Lap Band Surgery Diet

After Lap-Band surgery the stomach can not hold more than 4 to 6 ounces per meal. Therefore, one should be particular about nutritional value of the food with every bite.

Certain foods which cannot be allowed ever for a patient of Lap-Band are tough meats such as steak and pork chops and hamburger. Oranges and grapefruits need the skin to be removed before eating. For this matter, the fruits and vegetables need deseeding, de-skinning beforehand.

Food which need to be avoided are high fiber vegetables like celery and sweet potatoes, spicy foods, fried foods, spices like cinnamon, pepper, or onion or garlic salt. If one is unable to tolerate milk, then calcium and protein rich foods such as cottage cheese and dry milk can be added to foods for added protein.

Why protein

Lap-Band patients should take fifty to sixty grams of protein every day to avoid protein deficiency.
Lack of protein causes hair loss, edema, fatigue, muscle weakness, and a delay in wound healing. It also causes depression, anxiety, irritability, apathy, as well as gallstones, colds, headaches, low blood pressure, anemia, irregular hear rates, and, some times death too. The amount of protein can be monitored by a serum albumin blood test.

How to eat food

One should eat slowly by making tiny bites. The new stomach is a baby stomach. It requires to take protein shakes and relearning of eating skills like a new baby learns to eat. Adding new foods should be slow in process.

The patient needs to make a habit to chew foods well. It will do the patient a world of good to cut the food items to small pieces and then chew it thoroughly. Otherwise complications will happen such as vomiting, stomach irritation and swelling and stoma obstruction.

One should go back to liquid diet if solid foods cause nausea and vomiting. Drinking of 6-8 cups of water per day between meals will keep one hydrated throughout the day. Three small meals a day with adequate nutrients is to be eaten.The stomach can only hold about 1/4 cup of food at a time. Easting has to be stopped when the hunger is gone.

Having Medicine

Swallowing pills of aspirin-size or larger, or capsules or irregular-shaped pills will be difficult, so it is better to make the pills into half like the blood pressure pill. It may be required that the tri-estrogen capsules are changed to a cream form, and taking liquid antibiotics and painkillers for an infection.

Diet immediately after surgery

The first 3 to 4 days following the Lap-Band surgery patients must follow a liquid only diet. It is so important to stick to this diet that unless one has it, there will be complications like band erosion or slippage that will require additional surgery.

No caffeine is permitted for the first three months after surgery. Carbonated beverages are restricted to avoid gas, bloating, and increase in stomach size caused by carbonation and in fact are prohibited for life.

Diet immediately after two months of surgery

The second phase diet consists of a modified liquid diet (food shredded in a food processor) along with a high protein intake. The patient is required to consume two ounces of a protein every hour for ten to twelve hours a day. Two ounces of other liquids such as soup, baby food, or sugar-free gelatin three times a day is also required. So the basic foods are meat, protein, vegetables, and salads. But high carbohydrate and starchy food like bread and potatoes are avoided.