Gastric Bypass Surgery: When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Gets Going

Gastric Bypass surgery or procedure is a series of operation that aims to alter the normal structure of your digestive tract particularly the intestines so that to limit the normal food intake and absorption of your body, thus eventually giving you a guaranteed weight loss. Basically, depending on the kind of operation, a small sac thumb sized pouch is created from the upper portion of the stomach. The 70% of the stomach is then separated but not removed. Then, an incision is created to separate the lower portion of the small intestines just in between duodenum and jejunum. The second section, the jejunum, is then connected up to the small sac created from the upper portion of the stomach. The duodenum, which is the first section, is connected down to the new intestinal limb where disposal of wastes are made.

With this procedure, the region for food storage is dramatically reduce, thus the intake and absorption is also reduced. And with this slow rate of food absorption in the body, you will eventually lose huge chunks of fat in a matter of months.

The very reason why this procedure was developed is to aid patients with eating and metabolic disorders. These group of people belonged to almost 10% of the US population, which are extremely obese. The reason for this is that, there certain people who are genetically unblessed with good metabolism. Their bodies just don't have the proper sensitivity to insulin, that's why they crave food a lot. They also have a very slow metabolism which makes them really fat because their bodies have no capability to burn those calories at a normal pace. As a result, they may not want it or even how hard they try dieting, they will still gain weight because of such indifference in their body structures.

Normally, a medical professional in the field of nutritional science is the one that will recommend such operation to patients with such disorder. It is normally advised for patients after number of attempts to lose weight like exercise, dieting, pills, and constriction of food intake through coffee, tea and sedatives.

Gastric bypass surgery will guarantee you of weight loss, the rate then is dependent on your initial weight and post-operation diet.

Aside from weight loss, most patients who had undergone such operation have some health issues reversed like hypertension, diabetes milletus, hyperlipidemia or over fat in your bloodstream. Obstructive sleep apnea is also improved giving patients a sound tight sleep. Joint and back pain is also dramatically reduced after months from surgery because of lessened weight.

Another significant benefit of this surgery is even just an ounce of food taken; the patient will immediately feel full. The craving is dramatically reduced because of the reduction of the intestines and alteration of its tracts.

The most common complication one might have after the operation is dumping syndrome. It is a series of vomiting after a food intake. This is normally caused by high sugar intake after the operation. That is why a proper post-operation diet is very important.

After the operation, a patient may suffer nutritional deficiencies. It is because; the body is limited to absorb the nutrients that the body takes. When not checked, the patient may have some nutritional complications like scurvy, due to lack of vitamin C; Hyperparathyroidism due to lack of iodine, vitamin D and calcium absorbed; and protein malnutrition which is basically hair shedding, nail dying and muscle loss.

There are also cases which might result to Pica. Pica is a disorder in which a patient is craved to eat something other than the normal edible food like clay, paper, metal scraps, nails, cloths and alike. This is the result when there is a dramatic deficiency of iron in the bloodstream.

It is imperative to have a proper nutrition right after the operation is conducted. You will need a guide what to eat few weeks and all throughout your life. A gastric bypass diet is very important since it will also spell the results in your weight loss struggle and nutritional gaps.

We will divide the diet into 5 Phases. Below are the stages and their corresponding diet you could follow:

Phase 1: This will be the 1st day after the operation. You will need to take clear liquids during this time. No solid or any form of cloudy solid food in your diet yet. This is the recovery period, so you should take only clear liquids like:

Plain water
Apple, orange or clear fruit juices without any pulp.
Broth
Sugar-free jellos
Flat Diet Sodas

Phase 2: The second phase can be made 2 or 3 days after the operation. The diet that is included here are all thinned food, which means still no solid food but merely thinned. Also, protein intake duriong this phase is highly recommended. Food like:

1% Milk or Skim
Mashed Potato thin with skim milk instead of water
Blenderized beans, fruit shakes, or soups
Low Fat or Fat-free cottage cheese
Cooked cereals thinned with skim milk

During this phase also, you should avoid sweetened and sweet food in order to avoid dumping syndrome.

Hydrating is highly encouraged not to get dehydrated, so take plenty of liquids. But be sure to take the liquid not to exceed 1 ounce per intake. You should consume only less than 1 ounce so there could still be room for food in your stomach. Try to complete a meal for 30 minutes. Never haste eating a meal. Eat slowly but frequently probably 4 top 6 meal times a day.

Phase 3: This phase can be started with an advice from the doctor. But basically, this diet can be started 2 or 3 weeks after the surgery. This diet is composed of slightly solid diet like:
Casseroles
Eggs or any kind but never fried
Chopped lean meat but never the red ones
Peeled and cooked vegetables
Crackers, Breads, and rolls but with minimum sugar

Phase 4: This is again a phase that needs a consultation from doctors. But you may start it probably 2 to 3 weeks after the phase 3. This is where you will need a lot of protein. Basically our body needs protein every day, and in order not to deplete our body's stock of protein, we need to take as much protein as we can during this phase.

Phase 5: This is the maintenance phase in which you will need to take low-fat and high protein food. You will also need to take supplements in order to fill in the gaps that our normal food can not deliver. The fat that you should take are fat coming from plants and fish like olives, salmon, nuts, avocadoes and alike.