After Gastric Bypass surgery you will need to follow important nutrition guidelines to ensure a successful recovery. A liquid only diet is typically recommended while your body begins to heal.
During this initial period of time after Gastric Bypass surgery it’s important to give your digestive system enough time and energy rest and recuperate so that you can begin to handle solid foods.
Today I’ll be discussing the bariatric full liquid diet and offer suggestions as to the timeframes best liquids you can have. Medically prescribed liquid diets should always be prescribed by your doctor to ensure that you get the proper nutrients and calories needed for healing.
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Bariatric Full Liquid Diet –Stage One After Gastric Bypass Surgery
AfterBariatric Surgery you will needto follow a full liquid diet for the first 5-14 days following surgery. Smooth drinks are best and you can have either clear liquid orfull liquid options.
Liquid only diets are usually recommended for the first two weeks after surgery, but depending on your individual situation this period could be slightly longer or shorter. During this time all of your meals will consist of nutrient-rich liquids like smoothies, protein shakes, vegetable and fruit juices, soups made with broth, milk, and yogurt.
To ensure that you are getting enough calories in order to heal properly, try to aim for about 5 liquid meals a day with each meal containing between 150-250 calories. It’s also important to drink at least 64 ounces of fluids daily (8 cups).
What Is A Clear Liquid Diet?
A clear liquid diet is a diet that consists of liquids that are easily digested and leave no residue in the intestines. A variety of clear liquids can be consumed, such as water, broth, sports drinks, juice, iced tea and coffee, without cream or milk, sodas, and seltzers.
Is The Liquid Diet Good?
Clear liquids are easily absorbed by the body and provide some essential electrolytes and fluids, but contain little calories so it is important to make sure you are drinking enough throughout the day.
Clear liquid diets don’t have to be boring. You can try numerous types of liquid diets and options from liquid meal replacements to diluted fruit or vegetable juices and more.
What Is A Full Liquid Diet?
A full liquid diet consists of liquids that are thicker than clear liquids, such as smoothies, shakes, soups made with broth, and strained cream soups.
A Bariatric full liquid diet provides more calories and nutrients than a clear liquid diet, but still not as much as solid foods so make sure to include nutrient-rich ingredients in your smoothies and shakes like Greek yogurt, nut butter, and protein powder to get the most out of your meals.
A full liquid diet should be followed for 1-2 weeks after Gastric Bypass surgery in order to give your body enough time and energy to heal before introducing solid foods.
Getting Nutrition From Liquids
A good way to make sure you drink enough liquid post gastric bypass is by taking small sips and making it a point not to gulp down your drinks.
It’s best if at least 1-1.5 litres of this comes from nutritious liquids every day, which will ensure that you’re staying hydrated but won’t cause anystomach stretchingor discomfort later on in the weight loss process.
The liquid only diet is a good way to get nutrition especially when it’s the only nutrition you consume.
Avoid Using Straws During The Bariatric Full Liquid Diet
Some people may suggest drinking through a straw on the full liquid diet, however most hospitals say to avoid this as putting gas into the stomach is not good after major surgery because there’s already excess air in there.
Bariatric Liquid Diet Menu
It’s important you drink liquids during the first five days that have good amounts of nutrition. The best options are full liquids that are packed with nutrition.Protein shakesmay be a good choice, however, ensure they do not contain sugar!
Best Liquids To Drink After Bariatric Surgery:
Here’s some examples of thebest liquids to drinkafter bariatric surgery on the liquid only diet:
Sugar Free Protein Shakes
When following liquid meal replacement diets sugar free protein shakes can come in super handy.
Ensure any sugar free shake contains at least 15 grams of protein per serving.
Skimmed Or Semi Skimmed Milk
Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk fortified with skimmed milk powder (1-2 tablespoons per 200ml) is a great option for the bariatric full liquid diet.
Slimfast Powder Added To Skimmed Milk
Slimfast powder added to skimmed milk. (1 serving Slimfast powder with 200ml skimmed milk) is a great liquid only diet option. This can help promote weight loss and has many essential nutrients and goodness added to it.
Bariatric Liquid Diet Soup
Soup madefrom chicken stock, light consomme, bouillion or plain water (1 cup per serving) is a great way to add variation to your liquid only diet.
Unsweetened Fruit Juice
Unsweetened fruit juices should be diluted 1:3 with water to lower the calorie content. Stick to just one glass per day.
You could try apple juice or fruit and vegetable juices like tomato or beetroot juice. It is important to dilute juice while on full liquid diets to ensure you don’t suffer from dumping syndrome.
Complan Bariatric Full Liquid Diet
Complan or similar high calorie drinks (1-2 cups per serving) are also good for the full liquid diet as they are fortified with nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Tea And Coffee Liquid Diet Menu
Tea and coffee (no milk or sugar, but you can add skimmed milk if you like).
Strain Cream Soups
Strained cream soups are also a good option for the full liquid diet as they provide protein and other nutrients. Ensure the soup is strained to remove any lumps or chunks that may be difficult to digest post surgery.
These are some of the best liquids you can drink on a bariatric full liquid diet.
Drinking Water After Gastric Bypass Surgery
It is important to stay hydrated during a liquid diet by consuming at least 1-1.5 Litres of water every day. This will help flush out toxins and ensure your body has enough fluids to work properly.
You may also want to try adding some electrolyte drinks like Pedialyte or Gatorade to increase the nutrients you
Drinking can be difficult following gastric bypass and will need to be done regularly and in small sips. It is also important to maintain good posture while drinking to prevent any stomach discomfort.
The liquid only diet can be difficult and overwhelming at times, however with the right nutrition it can help you achieve your weight loss goals!
Liquids To Avoid After Gastric Bypass Surgery
There are some beverages that people may think is okay to drink afterbariatric surgerywhich really aren’t.
Avoid Fizzy Drinks
To avoid gas buildup, bariatric patients need to stay away from fizzy drinks as they can have negative effects when consumed after gastric bypass surgery.
In fact, you should never drink carbonated beverages again as it could cause severe pain to your stomach.
Avoid Alcohol Drinks
Similarly, alcoholic beverages are best avoided after weight loss surgery. It’s also not a good idea to drink too many fluids at once as this can also cause stomach discomfort.
Avoid Caffeinated Drinks
Caffeinated drinks (such as energy drinks) should also be avoided or limitedafter bariatric surgery. Caffeine can interfere with your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and can lead to dehydration.
In conclusion, the best liquids to consume after bariatric surgery are sugar free protein shakes, skimmed milk powder with water, slimfast powder added to skimmed milk, bariatric liquid diet soups, unsweetened fruit juices diluted 1:3 with water, complan or similar high calorie drinks and tea and coffee (no sugar).
Example Liquid Diet Menu After Gastric Bypass Or Gastric Sleeve
Here is an example meal plan following Gastric Bypass Surgery:
Breakfast:
Fruit smoothie (200ml)
Mid morning:
Fruit juice (200ml) diluted
Lunch:
Complan or Nestle Build-Up milkshake including 2 tbsp skimmed milk powder or a glass semi-skimmed milk including 2 tbsp of skimmed milk powder.
Mid afternoon:
Slimfast shake
Dinner:
Thin soup with 1 -2 tablespoons of cows’ Milk included
Supper:Nestle Build Up Shake Plus water, tea, coffee sugar free squash in between meals.
When you feel ready, move on toStage Two you can begin a puree stage diet. Some people move to this diet sooner than others and it depends on the individual.
What Can I Eat On After The Full Liquid Diet Stage?
Full Liquid only Diet – Stage Two
After stage one of the liquid diet you are allowed to have both chewable and liquid foods. It’s best to go slowly here though, start with protein shakes if you’re not used to having them beforebariatric surgery, then advance onto soups with soft meats, blended veggies or fruit in it.
Full Liquid Diet – Stage Three
Stage three after bariatric surgery is where you can get into your regular bariatric meal plan.
Thebariatric mealplan is what you will follow for the rest of your life to avoid gaining weight again. You can find a great collection ofbariatric meals and recipesover at The Inspiration Edit and we have plenty of low carb bariatric recipes here on The Instant Pot Table.
The Importance Of Keeping Hydrated After Surgery
One of the most important parts of bariatric surgery is to ensure you stay hydrated after gastric bypass.
Not only will this help withweight loss, but also helps to avoid uncomfortable side effects like constipation and abdominal bloating.
To stay hydrated make sure drink lots of water duringbariatric surgery recovery,especially in between bariatric liquid only meals.
How To Help Reduce Gas Pain After Gastric Bypass Surgery
Following your surgery, you may suffer from gas pain. This is completely normal and you can treat it by using over the counter gas relief medication like Gas-X.
Peppermint Tea For Gas
However, if you’re not able to swallow or struggling another option you may want to try is peppermint tea.
Peppermint tea is a natural anti-inflammatory and can help relieve gas pain. You can also try drinking lemon or ginger tea as this will help reduce inflammation in your digestive system helping to speed up bariatric surgery recovery time!
In most cases you want to consume at least five bariatric full liquids a day which include water, coffee or tea with no added sugar, milk, bariatric milkshake or bariatric soup.
Drinking Soups After Gastric Bypass
We have over 50soup recipes here on The Instant PotTable many which are bariatric friendly. Here are three soups you may want to prepare in advance prior to your gastric bypass operation:
- Cauliflower Soup
- Parsnip Soup
- Creamy Chicken Soup
You should always check with your bariatric surgeon first before preparing bariatric soups and bariatric smoothies as bariatric surgeons may prefer you to stick with their bariatric diet guidelines.
Remember that you need to maintain a healthybariatric diet to be successful after bariatric surgery.
If you’re looking for guidance on how to makebariatric smoothies, bariatric soups or bariatric protein shakes check out our recipes! You may just find one you love.
Bariatric Liquid Diet V’s Detox Diet Or Normal Diet
No matter why you want to lose weight and whether on a liquid diet or solid food diet, there is some unique difference between the bariatric diet and a detox diet.
The main differences between a detox diet and a bariatric liquid diet are that the detox diet is used for short term weight loss while the bariatric liquid diet is designed to support long-term weight management.
Detox Diets will not offer as many nutrients as the Bariatric Liquid Diet, which provides essential vitamins, minerals, and protein. Be sure to consume liquids packed
In conclusion, the Bariatric Liquid Diet is designed specifically for those who have hadbariatric surgery and are in need of a low calorie diet with essential nutrients. It is important to follow your bariatric surgeons instructions when it comes to following a liquid diet as this will help ensure safe weight loss and long-term success.
