The bariatric diet is what you will follow for the first 2-3 months following your gastric bypass surgery. It is something you will spend time learning about before your surgery and you should have the products in your home before you come home from the hospital. This diet has four stages that last approximately 2 months total, but then what?

The first 2-3 months are going to be very structured and you will be following the gastric bypass diet that was ordered by your dietitian. But this is a very short time in the grand scheme of things. It is the next several years of your life that will determine your weight loss, whether you maintain it and if you are able to shed your obesity related health issues.

The first six months to a year you will lose weight without trying. The weight is going to come off just because you are not able to consume more than a quarter to a half a cup of food at any given time. You will spend a lot of this time learning about what your body will tolerate and what it will rebel against. This will be an exciting time as you see the pounds come off. You will be able to see your feet again and you will be able to do many things that you have not been able to do for years or maybe you have never done.

But the weight loss will eventually slow down and then stop. From this point forward, the maintenance will be on you. This is where you are going to have to put into practice everything you have learned about nutrition and fitness. You have been blessed with a healthy weight and a changed life, but it will not stay that way if you do not nurture it. If you think that because you have had this surgery that it is impossible for you to gain weight, guess again. There are forums filled with people who have gained weight after surgery and are trying to get rid of it.

Keep those bariatric protein shakes and tennis shoes handy. This is the best advice I can give someone that has lost weight. Exercise regularly and eat meals high in lean protein and low in fat. Eliminate sugar as much as possible. It has no nutritional value and can do a lot to sabotage your efforts at a healthy life. This does not mean you have to give up the things that you love, but you have to learn to set limits. Learning what it takes to be healthy and living by these principles eighty percent of the time will keep your healthy weight.