Does Keto Diet Work After Weight Loss Surgery?

Keto diet

The keto diet involves avoiding carbs and consuming fat to get your body to enter into a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, the body breaks down both dietary as well as stored fats to use as energy source in place of carbohydrates.

The Diet Is Nutrition-Rich And Mainly Includes The Following:

  • High-fat meats, fish and poultry
  • Oils and butter
  • High-fat dairy
  • Low-carb vegetables in limited quantities

The diet excludes higher-carb vegetables, fruits, breads, rice or anything else that make your carb consumption exceed 20 grams.

Although keto diet has some advantages for short-term weight loss, research shows that it does not have any potential long-term impact in terms of effective health and weight management.

Following a bariatric or weight-loss surgery, the initial diet primarily focuses on obtaining adequate fluid and protein. This assists the body in shedding all the extra fat, while maintaining maximum muscle tissue throughout the rapid weight loss stage. As the body heals a little more, fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains are added to the diet. Besides, intake of small quantities of protein, vitamins and mineral is also encouraged.

Considering that, Weight Loss Surgery LA does not recommend the keto diet to someone who has undergone a weight loss surgery. To support a healthy weight after bariatric surgery, a healthy lifestyle and healthy diet with protein as the main food group is very necessary.

However, the high fat content of the keto diet, i.e. 70% of calories, does not leave much room for consumption of proteins and carbohydrates. Besides, a high-fat diet may lead to fatty diarrhoea and reduced absorption of nutrients. This is because food usually travels faster through the intestinal tract after bariatric surgery. This leads to a risk for nutritional deficiencies after the surgery because it severely limits specific essential food groups like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Hence, the keto diet is low in fibre content. This highly increases the risk of constipation, which can be a major concern after a weight loss surgery. Further, dietary fibres are important in reducing the risk of developing various other health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and so on.

Posted on behalf of Dr. David G. Davtyan MD, FACS, FICS

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