For our entire lives, we’ve been told to eat our fruits and vegetables – which is a good thing! Fresh produce is a healthy part of any diet, and they taste great. They provide us with nutrients and vitamins we need to keep our bodies in good working order.
However, when it comes to weight-loss surgery like a gastric sleeve, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. For all of the positives fruits provide, they can also have high sugar and carbohydrate content. So it’s important to know which fruits are the best for your weight-loss path.
What Fruits Can You Eat After Gastric Sleeve?
If you have achieved your goal weight after weight loss surgery you can add more carbs into your diet. Choose lower-carbohydrate fruits, such as blueberries and strawberries. Try to stay away from higher carb fruits including bananas, and dried fruits like raisins, and apricots. Here are some examples of good and bad fruits after gastric sleeve surgery:
Good Fruit After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Berries – Strawberries, blueberries, and others don’t contain a lot of sugar or carbs. Fruit like this can work when one reaches their ideal goal weight after surgery.
Bad Fruits After Gastric Sleeve
Bananas – loaded with sugar and carbs, avoid bananas in the months after the gastric sleeve procedure.
Dried Fruits – Raisins, dried apricots, or dried cranberries contain a lot of added sugar. Avoid these fruits for the best long term results.
Other Notes
In many cases, fruits may be omitted from early diet plans because of their high sugar or carbs. Once introduced, they should also be eaten sparingly or as a small part of your daily diet. Make sure to discuss fruits with a dietitian before including them in your diet.
What is a Gastric Sleeve?
A very effective weight-loss procedure, the gastric sleeve surgery essentially removes up to 80 percent of your stomach. This effectively turns the stomach into a sleeve instead of a pouch. By reducing the amount of food the stomach can hold, food intake is considerably lower.
Gastric Sleeve Diet
While fruits and vegetables are a required part of any healthy diet, gastric sleeve patients are limited to liquids and supplements for the first two weeks after gastric sleeve surgery. It allows the body to fully heal from the procedure as well as to adapt to less food being eaten.
This is the most important time after surgery. The body begins to change hormonally, allowing the patient to feel fuller, faster. Physically, the body begins to accept less food, and hunger pangs are markedly reduced. This is true of all bariatric surgery, including duodenal switch and gastric bypass surgery.
It’s important to stay hydrated after any weight loss surgery, so patients must drink 96 ounces of fluid a day. It’s important to note that water, sugar-free fruit juices, or other sugar-free, caffeine-free, and non-carbonated drinks are sipped, not gulped. The stomach is much smaller now and can’t handle large amounts of anything.
This is important to remember when soft protein foods are introduced to the diet after a few weeks. Taking in too much food and water at the same time could lead to dumping syndrome and lead to snacking or grazing. It is best to avoid fluids and food at the same time and to wait an hour after eating to begin drinking again.
It’s called dumping because patients literally are dumping too much stuff into the stomach, which then passes it on to the intestines without fully digesting it. It can lead to nausea, diarrhea, rapid heart rate, and other issues. It may even cause injury or harm the surgery.
Eventually, solid foods are introduced to the body after a month. Consisting of lean proteins, non-starchy vegetables, and the fruits mentioned above, your life-long menu will begin to take shape. Adding the right foods to your diet and eating three small meals a day are all parts of losing weight now and keeping it off in the long term.
Gastric Sleeve Exercise
In addition to avoiding foods high in sugar or fat, you’ll also need to incorporate physical activity into your new lifestyle. It has been proven that surgery, diet changes, and exercise are the best way to lose excess weight and prevent weight gain in the future.
It is recommended bariatric surgery patients work their way up to around 150 minutes of physical activity a week. This comes out to 30 minutes a day of increasing flexibility, strengthening the heart, and gaining muscle mass. Many weight-loss patients go on to compete in competitions, such as half or full marathons!
Work With Gastric Sleeve Experts
WeightWise has developed a program that encompasses all three parts of the optimal weight loss process. Before any surgery, each patient will meet with one of our surgeons to discuss the procedure. The surgeon learns about the medical history of the patient, why they want the surgery, and if they have the right personality to see it through.
Patients will also receive medical advice on how to prepare for the surgery in the weeks and days leading up to the procedure. You will also meet with a dietitian and exercise physiologist to outline a diet and physical activity in the day, months, and years of your new, healthier lifestyle.
Instead of traveling to three different facilities, it all happens under one roof at WeightWise. By consolidating each aspect of the process into one place, we feel it makes it much easier for patients to stick with the program and realize incredible results.
If you or a loved one is interested in a gastric sleeve procedure, or any other surgery, but still have questions, watch our free online seminar to learn more. We think you’ll see why our patients have been so successful with their journey. When you’re ready, schedule a consultation with one of our surgeons. It’s the first step towards a healthier you!