"The fool that eats till he is sick must fast till he is well."
--George Walter Thornbury, The Jestor's Sermon



Click on the links to jump to specific portions of this page:
DIET
    Dr. Champion's Post-Op Diet
    My Diet Journal
    Protein
    Water
    Recipes
    Fast Food Nutrition Guides
   EXERCISE
  Exercise Sites
  Important Research

LIFESTYLE
  Alcohol Consumption
  Important Research






Dr. Champion breaks his patients' post-operative diet into three stages.
Stage 1 Post-Op Diet

Protein
Protein Supplement
Yogurt
Skim Milk
Cottage Cheese
Starch
Mashed Potatoes
Grits and Oatmeal
Cream of Wheat
Blenderized soups

Acceptable items for this stage:

  • Water, fruit juice, Crystal Light, Kool-Aid (unsweetened or sweetened with NutraSweet or Splenda), Diet Snapple, Skim Milk, coffee, tea (decaffeinated-caffeine is a natural appetite stimulant & diuretic)

  • Broth, Sugar-Free Jell-O, Sugar-Free yogurt, Sugar-Free popsicles

  • Grits, Cream of Wheat, Oatmeal, Mashed Potatoes, Cottage cheese

  • Any soups (must be run through the blender to prevent any large pieces from being swallowed)

  • Protein Supplements made with skim milk or Lactaid Milk


Approximate portion size should be 4-6 ounces per meal.

Helpful Hints
  1. Learn at this stage to eat slowly

  2. 5 minutes for each bite (between bites)

  3. Eat with a baby spoon

  4. In the beginning, eat this slowly for everything. In the future it will be for meats only.



Stage 2 Post-Op Diet

Food List for Weeks 3-6
Protein
Starch
Meats
Vegetable
and Pasta
Fruit
Protein Supplement grits fish or shrimp beans--grean, pinto, lima applesauce
yogurt oatmeal eggs asparagus watermelon
skim milk cream of wheat blenderized soups peas, beets, squash soft banana
cottage cheese blenderized soups **No chicken or other mean--too dense** well-baked/mashed potato  
cheese   soft-cooked pasta  

Helpful Hints
  1. Six meals a day with a protein supplement for two of the meals.

  2. No liquids should be taken with meals if soft foods are included. You should wait 30-45 minutes for the pouch to empty before drinking after meals.

  3. CHEW WELL. The food must be liquified before swallowing.

  4. Take small bites. Cut the food into toddler-size bites and eat with a baby spoon.



Stage 3 Post-Op Diet

Suggested meal plan for week 7 and on
DISCONTINUE TAKING PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS!!!

Stage III, Regular diet consisting of 3 meals and 1 snack per day. Add regular foods gradually.
  1. Eat about every 3-4 hours

  2. NO LIQUIDS WITH MEALS!

  3. Continue taking vitamin and calcium supplements daily.

  4. Eat slowly and chew your food well!

  5. Soups and salads should NOT be used as meals. (Salads with meat are acceptable.)

  6. NOTE: bread, pasta and rice tend to become gummy and get lodged. Use caution!



From Flancbaum, M.D., Louis, et al. The Doctor's Guide to Weight Loss Surgery: How to Make the Decision That Could Save Your Life. West Hurley, NY: Fredonia Communications, 2001.

I really like to eat. What's going to stop me from overeating after the surgery?

Because your stomach will be smaller, it will fill up with food sooner. When the food touches the walls of your stomach, it sends a message to the brain that you don't want any more to eat. The brain will receive this signal after eating much less food and consequently, you eat less. Most people just don't feel hungry. When you do overeat, or eat too quickly, you may experience "dumping syndrome."

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My Diet Journal
starting with Stage 2 Post-Op Diet


From Dr. Champion's Office:
PROTEIN: What, How Much?, When?

WHAT?

Proteins are complex combinations of amino acids that are essential to all living cells. (i.e. DAIRY--milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, MEATS--beef, pork, chicken, veal, FISH, EGGS, LEGUMES, LENTILS, NUTS or SEEDS)

HOW MUCH?

It is sufficient to eat between 30-40 grams of protein in a 24-hour period. 2-3 ounces (about the size of a deck of cards) should be sufficient per meal.

WHEN?

After your initial healing time of 6-8 weeks, each meal should begin with some form of protein. Eat your protein portions first and then eat any fruits andvegetables if you have room for them.

Meats tend to be the most difficult for new post-ops to tolerate. It is important to concume the recommended amount of protein each day. There should be no problem eating the recommended amounts using the above guide for proteins.



DRINK WATER!!! You need to drink 8oz. x 8 glasses of water, Crystal Lite, Sugar-Free Kool-Aid or unsweet tea per day. This is tricky to do as a gastric bypass patient, because we cannot eat for 30 minutes before or during the time when we are eating! I have to start early and use those between-meal windows to get mine in. After surgery, water helps your body return to its normal state, plus helps keep you feeling full.

When you are losing weight, there are many waste products to eliminate, mostly in the urine. Some of these substances tend to form crystals, which can cause kidney stones. A high water intake protects you and helps your body to rid itself of waste products efficiently, promoting better weight loss. Water also fills your stomach and helps to prolong and intensify your sense of satisfaction with food. If you feel a desire to eat between meals, it may be because you did not drink enough water in the hour before.

According to water.com,

  • Drinking water can help you control your weight by alleviating water retention and spurring your metabolism.

  • Maintaining your hydration by drinking plenty of water helps your performance. Not only can you exercise longer, you are also more alert mentally when your body has its full complement of water

  • Drinking enough water also helps you fight fatigue by keeping your body in its best shape.

  • Water is the best alleviator of fluid retention

From Dr. Champion's Office:
WATER: What, How Much?, When?

WHAT?

Any liquid that breaks down to water as it is metabolized in the body is considered water (i.e. Crystal Light, Sugar-Free Kool-Aid made with Nutra-Sweet or Splenda, decaffinated tea or coffee, Sugar-Free Jell-o, Sugar-free popsicles, juices)

HOW MUCH?

We encourage everyone to drink at least four 8 ounce glasses of water per day.

WHEN?

You can drink at any time during the day or night, except for the time that you are actually eating, or for at least 30-45 minutes afterwards. Drinking during those times defeats the way the pouch works to aid you in becming healthier and losing weight.

Drinking during meal times and directly afterward is one of the primary ways to sabotage your surgery!

Water--An Element in Healthy Weight Loss from WomenFitness.net
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RECIPES
Bariatric Diet Book.pdf
Karen's Recipes for Gastric Bypass Patients
Low-Carbohydrate/High-Protein Recipes
The Staple Club Recipes
WomenFitness.net--Healthy Recipes


FAST FOOD NUTRITION GUIDES
3 Fat Chicks Fast Food Nutrition Guide
Arby's®
Back Yard Burgers®
Blimpie®
Burger King®
Chick-fil-a®
Denny's®
Don Pablo's®
Fazoli's®
Hardee's®
KFC®
Krystal®
Long John Silver's®
McDonald's®
Petro's Chili and Chips®
Pizza Hut®
Schlotzsky's®
Sonic®
Subway®
Taco Bell®
Wendy's®

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If I'm eating so little calories and fat, I'll lose weight anyway. Why do I have to exercise?

When you have Gastric Bypass Surgery, you lose weight because the amount of food energy (calories) you are able to eat is much less than your body needs to operate. It has to make up the difference by burning reserves or unused tissues. Your body will tend to burn any unused muscle before it begins to burn the fat it has saved up. If you do not exercise daily, your body will consume your unused muscle, and you will lose muscle mass and strength. Daily aerobic exercise will communicate to your body that you want to use your muscles and force it to burn the fat instead.

From Dr. Champion's Office:
THE IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE
There are several reasons why exercising is important after Gastric Bypass

  1. Exercise is essential to your overall well-being and good health.
  2. Exercising will help you to reach your weight loss goal.
  3. Exercising helps to build muscle and strengthen your bones.
  4. Muscle burns fat more effectively.
You must burn at least 300 calories a day to aid in weight loss.
Calorie burning happens all day long while you are active.




EXERCISE SITES
Activity Calorie Calculator
Being Active at All Sizes
Curves for Women
Fitness Online
How to Exercise
JustMove.org--The American Heart Association's Fitness Site
JustWalk.com
Starting an Exercise Program
The Walking Site



IMPORTANT RESEARCH
Exercise Reduces Dangerous Intra-Abdominal Fat
Exercise and Your Mood
Exercise Can Boost Brain Capacity

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From Dr. Champion's Office:
THE CHALLENGES OF EATING AS A POST-OP:
How, What, When and Why?


HOW?

As a post-op patient, it will always be very important for you to eat slowly and chew your food until it is liquified. This allows the food to pass through the small opening from your new stomach (pouch) into your intestines without becoming "stuck," or causing you to feel too full or vomiting. IT should take you at least 30-60 minutes to eat each meal. Eating any faster than that will lead to pain, overeating and vomiting.

WHAT?

Follow the prescribed diet for each phase of your healing. After 6-8 weeks post-op, you should be able to eat normal foods. The degree of ease or difficulty that you have tolerating real foods depends entirely on how well you chew your food and how slowly you eat.

WHEN?

After your healing period of 6-8 weeks, you should begin training your body to eat 3 meals and one snack per day (eating every 4 hours).

WHY?

Training your body to expect to eat at certain times will help you be able to control your hunger as it returns at approximately 8-12 months post-op. By being on a schedule, your hunger will focus itself toward the scheduled times.



Gastric Bypass patients have a new tool to use to help them lose weight. We must use our tool along with diet and exercise to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle. For our diets to be acceptable, they must inherently satisfy these basis principles:

  1. They must provide less than the patient's energy requirements.

  2. They must provide all nutrient requirements.

  3. They must be acceptable to the patient.

  4. They must be sustained long-term.

  5. They must not impair health.

  6. Effectiveness will depend on the foods not eaten.

From Ackerman, M.D., Norman B. Fat No More: The Answer for the Dangerously Overweight. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 1999.


From Dr. Champion's Office:
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

After your initial healing time of 6-8 weeks, there is no restricition on the consumption of alcohol or alcoholic beverages.

You must keep two important facts in mind:

  1. Alcohol is a high-calorie liquid with no benefits. This means you are consuming empty calories that will not aid you in retaining your health or in losing weight. In fact, the consumption of alcohol or alcoholic beverages could slow or even stop your weight loss.

  2. After weight loss surgery, due to your new anatomy, alcohol that is consumed is dumped immediately into your intestines, where it is quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. This causes you to become much more intoxicated at a much faster rate. This creates a dangerous situation should you try to drive, operate machinery or if you are on any type of medications.




IMPORTANT RESEARCH

Avoiding Weight Loss Crash and Burn--Lots of diets promise quick and easy weight loss. But what do you do afterward? Instead of rapid loss, focus on slow changes that result in sustainable weight management
Discovery Health's Weight Loss
Healthy Weight--Preparing for Change


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Last updated May 31, 2003.