Bariatric surgery can help severely overweight people lose weight quickly, reducing the risks of health problems associated with obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, or LAP-BAND surgery is one of the least invasive types of weight loss surgery and has a faster recovery than traditional gastric bypass operations. You'll need to follow a special diet before and after surgery to facilitate healing and minimize surgical risks.
Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding
Weight loss surgery alters the size of your stomach to prevent you from consuming too many calories at one sitting. It's a lifetime commitment to healthy eating, as you must consume nutrient-dense foods or risk malnutrition. LAP-BAND surgery involves sliding an adjustable silicone band around the top portion of your stomach, creating a smaller "pouch" that holds only a small amount of food, limiting how much you can eat. The band is filled with saline, and a port is created just under the skin that allows for periodic adjustments to the band.
Pre-Op Diet General Guidelines
In the months prior to surgery, your doctor may suggest a low-calorie diet, between 800 and 1,200 calories daily. This diet can help you lose weight -- especially abdominal fat -- to help minimize surgical risks and speed recovery after your operation. Your pre-surgery diet should be high in protein and limit both carbohydrates and fat. This type of diet helps prepare you for your new diet after surgery. Protein is particularly important as it helps preserve lean muscle mass post-op when you're calories are most restricted.
Pre-Op Liquid Diet
Two to three weeks before surgery, it's common to switch to an all-liquid diet consisting of high-protein meal replacements. Caloric intake averages 800 calories -- a last push to lose as much abdominal fat as possible before surgery. Your diet will most likely include between 70 and 120 g of protein daily. On a very low calorie diet, your body doesn't have a ready supply of glucose and starts to use stored energy. Consuming a high-protein diet ensures that your body breaks down stored fat, rather than muscle tissue, to obtain needed energy.
Post-Op Liquid Diet
After surgery, it's critical that you follow your doctor's recommendations to speed healing and avoid stretching out your new, smaller stomach. With LAP-BAND surgery, expect to consume only ice chips on the day following surgery. For the first 1 to 2 weeks after surgery, you can only have clear liquids, such as broth, skim milk, fruit juice without pulp and sugar-free gelatin and ice pops. It's important to keep hydrated with lots of water, but you can only consume 3 to 8 oz. at each sitting. Overeating may lead to vomiting, which can cause the silicone band to slip. You doctor may instruct you to remain on a liquids-only diet for up to two weeks after surgery before introducing pureed foods for another 2 to 3 weeks. Pureed foods have the consistency of baby food and include pureed meats, mashed potatoes, yogurt and pudding. You can have regular soft foods about five weeks after surgery. Everyone heals differently; follow your doctor's suggestions.
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