Paula Kennard - Bariatric Surgery and Gastric Bypass Meal Plans

Bariatric Surgery and Gastric Bypass Meal Plans

Paula Kennard

Copyright 2015 by Paula Kennard

Introduction

Chapter 1- The Purpose Of The Gastric Bypass Recovery Diet

Chapter 2- Stage One Of The Gastric Bypass Post Surgery Diet

Chapter 3- Stage Two Of The Gastric Bypass Post Surgery Diet

Chapter 4- Stage Three Of The Gastric Bypass Post Surgery Diet

Chapter 5- How Should You Be Eating During Stage Three?

Chapter 6- What Foods Can You Enjoy?

Chapter 7- Quantity Counts

Chapter 8- Meal Plans For Stage 3

Chapter 9- Freezer Cooking Frees Up Your Time

Chapter 10- Recipes For Stage 3

Chapter 11- Stage 4 Of The Gastric Bypass Post Surgery Diet

Chapter 12- The Foods For Stage 4

Chapter 13- Meal Plan For Stage 4

Chapter 14- Recipes For Stage 4

Chapter 15- Phasing Into Normal Eating

Disclaimer:This book contains information regarding meal plans after gastric bypass surgery based on authors own knowledge and experience. It is published for general reference and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical and diet advice. The publisher and the author disclaim any personal liability, either directly or indirectly, for the information contained within. Although the author and the publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained within, we assume no responsibility of errors, inaccuracies, omissions and inconsistencies.

You have made the decision to take control of your health and to get your weight under control. You know that Gastric Bypass Surgery is not going to be easy. No matter what anyone says, this is not taking the easy way out. So before you take the leap, it's time to educate yourself about what kind of meals you will be preparing for yourself through all stages of your recovery.

You will be meeting with a nutritionist who has been assigned by your doctor. Always take the nutritionist's advice first. Because every body is different, you may be given different diet orders than what is written here. This book is to be used primarily for food and menu ideas to get you through your post-op time, without being bored out of your mind.

The first two stages of the gastric bypass diet are not the most enjoyable, but you can still utilize a few tricks to make your food more fun. Just because you have had gastric bypass surgery does not mean that you will have to endure tasteless, bland food for the rest of your life. There are plenty of ways to eat in a delicious, healthful way, and still lose weight.

You will be following the four-staged gastric bypass recovery diet in order to help your body heal properly after your surgery. Major abdominal surgery is no joke, so you will have to give your body extra tender loving care to allow for optimal healing. You will have a staple line in your stomach that will need to heal. Your body will require extra protein to repair the tissue in your stomach.

The liquid and pureed parts of the plan are essential for not irritating the staple line. Think of your staples in terms of a wound on the outside of your body. Let's say that you got stitches on your hand after being cut with a knife. The doctor would tell you to protect the wound site by keeping it covered, not allowing it to get irritated, and to not use the injured hand for physical labor.

The same mindset is required for your stomach. The liquid and pureed foods are much more gentle, so the stomach will not be required to work as hard. Pureed foods will not be abrasive like solids foods. So, when you get tired of yet another bland protein drink or mug of broth, just remember, you are allowing your stomach to rest and regenerate.

Another primary reason for the gastric bypass diet is to allow your re-sized stomach to grow accustomed to eating smaller amounts of food at once. The actual surgery will reduce your appetite a great deal in the first days and weeks of the surgery. However, once your body starts healing, your brain may want to go back to eating too much food. This is why it is so important to re-train your brain into eating small meals.

You will begin your weight loss journey with the gastric bypass diet. The high protein, low sugar diet is the perfect way to jump start your efforts. Obviously, you will not lose all of your excess weight during the four stages gastric bypass recovery diet. In most cases, you will continue to lose weight even after you have transitioned back to a more normal diet. But the gastric bypass diet does an excellent job of laying a solid foundation for nutrition that will both feed the body, and allow it to shed excess weight at the same time.

The final reason why you must stick closely to the gastric bypass recovery diet recommendations is so that you avoid potential surgery complications. Some common complications experienced by wayward dieters are: gas, diarrhea, constipation, nausea and heartburn. The bypass recovery diet is designed to keep these discomforts to an absolute minimum. So, you will be doing yourself and your digestive tract a huge favor by sticking to it.

Stage one of the diet is clear, sugar-free, fat-free liquids. You will begin drinking as soon after your surgery as you are able. Your choices for this part of your diet are rather limited, however, it will only last three to seven days, depending on your doctor's orders. The good news is that you will drop a lot of weight during these first days.

Your goal will be to drink approximately four ounces of clear liquid every hour for 12-16 hours, or 42 to 70 ounces per day. A lot of patients find it helpful to use a shot glass or medicine cup to measure the liquid and set a timer for every fifteen minutes. Remember to sip your liquid slowly and stop if you start to feel full.

Acceptable liquids for phase one:

-unsweetened clear juices including: light apple, light white grape, light cranberry

-diluted regular juice, 50/50 with water

-sugar free gelatin

-sugar free popsicles (no fruit added)

-fat-free chicken or beef broth

-decaf tea including herbal tea

-non-carbonated 0 calorie flavored drinks (Crystal Light or Fruit 2 O)

Once you have received the all-clear from your doctor, it is time to proceed onto stage two. Stage two is the full liquid part of the diet. You will be adding in milk products (including yogurt!) and protein drinks now. This is where you will begin paying very close attention to your protein intake. You will be aiming for 40-60 grams of protein each day. You will need to continue drinking 42-70 ounces of liquid each day.

You have many protein drink choices, some of the more well-known brands are:

• Carnation instant breakfast and skim milk
• Boost
• Ensure
• EAS
• Isomer
• Spiru-tein
• Designer Whey
• Carb Solutions

You may feel free to use another brand of protein drink as long as it does not contain more than 15-20 grams of sugar, and has a minimum of 13 grams of protein per eight ounces.