Diet After Surgery

Your eating habits must be reshaped after bariatric surgery. Starting with a clear liquid diet immediately after the operation, you will need to get used to a healthy diet gradually in stages, which will eventually become your lifestyle.

As the surgery lessens the desire to eat and limits food intake, this adaptation period is more focused on choosing what to eat, rather than how much you should eat. This process is fundamental for minimising the risk of complication and maximising healing as well. After the surgery transition to regular diet is in 5 stages.

The First Stage (1^st - 2^nd day) is clear liquid diet. On the first day after the surgery, the patient starts to drink a little amount of water in small sips. Around 100 ml of water every hour is recommended on the second day. Tiny cups are used to regulate this. The aim is to provide the body with 1,5 litre of water that it requires daily, starting from the 2^nd day.

We recommend our patients to go around with a half-litre bottle of water throughout the first month. We ask them to drink at least 3 of those bottles every day. Insufficient fluid intake can cause problems ranging from mild exhaustion to renal failure.

The Second Stage (3^rd - 14^th day) starts on the 3^rd day after the surgery. Water intake must continue the same way. In addition, the patient will start to have sugar-free, clear compote, linden tea, low-salt meat or chicken stock flavoured with vegetables. Eating speed must be around 50 ml every half-hour. This diet continues until the second week. In the second week, non-fat and lactose-free milk and non-fat watery yogurt drink will be added to the diet. As the patient starts to lose weight, daily protein intake must be supplemented. For this purpose, protein powder which will be mixed with your daily liquids will be prescribed for you.

In the Third Stage (15^th - 30^th day) soft diet, which is also called pureed diet, will start in the 3^rd week. You will get to soft pureed food such as omelettes, cottage cheese, non-fat yogurt, whey and pureed vegetables. Food such as vegetable soups, tarhana soup, low sugar puddings are suitable. Do not eat various foods that you will have for the first time together. * If you eat a single type of food at once each time, you can observe your body’s reaction and better understand which types of nutrients disagree with you.

* At this stage, do not neglect to drink plenty of water. Do not eat raw vegetables. Prefer non-flatulent cooked vegetables such as zucchini, green beans and carrots. In this period, avoid spices. Use a small spoon to eat the pureed food. At the beginning consume very soft food, then gradually and slowly switch to more textured nutrients. Eating usually starts to become easier after two weeks following the surgery. Transition times between these stages may vary depending on the patient. There are some patients who pass through these stages faster than expected as well as those who get there more slowly. The important thing is to make these transitions in accordance with the patient’s adaptation without any rush.

Fourth Stage (after the 30^th day); is the soft regular food stage that is expected by the end of the first month. In addition to the third stage, chicken, fish, turkey, meatballs, vegetables and fruits are added to this list at this stage. You should avoid hard, fibrous meats, chicken skin, hard vegetables that are hard to chew. At the end of the first month, you should move on to the 3 main meal routine. 60 grams of protein should be taken daily. Prefer protein rich food for the main meals, while you prefer to drink beverages with protein for snacks. Take small bites in your mouth at each time and chew insistently for a long while (10-15 times).

Fifth Stage is the regular diet stage which should gradually become your lifestyle. Women should take 80-85 gr of protein daily, whereas men should take 90-100 gr. Nutrient groups can be expanded at this stage. Now you can consume raw vegetables and legumes as well. Corn and similar food should be consumed in later periods as they can cause blocking.