Stomach stapling is a form of gastric bypass surgery in which the stomach is staped to create a pouch the size of an egg. Because your new stomach is so small there are dietary rules to follow. A newly stapled stomach needs time to heal and to accept food again, and a special diet must be followed.
Caloric Intake
After surgery your daily caloric intake will be restricted to between 700 and 1,200 calories a day, which includes 60 to 100g of protein. Since your newly stapled stomach will be able to hold only about a half cup of food at a time, meeting your nutritional requirements can be a daily challenge. To achieve your daily protein requirements, drink three shakes made with a protein powder supplement. To avoid dumping syndrome, sugar intake is limited to 5g, which is just over 1 tsp. of sugar. Sweeteners are acceptable in your protein shakes. Learn to read labels for sugar content.
Eat
Over a period of about a month you will slowly reintroduce food to your new stomach. You will return to eating normal food after you work your way through several phases of eating. Move to the next phase of eating after your stomach is comfortable with the current phase. You will know when it is time.
Eat your protein first. Teach yourself to chew every bite thoroughly because the stomach opening is very small. Lay your fork down after every bite and don't pick it up again until you have chewed and swallowed each bite. It should take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal. Eat every three to four hours until you are on regular food, when you return to three meals a day with two snacks.
What to Eat
Your first meal after surgery, and for several days, will include only clear liquids, such as protein shakes made with seedless fruit, clear broth and sugar free gelatin.
At the next level, you will move up to full liquids consisting of three protein shakes, sugar free yogurt, cream of wheat cereal, skim milk and cream soups.
Pureed foods are next and give you more choices. You will be allowed pureed meats or poultry, skim milk, sugar free pudding or yogurt, and cooked cereal. Vegetables and skinless mashed potatoes are allowed. Cottage cheese must be blended to remove any lumps that may be difficult for the stomach to process. Consider using baby food for the puree phase.
The next phase--mechanical soft food--includesmeat, chicken or turkey, but it must be ground before you eat it. Dry cereals without nuts or hard pieces, canned unsweetened or soft fruit and skinless potatoes are allowed. It is important to avoid stringy celery, seeds or tough skins because the stomach still needs time to heal. Adding vegetables can cause gas and should be added slowly to your diet.
Soft food dominates the last stage before you return to eating regular food. Instead of grinding meat or poultry you will dice it. By this phase you should be retrained to chew food thoroughly and drink three protein shakes each day. Additional grains and carbohydrates are added in addition to cooked or dry cereal and skinless potatoes. Eat whole wheat breads, pasta, brown rice, and cooked vegetables after your proteins.
After you work through the soft food phase, you have successfully worked you way back to eating regular solid food again. You should continue to drink three protein shakes and have eight 8-oz. glasses of water every day. Sugar is still restricted to 5g. Have a chewable multivitamin each day as soon as your stomach can tolerate it.
Tips
Carbonated drinks are strictly prohibited because the carbonation can stretch your new stomach pouch. Caffeine should be eliminated from your diet--before surgery is best--because it creates hunger. Reduce caffeine intake over several weeks until it is eliminated to avoid strong withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and severe headaches. Follow the "no white" rule and do not eat any white food. White food includes sugar, white flour, white rice, white potatoes and anything made with those ingredients.
