Undergoing gastric bypass surgery means patients need to be prepared to stick with a very restrictive diet immediately after surgery, and make some big changes to their lifestyle and eating habits for years after their procedure. However, choosing healthier food options after gastric bypass may not be all that difficult, according to the results of a recent study published in the American Journal of Physiology Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology.
Results of the study suggest that bariatric surgery typically does lead to long-term weight loss, and that most patients do end up eating the right types of food without even trying.
Mr. Torsten Olbers from the Imperial College London performed the gastric bypass procedure on patients in the study at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden and Dr. Carol le Roux from the Imperial Weight Centre at Imperial College London led the research and found that patients naturally avoided junk food.
She states, “It appears that after bypass surgery, patients become hungry for good food and avoid junk food not because they have to, but because they just don’t like it anymore. If we can find out why this happens, we might be able to help people to eat more healthily without much effort.”
Bariatric surgery diet recommendations after gastric bypass surgery typically include maintaining a liquid diet for about three to four weeks post-procedure, and then slowly reintroducing small amounts of very soft food at a later stage.
Since gastric bypass can cause nutritional deficiencies in some patients, it’s even more important that the patient follows all nutritional guidelines and takes nutritional supplements for extra support. Most patients do not experience cravings that would lead to overeating junk food or other foods that could cause digestive problems and weight gain after this type of weight loss procedure, according to the recent study’s results.
Take a look at these bariatric surgery before and after pictures to see examples of successful outcomes with bariatric surgery and a bariatric surgery diet.
beforeafter
