After gastric sleeve surgery you will be limited on what you can eat immediately after surgery. You stomach needs to heal from the procedure thus some foods will be off the table or limited for at least a few weeks to a few months. Also your stomach might now react differently than it did prior to surgery to certain foods. Below is a list of some foods that you cannot eat after gastric sleeve surgery. All in all you will need to ease back into or take these items off the menu almost completely.
Foods that are Gummy in Texture
Many health organizations recommend avoiding for the first few months foods that have a gummy texture after bariatric surgery. Examples of these types of foods include white rice, breads, pasta of all types, string cheese and nut butters (peanut, cashew, almond, etc.). These foods can cause discomfort and bloating in some patients. Many patients go back to eating these foods after the first months but since they are generally foods that are high in carbohydrates it is a generally a good ideas to keep these foods to a minimum when they come back into your diet.
Beers, Wines and Hard Alcohol
A study at Stanford University found that bariatric surgery significantly lowers alcohol tolerance, causing patients to become intoxicated faster and remain so longer than those who have not had this type of surgery. Bariatric patients tend on average to metabolize the alcohol slower than their non-surgical counterparts. Knowing this patients should understand how this can affect their motor functions and take care when driving or performing other tasks.
Carbonated Drinks
Carbonated drinks have a bubbly style that most people like in soda, energy drinks and other specialty beverages . Also many alcoholic drinks like beer, hard cider and champagne are often naturally carbonated due to their fermentation. After surgery though there are some good reasons to think about limiting your intake of these types of beverages.
Many carbonated beverages contain excess or “empty” calories because they do not provide much nutritional value for the amount of calories consumed. After gastric sleeve, patients are forced to limit calorie consumption, and these empty calories replace valuable space in your new smaller stomach where foods with healthy, wholesome higher nutrient value. Also the bubbly effervescence of carbonated beverages push excess air into the smaller stomach area. This can cause stomach pain, nausea, and gas.
Smart Choices & Better Options
Every person is different, and some of the items listed may not cause an issue for everyone. Some people are bothered by dairy, spicy or crunchy foods like chips, trail mix popcorn or nuts. Many find they are able to handle most or all foods with little to no difficulty. The best practice is to eat meals slowly, chew thoroughly and eat small portions. In addition look for better options like low calorie or zero calorie beverages that are non-carbonated like Gatorade Zero, low sugar fruit juices or adding a calorie free drink mix when you need a change of pace on what to drink.
