The following information is for people who are preparing or thinking about undergoing laparoscopic surgery: a method which accounts for about 99% of the gastric bypass procedures carried out today.
Your hospital stay
After a gastric bypass procedure, you will probably need to spend one or two nights in the hospital for post-surgery rest and standard medical observation.
Activity after surgery
Most people will be able to walk within three to four hours after undergoing gastric bypass surgery with many being able to resume simple tasks such as going to the bathroom almost immediately. After you return home, you should be able to carry out simple tasks around the home such as fixing meals. Over the next few weeks, it is recommended that you slowly increase your daily activity without overworking yourself.
Your Diet
After returning home from the hospital, you will need to stay on a highly nutritional liquid diet for the duration of about two weeks, before slowing adding solid foods to your meals. It generally takes about two months before you can establish a long-term solid food diet.
Your Weight Loss
Nearly 85% of patients lose at least 50% of their excess weight after undergoing gastric bypass surgery. And according to a recent study carried out at the National Institutes of Health, all of these patients manage to keep the weight off once they have lost it.