Bariatric surgery, also called weight loss surgery, helps morbidly obese patients lose a significant amount of weight. Gastric banding using is less complex than other weight loss procedures, but patients must make long-term dietary changes if they want to lose weight and keep it off. Whether your surgeon uses a LAP-BAND or REALIZE band to restrict the size of your stomach, you must avoid or limit empty calories and foods that are difficult to digest.
LAP-BAND Surgery
Gastric banding, a type of weight loss surgery, involves slipping a silicone band around the upper portion of the stomach to restrict the amount of food the patient can consume at one time. After the patient heals, she returns to the surgeon's office periodically for adjustments. Injecting saline into the band through a port near the surface of the skin narrows the opening, making it more difficult to eat, while withdrawing fluid loosens the band.
The First Weeks
For the first few weeks after surgery, your diet will be restricted to low residue foods to allow your body to heal. For the first two weeks, you may consume only liquids. During the third and fourth weeks, you may add foods that are the texture of baby food including applesauce, mashed peas, and pureed lean meat. You may progress to soft foods such as scrambled eggs, moist pork, flaky fish and ground turkey.
Empty Calories
After six weeks, you may begin to eat regular food in small amounts. To facilitate weight loss, however, you must avoid foods high in sugar and fat that provide little nutrition for the body. Avoid sugary desserts such as cakes, pies, ice cream, candy, and cookies, as well as fried foods, fatty meats, chips and butter to speed weight. Instead, choose healthy proteins, grains, fruits and vegetables in small portions to speed weight loss.
Difficult-to-Digest Foods
After LAP-BAND surgery, you may find certain foods become stuck in the opening to your stomach or are difficult to digest even if you chew them thoroughly. Typical culprits include popcorn, doughy bread, nuts, tough meat, peanut butter, shrimp, coconut, pasta and rice. Fibrous fruits and vegetables, including citrus fruits, corn, celery, asparagus and dried fruits may also cause problems. If you cannot tolerate a particular food, you may try again in a few weeks to see if you can tolerate it later.
Beverages
High-calorie beverages such as milkshakes, alcohol drinks and high-sugar fruit juice can contribute to weight gain, so you should avoid them. Carbonated drinks can expand the size of your stomach pouch, making it difficult to feel satisfied on a small amount of food, so you should also be eliminate them from your diet for life. Although you should drink plenty of water between meals, avoid drinking it while eating because it will wash the food through and you will want to eat more.
References
- "Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 4"; ASMBS Allied Health Nutritional Guidelines for the Surgical Weight Loss Patients; Linda Aills, R.D.; Jeanne Blankenship, M.S., R.D.; Cynthia Buffington, Ph.D.; et al; September 2008
- LAP-BAND AP: Dietary Progression After LAP-BAND
- LAP-BAND.us: LAP-BAND Diet Restrictions
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