Gastric Sleeve Post Op Diet Cheating: Why It’s Dangerous?

Gastric sleeve surgery is a bariatric procedure that can deliver impressive weight loss results, especially if the patient follows the dietary guidelines and post op diet given by their surgeon. However, many patients still seek information about gastric sleeve post op diet cheating to find ways to return to their old dietary habits.

Post op diet shouldn’t be underestimated because most patients tend to lose about 60% of their excess weight in the first year after surgery. Besides weight loss, most of these patients also experience improvement in obesity-related conditions.

Obviously, the outcome of weight loss surgery isn’t solely dependent on the procedure. A healthy diet must be followed after gastric sleeve in Turkey to achieve the best possible results and avoid unwanted complications.

The Danger of Gastric Sleeve Post Op Diet Cheating

The gastric sleeve post-op diet is often formulated with a focus on high protein and low fat and carbohydrate intake. Refined sugars, carbonated drinks, and alcohol have no place in this diet. Instead, the diet starts off with liquid food in the initial days and gradually moves towards semi-solid and solid food.

Furthermore, habits such as eating and drinking water simultaneously are strongly not recommended. Cheating on this diet or following bad dietary habits could lead to detrimental consequences and break weight loss goals and cause a lot of regrets.

The post-gastric sleeve diet is designed to achieve specific objectives and prevent unwanted complications. Straying from this diet could result in adverse effects, such as:

Stretching of the Stomach

Drinking alcohol or carbonated drinks could lead to stretching of the stomach, resulting in permanent dilatation, which in turn can cause loss of the early fullness sensation during meals.

Inadequate Weight Loss

Refined sugar and alcohol can lead to overconsumption of calories and even weight gain. As the common wisdom suggests, refined sugar and alcohol have a higher energy per gram, leading to a positive energy balance and conversion of excess energy to fat, resulting in weight gain.

Other Problems

Cheating on post op diet by overeating or excessive consumption of liquids could result in other problems, such as diarrhea and constipation. Some people may also experience nausea and abdominal pain.

Read More: Gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey

The Danger of Gastric Sleeve Pre Op Diet Cheating

Cheating on the pre op diet also unfavorable consequences and could add up to the gastric sleeve cost in Turkey. Before the procedure, surgeons prefer an empty digestive system to ensure a seamless procedure with fewer risks. Indeed, many studies have emphasized the importance of adequate nutritional management in the pre-operative phase.

Your surgeon will inspect you thoroughly to confirm this. if your stomach or intestines are not empty, the surgery may either be canceled or postponed. Cheating on pre op diet is dangerous because of the following poteintal outcomes:

Compromising Liver Health

If your liver is of an abnormal size due to alcohol consumption prior to the surgery, it could pose a significant risk to the success of your surgery. To avoid any complications, it’s better to abide by the dietary guidelines set forth by your physician.

An enlarged liver poses a significant threat to your well-being by potentially leading to infections. If your liver doesn’t undergo enough shrinkage, it could lead to more challenging surgical outcomes and increase the risk of complications both during and after the procedure.

Negligence Toward Healthy Eating Habits

Your surgeon may even cancel the surgery if they feel that you haven’t been following the guidelines as this indicates the difficulty of following healthy eating habits post-surgery. Doubling your diligence in the preoperative phase will make the postoperative journey much smoother.

Committing small slips might not be a huge trouble if you get right back on track quickly. However, if you’re finding yourself repeatedly giving in to temptation, your chances of getting the surgery may be quite low.

Behaviors of Gastric Sleeve Post Op Diet Cheating

Cheating the post op diet after gastric sleeve takes multiple shapes and behaviors. Below are the most common ones:

Drinking Unhealthy Beverages

Drinking beverages loaded with empty calories is one of the common behaviors that can sabotage your weight loss goals after the procedure. Even if you are vigilantly keeping an eye on your meals, adding just 200 calories through beverages can severely impede your progress.

With gastric sleeve surgery, every calorie that enters your body is absorbed by the small intestine, so it’s crucial to be wise about the source of your caloric intake. Watch out for fruit juices, fizzy drinks, and alcohol.

Ignoring Dietary Supplements

It’s not uncommon to exhibit signs of nutritional deficiencies before and after the surgery. To ensure optimal results, it’s very important that the medical team takes necessary measures to treat these deficiencies beforehand.  

Surgeons usually keep a watchful eye on the lab work to track any potential post-operative deficiencies, such as vitamin D, vitamin B12, and calcium. Doctors also often prescribe multivitamin supplements complemented, such as the B complex vitamins.

Drinking Much Water with Meals

From the moment you begin your journey towards a healthier self after gastric sleeve, you’ll need to avoid liquid consumption during meals. With your newly formed gastric sleeve pouch, the scarce space within the pouch should be optimally utilized for high-protein, nutritionally dense foods, not just liquids.

Allowing fluid to mix with food can cause the contents of your stomach to empty more swiftly and prompt you to consume more food than necessary. Furthermore, such a habit has the potential to induce digestive discomfort and disturb the delicate balance of your eating habits.

The Spread of Gastric Sleeve Post Op Diet Cheating

There are no definitive statistics or official numbers regarding the number of people who consider cheating on the diet after the gastric sleeve. However, reviews and frequent questions from the patients indicate an increasing interest in the matter. 

It’s not a secret that food cravings are a repetitive challenge among patients. Recognizing the triggers of food cravings is key to avoiding cheating on the post op diet. For instance, seeing a fast food commercial with a mouth-watering cheeseburger and milkshake may prompt you to hit the drive-thru, but having healthy options readily available can help you overcome those cravings.

As you may already know, your diet plays a crucial role in the success of weight loss surgery, and it’s for this reason that many insurance providers require patients to undergo a supervised pre-op diet for a minimum of 6 months. Interestingly, a study has linked a successful, early diet after the surgery with a shorter stay in the hospital after the procedure.

The pre-op diet is led by a physician to ensure that the patient is well prepared for the surgery and the weight loss journey ahead. When the journey of gastric sleeve seems to be taking a toll on you, and you find yourself feeling isolated, remember that it’s just a period that will end eventually.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to friends and family who will be there for you when you need a listening ear or a shoulder to lean on. Moreover, it’s important to equip yourself with knowledge about nutrition because education plays a crucial role in the long-term success of both gastric sleeve and gastric bypass.

Tips to Avoid Gastric Sleeve Post Op Diet Cheating

Apparently, neglecting your gastric sleeve post op diet could be the foundation of surgery failure. Here are some strategies that may aid you in staying on track and avoid post op diet cheating:

• Ask support of loved ones, family members, and like-minded individuals from support groups.
• Sustain your motivation by discovering your “why” and keeping it at the forefront of your mind.
• Combat food cravings by identifying your trigger points, avoiding them, and always having nutritious food readily available to satiate hunger. Remember: out of sight, out of mind.
• Be mindful of what you bring into your home and try to change your grocery shopping habits.
• Focus your attention on portion size and only buy fresh produce, lean meats, and all of the wholesome, nourishing ingredients your body needs.
• Arm yourself with knowledge by compiling a list of questions to show to your doctor during your consultations.

The Bottom Line

The post op diet period is but a mere step of the lifelong commitment to a healthier lifestyle after gastric sleeve. The diet may last for a month, but its effect is far more significant in the long term. Hence, gastric sleeve post op diet cheating might not be necessary at all.

Don’t let a temporary challenge break the life-changing promise of obesity surgery in Turkey. The end goal of lasting health and wellness, after all, is what truly matters and what makes the journey toward it even more worth it.

International Clinics in Turkey provides gastric sleeve along with diet consultations and follow-up sessions to international patients. You can contact us directly using the Content Us button below.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Gastric Sleeve Surgery Abroad
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