Chapter 2
Step by Step: What to Expect
and What to Eat the Days and
Weeks after Surgery
In This Chapter
▶ Treating your pouch well
▶ Following your surgeon’s and dietitian’s guidelines for eating safely
▶ Getting familiar with the four stages of your postsurgery diet
C
hances are, before your surgery you got a lot of information from your
doctor about what to expect afterwards. You probably also sat in
your surgeon’s office with a registered dietitian who painstakingly explained
the diet you have to follow for the few weeks following surgery until you’re
able to eat “real” food again. The facts, guidelines, and warnings probably
made perfect sense at the time, until you left the office and it all suddenly
became very overwhelming. Don’t feel bad — you’re not alone!Be reassured, your period of healing and adjustment will come to an end and
you will be able to eat regular food again. You need to be conscientious of
what you eat and the portion sizes, but having weight loss surgery certainly
doesn’t mean that life as you knew it has come to an end. You’ll be able to
go to a restaurant and have a lovely meal with friends. You just may want to
split an entrée or take some home!In this chapter we explain what to expect from your new pouch and some of
the new sensations and symptoms you may experience. We show you what
you can eat in the days and weeks after your weight loss surgery, walking you
through each of the four initial stages of foods. We also clue you in on food
preparation tips and provide some sample menus to get you started in the
right direction.Here are a few things to remember as you recover: