After your bariatric surgery you will be on a very limited diet. Your diet may only include broth, water, jello and other clear liquids for what can seem like a long time. Sometimes it can take up to two weeks before you are able to handle liquids such as shakes, or instant breakfast drinks.

This probably due to the major changes that have been made to your digestive tract. As your stomach and intestinal systems are healing from the surgery you won’t be very hungry and you will even find that the things you used to like are not longer appetizing to your taste buds.

Many patients have reported that they have trouble finding a liquid that is palatable to drink. As its extremely important to make sure you have something to drink in order to prevent dehydration this can be a problem. Often you can experiment with a variety of drinks and flavorings to find something that you like or can tolerate until you are fully healed. Some find that they can only drink water that’s cold or at room temperature for about two months at which point they are able to try flavored fruit drinks.

You may also find that many of the foods you once like are no longer appetizing, which may be considered a good thing or a bad thing depending on your point of view. Some find that fats and carbs are intolerable, especially as in some patients even the slightest amount can cause ‘dumping syndrome.’ Others complain that they can’t handle salads and veggies as well. This is partly because of the fiber in the veggies but also the raw veggies may be hard on your esophagus and new delicate stomach. Sometimes you can start with a salad of plain lettuce coated in an oil and gradually adding one veggie at a time. Be sure to chew very thouroughly. Tina Greatly