Consume only the foods allowed on the soft diet (approximately 3 weeks) until otherwise informed by your doctor
Eat slowly and chew thoroughly!
Avoid concentrated sugars; they are filled with non-nutrient calories and will slow down weight loss.
Avoid high fat foods; they can lead to diarrhea, gas, malaise and weight gain.
Do not drink large amounts of liquids with your meal or just before eating. If you fill up on liquid, you will not have room for the meal.
Remember the stomach can only hold 4-6 oz after surgery,. You will probably feel full after 2-3 tables poons of food. Do Not Overeat! Over time your stomach will stretch. It takes 6-9 months (possibly longer) for your new stomach size to stablilize and allow you to determine your normal meal amount.
Drink at least 6-8 cups (8oz) of fluid per day to prevent dehydration. (Monitor for the following signs: headache, dizziness, nausea, lethargy, lower back pain, a white-ish coating on the the tongue and dark urine.)
Eat 3 high protein nutrient dense meals +1 high protein snack a day. Avoid frequent snacking which can eventually lead to weight gain.
Meals and snacks should include foods high in protein. Protein is required to preserve muscle mass and promote wound healing. Aim for 75grms per day for the first few weeks after surgery.
Introduce new foods one at a time in order to rule out an intolerance. If a food is not tolerated, reintroduce it in 1 week.
If you can not tolerate dairy, substitue Lactaid for milk. You may need to take Lactase pills with dairy to help digest the lactose.
Exercise! This is the key to long term weight loss and maintenance. Walking should be the main exercise for the first 6 weeks. Between 6-8 weeks, more strenuous exercises can be added.
Stage 1. First 2-4 meals. You are on this diet immediately after surgery. It is composed of clear, sugar free fluids.
You will be drinking water, tea, broth, and Gatorade (has 1/2 the sugar of juice).
Try to sip fluids at the rate of 4 oz per hour.
You will also receive sugar free jello.
Sipping fluids out of bottles or straws may cause gas. Gas is already a problem after surgery so you will not want to make it worse.
Stage 2. After you tolerate Stage 1 you will progress to a diet composed of pureed foods low in fat and with no sugar. You will remain on this diet until you get discharged.
You will be given foods like mashed potatoes and unsweetened applesauce.
You will only be able to eat a few tablespoons of food, but the hospital will give normal sized portions.
It is up to you to control how much you eat
Stage 3. You will be discharged on this diet and follow it until you doctor says otherwise. Approximately 3-4 weeks.
Unsweetened applesauce, ripe bananas
Meatloaf, moist fish, eggs
Low fat cottage cheese, sugar free puddings
Soft cooked vegetables (no corn)
Stage 4. If all foods in Stage 3 are tolerated, you will gradually advance to this stage. This is a modified diet which emphasizes lean protein, fruits/vegetables, and whole grains and de-emphasizes fat and sugar.
This stage is very individualized. It is normal to experience an intolerance to food. Try to reintroduce that food a week later while focusing on eating slowly, chewing thoroughly and not overeating.
You will eventually be able to tolerate a variety of foods from each of the food groups.
*****This is a general guideline of when to introduce various foods. Everyone is different and may not progress at the same rate*****
Day 1 Post-op: Nothing by mouth
2-3 Days Post op: Progress from clear to no concentrated sweets, low fat puree diets. Try to consume 4oz fluid every hour.
4 Days to 4 weeks Post-op: Modified soft diet (no beef, poultry, and raw fruits and vegetables). Try and consume 4-6 oz of fluids every hour. You should be able to eat 4-6 oz of food per meal (size of baby food jar)
4-6 weeks Post-op: Poultry (no skin), soft fruits and vegetables, thinly sliced deli turkey or ham, boiled chicken in broth, crisp toast, soft pasta, imitation crab, shrimp, filet of sole and red snapper.
8 weeks Post-op: Crunchy fruits and vegetables. Bread.
3-4 months Post-op: Veal, lean ground meat, turkey and duck. Beef and pork (choose poultry and fish more often-red meat is higher in fat and more difficult to digest).
1 year Post-op: You should be able to consume foods from all 5 food groups. Your stomach capacity shoudl be about the size of an entree per meal.
First 3 weeks after surgery:
Chewable Multi-Vitamin: Flintstone Complete or Centrum Jr with Iron (1 in the am & 1 in the pm best if taken with food)
Chewable Calcium: Tums 500 or Viactive (chew 1 with each meal - 3 per day)
ADEK’S (by ScandaPharm) to order call 1-800-472-2634 Ext 242 (Chew 1 tablet 3 imes a day with food or take 1ml of the liquid 3 times a day with food)
Protein: Designer Protein, GNC Challenge 95, Promod, Whey Supreme or any other protein supplement with less than 6 grams of sugar. Try to supplement diet with 40 grams of protein per day. Partially digested powders are superior. Remember you can only absorb 30 grams at a time.
3 weeks after surgery:
Multi-Vitamin: No time release. Should be water soluable. Chewables are preferred.1-2 daily with food
Calcium: Tums 500, Caltrate, Viactive, Citrical, Posture D, Cal Apatite (take 1 with each meal- 3 per day)
ADEK’S: Continue same as above
Iron: Nifirex Forte, Ferrous Sulfate, Trinsico (only if prescibed by MD) 1-2 tabs daily on empty stomach. (60 mg Vitamin C helps increase absorption, Do not take with milk, calcium supplements, coffee, tea or antacids!))
Protein: Same as above Continue until able to meet protein needs from food (80-120 gms per day. This depends on size and gender.)
| Food Name |
Portion |
Calories |
Protein Grams |
| Beans Cnd, Baked |
1/2 cup |
123 |
7 |
| Beans, Kidney, Cnd |
1/2 cup |
112 |
8 |
| Beef Eye of Round |
3oz |
143 |
21 |
| Cheese, American Fat Free |
1oz |
40 |
6 |
| Cottage Cheese 1% |
1/2 cup |
82 |
14 |
| Reg Cottage Cheese |
1/2 cup |
109 |
13 |
| Grated Parmesan Cheese |
1/4 cup |
128 |
12 |
| Mozzarella Cheese part skim |
1oz |
78 |
8 |
| Ricotta Cheese part skim |
1/4 cup |
90 |
8 |
| Skinless Chicken Breast |
3oz |
138 |
26 |
| Skinless Chicken Leg |
3oz |
162 |
21 |
| Baked Cod |
3oz |
89 |
21 |
| Steamed Crab |
3oz |
82 |
17 |
| Egg |
1 |
78 |
6 |
| Baked Flounder |
3oz |
62 |
21 |
| Baked Halibut |
3oz |
119 |
21 |
| Ham Lean |
3oz |
133 |
21 |
| Ground Beef |
3oz |
169 |
21 |
| Lobster, Steamed |
3oz |
77 |
16 |
| Skim Milk |
1 cup |
86 |
8 |
| Skim Milk Plus |
1 cup |
120 |
11 |
| Chick Peas |
1/2 cup |
134 |
7 |
| Pork Tenderloin |
3oz |
139 |
21 |
| Pork Loin Chop |
3oz |
172 |
21 |
| Baked Salmon |
3oz |
155 |
21 |
| Steamed Shrimp |
3oz (15 lg) |
84 |
18 |
| Soybeans |
1/2 cup |
149 |
14.3 |
| Soymilk |
1 cup |
89 |
12.8 |
| Soynuts |
1/4 cup |
202 |
15 |
| Sirloin Steak |
3oz |
166 |
26 |
| Baked Swordfish |
3oz |
132 |
21 |
| Tempeh |
1/2 cup |
165 |
15.7 |
| Texturized Soy Protein |
1/2 cup |
59 |
11 |
| Tofu |
1/2 cup |
94 |
10 |
| Tuna |
3oz |
111 |
25 |
| Turkey Breast |
3oz |
105 |
21 |
| Veal Loin |
3oz |
149 |
21 |
| Veal Leg (top round) |
3oz |
128 |
21 |
| Yogurt (sugar free) frozen |
1/2 cup |
80 |
7 |
| Yogurt, Fruit (fat free) |
1 cup |
120 |
11 |
| Yogurt w/o fruit, (lowfat) |
1 cup |
194 |
11 |
FORTIFIED MILK
1 quart homogenized milk
1 cup instant nonfat dry milk
Pour liquid milk into a deep bowl. Add dry milk and beat slowly with beater until dry milk is dissolved (usually takes less than 5 minutes. Refrigerate. The flavor improves after several hours.
Makes 1 quart.
INSTANT BREAKFAST PROTEIN DRINK
Use 1 cup Fortified Milk
Add 1 packages sugar free instant breakfast
Add 1 scoops protein supplement
1/4 frozen fruit
Blenderize
4oz = 15 grams of protein
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Formula VM-2000® Tablets (water soluable vitamin tablets)
Protein Powder Singles sold by VitaLady
Roasted Soy Nuts
Liquid Protein (pre-digested)Cherry Flavored 2 tablespoons=15 grams of protein)
Dairy Care
Ultimate Lo Carb2 Protein Bars
