Gastric Sleeve Surgery or Sleeve Gastrectomy is a surgical procedure performed to lose extra weight. Around 80% of your stomach will be removed during this procedure. If you plan to undergo a Sleeve Gastrectomy, you should follow a highly restrictive diet for two weeks before your gastric sleeve surgery.
Diet before the gastric sleeve procedure is intended to decrease the size of the liver and weight to make the procedure more comfortable. In addition, diet after the gastric sleeve procedure helps you recover quickly from the surgery and avoid complications.
The postoperative diet involves different types, starting from liquids to the final protein-rich & low-calorie solid diet, which you should continue for life to achieve your weight loss goals.
Read: Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Dr V. Pareek, is one of the best weight loss surgeons in Hyderabad, says that you should adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle to achieve the desired results from gastric sleeve surgery.
After gastric sleeve surgery, the bariatric team provides you with the necessary information on your diet and supports your weight loss journey.
Diet Before Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Overweight people tend to have fatty livers. Your liver is located adjacent to the stomach, so a larger liver increases the possibility of complications during gastric sleeve surgery.
However, the liver size can be reduced quickly. So, to make it happen, you need to follow a specific diet as suggested by the surgeon just two weeks before your gastric sleeve surgery. The diet decreases the volume of your liver, which makes your procedure safer, quicker, and easier. In addition, this diet helps you to get ready for a post-operative diet also.
A pre-operative diet for gastric sleeve aims to reduce calorie consumption, lower the intake of carbohydrates, and cut the sugar from your daily diet. Two days just before gastric sleeve surgery, you will be on a clear liquid diet and should completely avoid caffeine and carbonated drinks.
It is crucial to follow the two-week gastric sleeve pre-operative diet as instructed by your weight loss surgeon.
Your bariatric surgeon may suggest you take multivitamin supplements daily to ensure that your body receives the required nutrients.
Diet After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Depending on the situation after surgery, the diet that will be recommended by the doctor varies from person to person.
Generally, post-gastric bypass diets are designed in stages so that you can gradually regain your appetite. The progression of stages depends on how quickly your body can heal and adapt to the new eating patterns. For example, it might take around two months to start eating your regular foods after surgery.
At every stage of the gastric bypass diet, every individual should be careful and follow the suggestions given by the doctor:
Read: Different phases of diet to be followed after Gastric Sleeve Surgery.
- Make sure you drink enough fluid every day to prevent dehydration.
- Consume liquids in between meals rather than with them. It is best not to drink within 30 minutes after a meal, and it is also best not to drink 30 minutes before your meal.
- To prevent dumping syndrome, eat & drink slowly — it usually happens when the food you eat rapidly enters your small intestine in larger volumes. It can cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, sweating, and diarrhoea.
- Consume lean, protein-rich foods regularly.
- Consume low-fat & low-sugar-containing foods and drinks.
- Alcohol should not be consumed.
- Caffeine intake can cause dehydration, so limit it.
- Take the supplements of vitamins and minerals daily as recommended by your surgeon.
- As you progress from liquids to solid foods, you should chew all the solid foods thoroughly before you swallow them.
If you follow a specific diet suggested by the doctor before and after gastric bypass surgery, you can recover easily; it supports your weight-loss goals and helps maintain your healthy eating habits afterwards. Remember, after your weight loss surgery, if you continue your unhealthy eating habits, you may fail to reach your weight loss goals, and there is a risk of regaining any weight you lost.
To know more detailed information about gastric sleeve surgery and the diet recommendations, consult Dr Venugopal Pareek, an experienced bariatric surgeon in Hyderabad. He helped thousands of obese patients to lose weight by performing various advanced bariatric procedures, including sleeve gastrectomy.