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Gastric Sleeve Diet

So you’ve decided to get gastric sleeve surgery. This is one of the preferred options for patients who are seeking surgical weight loss. This procedure is carried out with no intestinal bypass and is a great option for patients who are extremely overweight and want to lose a lot of weight.

As with most other weight loss surgeries, there is a specific diet that must be followed to get the best possible results and also to ensure your safety. You must follow the advice of your surgeon to the letter, lest you risk a complication post-surgery.

We have outlined the gastric sleeve diet that you will need to follow both prior to and post your surgery.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Two Weeks Out

It’s an exciting time! Soon you’ll be undergoing surgery to decrease your weight and which will change your entire life. In order to best prepare for this surgery and the changes afterwards, you need to start a gastric sleeve diet a fortnight prior.

There are a couple of reasons for this – first among them being that because you are overweight, so too is your liver, and as such you need to take every step to shrink it prior to surgery. Plus, following a diet prior to surgery because you can will make following the diet after surgery that much easier.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

What you can eat on the gastric sleeve diet

More protein, fewer carbohydrates and no sugars is the objective.

Optifast Diet

1 x Optifast Shake each for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

2 x cups of non-starchy Vegetable or Salad each day

Tea or Coffee without milk (artificial sweetener is acceptable)

Sugar free softdrink or cordial

If you need a filler in between – you are welcome to have sugar free diet jelly

It’s important that you stay hydrated as well!

If there is a variation to this, Dr Braun or our dietitian will need to provide you approval.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Two Days Prior to Surgery

Two days from the surgery, your surgeon will most likely recommend that you have no carbonated drinks or caffeinated beverages.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Post-Surgery

The surgery is over, but here’s where the hard part comes into play. While the two-week period prior to surgery was important, you need to ensure that you follow the correct gastric sleeve diet for the first month out of surgery.

The very extreme diet that you will need to follow post-surgery may seem difficult, but you must follow this to the letter to ensure you get the optimal results.

In the first few weeks after surgery, you are doubtless going to experience irritability and mood swings as you adjust to eating less food and not having food that you need to chew.

It may be tempting to eat other foods but be warned – if you cheat on your post-operative diet, you can experience diarrhoea, dehydration, constipation, bowel obstruction, or a very serious gastric leak. Look at the weeks following surgery in more detail below.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Typical Diet After Gastric Sleeve Surgery: Weeks 1 to 4

Week One – Clear liquid diet

For the first week after surgery, you are limited to consuming clear liquids only. It might sound tough to you, and it will be. That said, most patients actually have little to no desire to eat. The reason for this is because the section of the stomach removed during gastric sleeve surgery is responsible for producing the hunger hormone ghrelin.

You can consume:

Water
Decaffeinated Tea
Sugar-Free Icy Poles
Broth
Protein Shakes

Be sure to avoid:

Carbonated beverages
Sweet beverages
Sugar
Caffeine

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Week Two – Full liquid diet with protein shakes

You might start to feel some hunger pains now, but be sure to stick to the diet as recommended by your surgeon. You may now have everything from the first week of your diet, with the addition of:

Protein powder mixed with a sugar-free non-carbonated clear liquid. Coconut water would be ideal for this, or just plain water.
Non-fat liquid yoghurt
No added sugar juices diluted with water

There may be more or fewer foods that you can eat – simply speak with your dietitian for the full diet.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Week Three and Four – Soft pureed foods

You’re doing great! Stick at the gastric sleeve diet, because by now you will have noticed that you’ve definitely started to lose weight. You can now start adding some whole foods into your diet – but they will be pureed. This must be a thick shake straw consistency with no lumps or chunks.

While you can eat whole foods, you need to be limiting your sugars and fats. Your week three goals are to:

Eat 60 grams of protein a day
Eat very slowly
Bring in new foods one by one

Food might taste different, and you might have different tolerances than before. You must make sure that you are eating very slowly in order to get the best results. As well as this, make sure you introduce new foods back one at a time to figure out which ones are going to be giving you gas, stomach upsets or diarrhoea.

The following foods are usually fine for you to consume from this point onwards (again, just check with your dietitian for the full diet plan):

Don’t forget to blend it to the right consistency!

One protein shake per day – now may be blended with yoghurt or non-fat milk, or a non-dairy milk like almond or coconut milk
Hummus
Low fat cottage cheese
Soft cereal made with non-fat milk (soak your cereal until it is very soft)
Soft boiled or steamed veggies
Ground chicken or beef (you can add beef or chicken stock to keep the meat soft)
Soups
Scrambled eggs
Steamed fish – making sure that you are chewing very well
Canned tuna or salmon
Mashed fruits like banana, avocado or canned fruit (being mindful of the sugar content)

While you have more freedom with your diet now, you still must make sure that you limit:

Sugar
Starchy foods like pasta, rice and bread
Fibrous vegetables like celery, broccoli, asparagus and raw leafy greens

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Week Five and Six – Introduce whole foods

You have done so well following your diet up until now, and now it’s time to start bringing in whole real foods.

Be aware though that your stomach and your sleeve are still going to be sensitive, and you need to be sure to go slowly and to chew everything very thoroughly. You have done this in the pureed foods portion of week three, but keep looking for softer versions of food, and make sure that you introduce a new food with plenty of time to see if you react to them adversely.

Your meals will include:

Protein shakes
Chicken and beef – but chew these very, very slowly to ensure that they are well broken down before swallowing. Ideally slow cooked and must easily fall apart.
Any kinds of fish
Fruits
Vegetables (but still cook these to ensure that they’re softened)
Mashed and baked potatoes and sweet potatoes
Cereal

You can also now start drinking caffeine now, but we recommend that you limit your intake as it can cause problems.

Keep avoiding:

Soft drinks
Fried food
Fibrous vegetables like celery and asparagus
Sugary drinks
Lollies
Desserts
Pasta, pizza and other kinds of high carbohydrate, low nutrient foods
Whole milk and other whole milk dairy foods
Nuts

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Week Five and Six – Healthy Snacks

During week four we still recommend that you are only eating three small meals every day. Also, it’s important that you are hydrating in between meals. That said, you may still need a small, healthy snack. As with every other component of your diet, your surgeon will speak with you about what can be eaten.

Possible healthy snacks include (Chew well!):

Hummus with soft baby carrots (steamed or boiled)
Hard boiled egg
Quarter of a sweet potato
Banana
Strawberries or fresh fruits

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Week Seven and onwards

You may continue to introduce foods and see how well you take them. Things to watch out for include constipation, diarrhoea and an upset stomach.

You may still eat three small meals a day, and keep hydrating – but be sure to stop drinking fluids half an hour prior to your meals.

Avoid snacking if you can – simply eat your meals at the standard times
Take vitamins daily to ensure you are getting the right amounts
Get 60 grams of protein
Have protein shakes daily
Exercise daily as part of your routine
Avoid carbonated drinks and soft drinks
Prepare for bad days and have a strategy in place to ensure you don’t slip up

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Six Tips for Gastric Sleeve Diet Success

Eat nutrient dense foods like apples, bananas and other whole foods
Don’t drink your calories with sugary drinks
Know that it’s going to be tough and plan for it. Where you used to rely on food as an emotional support, you will now have to eat very limited amounts of foods, and won’t be able to eat old favourites – nor as much of the same foods. It will be a rollercoaster of emotion, but you will have greater success if you plan for the roadblocks and have a strategy in place.
Chewing is your new best friend. Make sure that you chew everything thoroughly.
Plan what to eat when you go out. Check out the menu online, and call ahead to find out if you can get a half-serve of something, or split a meal with a friend.
Drink plenty of water during the day but don’t drink water with meals as it’ll stretch your pouch.

Good luck, and remember that for every kind of surgery you will get a full diet plan from your dietitian and surgeon. If you have any questions about this, please call us on (07) 3353 9694.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]