Diet after Surgery
Bariatric surgery helps you lose weight by:
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Reducing the stomach hormones that make you feel hungry.
- Reduces the size of your stomach; therefore you feel full after smaller meals.
The aim is to develop a life-long healthy eating pattern to maintain a steady weight.
The dietitian will be advising you in regards to your dietary changes postoperatively. It is strongly recommended that you seek their expert advice after your operation.
The following information will provide you with a guideline as to the type of foods to eat and the progression from immediately after surgery until you are on a normal diet; this is divided into 3 different stages.
| Stage One |
| Immediately post operative: day 2 to 4 weeks |
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| Stage Two |
| Adaptation Phase: Weeks 4 to 8 |
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| Stage Three |
| Long term and weight maintenance: Week 8 to long term |
Read more about the different stages of Diet after Surgery
Exercise program after surgery
The lifestyle coach will design an exercise program that will suit the various stages of the bariatric program, and we strongly recommend you follow this plan to optimise the outcome of the operation.
The key to a good long term outcome is the restriction of surgery combined with healthy eating and exercise. It is important that we find you an exercise program that you enjoy and the lifestyle coach is trained to help you achieve this goal. Exercise will help improve overall health, maintain weight loss and increase your metabolism.
You should aim eventually for 60 minutes per day of moderate exercise. Initially your size may limit the amount of exercise that you do. It is important that you remember the more energy you use for exercise the more weight you will lose.
This is a graduated process; with a build up in intensity. You will commence with simple exercises such as walking and swimming or aqua jogging. This can lead to more vigorous exercise with time; these include jogging and cycling and eventually a gym program. On a daily basis it is important to increase all activities during the day; every little bit helps.
Long Term weight maintenance
The success of weight loss depends on a change in lifestyle. Surgery gives you “the tool” with which to work. How successful this is will require a radical change in diet and exercise as outlined above and is supervised by the dietitian and lifestyle coach respectively. It is vitally important that you take responsibility for this. Some of the key factors in achieving optimal weight loss and maintaining that loss are to:
- Monitor your weight: This must be done weekly. This will provide you with feedback on how well you are doing. If weight loss stops or there is regain of weight you will need to reappraise the situation and make appropriate changes. Review your diet and increase activity levels.
- Seek advice from a counsellor, please ask for help
- Use your stomach effectively: The aim of the sleeve gastrectomy is to make you feel full for a long time after eating a small meal. However you must use the operation well to achieve the best results and maintain them.
- Eat small and healthy meals: include lean meats, fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy items.
- Avoid the high calorie dense foods.
- Avoid snacking and grazing- 3 meals a day with only the snacks as directed.
- Avoid liquid calories especially soft drinks and milkshakes.
- Choose to exercise daily and you will enjoy it. This will be difficult initially but will become easier over time.
- Ensure you maintain the amount of exercise program that is set up by the lifestyle coach.
- We strongly recommend you continue to see a lifestyle coach to get the best results
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