Often when people hear about bariatric surgery, the very next thing that comes to mind is the food they’ll have to avoid after the procedure. Every patient is different and will experience different post-surgery conditions. There are drinks and foods that cannot be eaten after bariatric surgery. We are not saying that these are the foods you never eat again after gastric bypass or gastric sleeve, but they should be avoided for the indicated time.
Foods Not To Eat After Bariatric Surgery
- Dry or hard red meat: After the bariatric surgery, you should chew your food very often before swallowing, so it’s easier for your stomach to digest the food. Avoid pork chops, hot dogs, ham, and steak.
- Heavily seasoned or spicy foods: Eating spicy foods like curries, sauces, or jalapenos after bariatric surgery can cause discomfort and irritation. This happens because spicy foods annoy the healing incisions made during bariatric surgery, such as a gastric sleeve.
- High-starch foods: Starches such as fried potatoes, bread, rice, and pasta may make you feel bloated or gassy.
- Empty Calorie Foods: Foods that cannot be eaten after bariatric surgery or avoided include the ones that provide little or no nutritional value, including pretzels, chips, popcorn, and rice.
- High fat, greasy foods: Eating fatty foods can make you nauseated and can impact the success of your weight loss journey. Avoid eating sausage, bacon, whole milk, butter, and hard cheeses.
- Foods reheated in the microwave: Reheating the food evaporates all the moisture and makes the food harder to eat and digest.
- Sugar alcohols: Such as glycerol, erythritol, sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol, have no caloric content that the body can absorb. Foods high in sugar, like pastries, candies, cakes, and pies, can cause dumping syndrome resulting in nausea and vomiting.
Beverages to Avoid After Bariatric Surgery
These drinks should be avoided after bariatric surgery as they can irritate your healing stomach:
- Carbonated beverages like soft drinks and carbonated wines for at least 3 months after surgery
- Caffeinated drinks such as coffee, espresso, tea, and soda for at least 3 months after surgery
- Alcoholic drinks such ass, beer, vodka, and rum for at least 6 months after surgery
It is important to have some food restrictions after bariatric surgery, like a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass, so your body absorbs the right amount of nutrients.
FAQs
Q: Can you ever eat normally after gastric bypass?
You should expect to wait for at least 3 months before you can resume your regular diet. The gastric bypass diet aims to help you ease back into your typical foods.
Q: What happens if you eat solid food after gastric sleeve
A: Solid foods should be avoided for three months after gastric sleeve surgery. Otherwise, your surgery’s success rate will minimize.
Did We Miss Anything?
If you have any more questions regarding bariatric surgery or related to weight loss in general, don’t hesitate to contact our Bariatric surgeon Dr. Alibhai and his team at Nova Bariatrics & Minimally Invasive Surgery. Call (469) 639-0953 today to schedule a consultation.