How restrictive your gastric bypass diet will be, will largely depend on the type of gastric bypass surgery you are having. The lap-band is a less invasive surgery with a short recovery period. Because your stomach and digestive system were not reconstructed, there is less sensitivity and you will eat normal food sooner. However, the size of your stomach is still very small following surgery and can only hold very tiny amounts of liquid in the early weeks of recovery.

The roux-en-y is the reconstructive form of gastric bypass surgery and will require you to be on high protein liquids for a minimum of 2 weeks following your surgery. I felt it was easiest to stick with shakes, but baby food and pureed food are also permitted.

In the first few weeks following your surgery, it takes an all out effort to eat and drink what the bariatric dietitians expect you to eat. 32 ounces of liquid and 60 grams of protein is quite a bit and since you can only eat and drink a few bites at a time, you spend a lot of time trying to consume the necessary calories.

After two weeks, you can begin introducing soft foods back into your diet. I started with cottage cheese and yogurt. You want to make sure you chew everything you eat thoroughly (until it is liquid, yuck!). Be sure you do not consume more than 10 grams of sugar in any one meal. You may find that your body will tolerate more than that, but trust me when I tell you that you do not want to find out this early in your recovery.

Vegetables will be the next food to come back into your diet. At first, you may want to cook them, so they are soft and easier to eat. Meats will be the last thing to return to your diet. It should be cut into very small pieces and softened with liquid if necessary. It is important that your meat is chewed thoroughly also.

Three years after having had this surgery, I can eat pretty much anything that I want, but things with high sugar content can make me very uncomfortable and cause dumping syndrome. But for the most part, I can eat what I want. I just have to make wise choices. It is all on my shoulders again. It is important that you follow the gastric diet bypass plan and make the necessary lifestyle changes to maintain your weight loss and stay healthy.