If you’re excited about your new body after gastric sleeve surgery, then learning how to eat in a whole new way can be challenging. Preparing for post-surgery life may include following strict dieting rules that are geared toward avoiding complications and acquiring new healthy eating habits. This is so it would be possible to lose weight long term without gaining the weight back.
Pre-gastric sleeve diet
In order to prepare for your procedure, you’ll be given a strict diet that reduces both calories and carbohydrates two weeks prior to your scheduled surgery. You will primarily eat lean protein along with vegetables and low- or no-calorie fluids throughout the day.
Two days before the procedure, your food will switch to a clear, liquid diet. In addition to water, broth, and decaf coffee and tea, you may also intake one protein shake daily without sugar. Caffeinated and carbonated drinks should be avoided as well.
The main goal of this diet is to shrink your liver, which lies next to the stomach. This makes the procedure easier and safer for you.
Post-gastric sleeve diet
Following the sleeve gastrectomy procedure, you will have to stay on a clear liquid diet for two weeks to avoid bowel postoperative complications such as dehydration, obstruction, gastric leakage, diarrhea, and constipation.
You may start adding soft, low-fat, and sugar-free pureed foods to your diet in the third week. It’s essential to increase your protein intake during this week while making sure to eat slowly.
A month after the surgery, you may start eating solid foods again. Sugar, high-fat, and hard-to-digest food should still be avoided while caffeinated drinks may be taken in moderation. Introduce one food at a time and monitor how your body will react to it. Keep including lean protein and vegetables in your diet as well as being hydrated at all times.
