles

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Health and Fitness: Weight-Loss
Alex Andreev

Email Address:SubscribeWeight Loss Article FeedFind More ArticlesSearchSimilar Articles3 Ways to Ease Back Pain - Try Them TodayThe Life After Weight Loss SurgeryExercise After Lap-Band Surgery - Use it to Lose it With a Lap-BandI Lost Weight, Now What?Prevent Hair Loss With Laser Therapy3 Keys To Weight Loss SuccessBack Liposuction - A Brief OverviewCosmetic Surgery - Most Common ProceduresPlastic Surgery - Easy Fix But Can Be Dangerous! Is it Worth Its Price For Lack of Patience?Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions About Weight LossRecent ArticlesWhat Are Weight Reduction Tablets?How to Get Fit Fast - No Slow-Mo Cardio!Can I Eat Whatever I Want If I Exercise a Bunch?Can You Shortcut Weight Loss?The Process of Losing Weight FastReasons Why Most People Fail at Weight LossWeight Loss Tips: A Plan for Losing WeightWeight Loss Tips: The Problem With Rapid Weight LossWeight Loss Tips: Goals Are ImportantHow To Be Successful In Controlling Blood Sugar And Losing Weight QuicklySubmitted On January 25, 2012. Viewed 3 times. Word count: 607.

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Andreev, Alex".".25 Jan. 2012EzineArticles.com.27 Jan. 2012 .APA Style Citation:
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