Following a diet of healthy foods that are low in fat but high in nutritional value is what will make you a successful Lap-Band patient. When you falter from the diet you are only hurting yourself, making your weight loss slower, and setting your self up for failure. Your doctor gives you a post op diet for a reason and not following it will cause you not to lose weight like you want too. Controlling what you put in your mouth in the long run will be your success.

There will be foods that you will be asked to avoid all together and they consist of sugary foods such as cookies, cakes, pies, high calorie soft drinks, honey, table sugar, ice cream, jelly, jams, and candy.

Other foods that are high in fat you will also be asked to avoid such as bacon, sausage, chocolate, fried foods, creamy sauces and soups, pastries, and chips.

High calorie drinks will include: milk shakes, beer, alcohol, fruit juices, orange juice, apple juice and whole milk. High calorie drinks are a waste of calories when you can be eating more nutritious food.

You will also be asked to give up high starchy foods such as pasta, rice, and bread.
Giving up bread never killed anyone but it might if you don’t stop eating it.

Fat should be restricted such as butter and oils to three to four teaspoons a day. Although all these things seem like a lot to give up, they are the things that made us obese to begin with.

Your doctor may ask you to avoid some foods because they are problematic for the band and will get stuck easily these foods are very fibrous foods such as celery, sweet potatoes, pineapple, oranges, nuts, popcorn, steak, pork chops, and hamburger. Other foods that may be an issue could be seeds and skins of fruit and vegetables.

Carbonation is a big no, no with the lap-band because it can cause the pouch to expand and when expanding it causes the band to push into the stomach and could cause erosion. Some will tell you I tolerate it well; however they do not know what it is doing to their insides so it is not recommended under any circumstances to drink carbonated beverages.

Alcohol is high in calories and has no nutritional value. It is best to wait for the first year before consuming alcohol until most of your weight has gone.

So what am I going to eat?

Lean meat, vegetables, and fruit as tolerated. That is all you need. You should only eat three meals and no snacks in between. Eating snacks can increase your calories and cause you to eat more calories in a day then you should. As time goes on and you have started maintaining your weight you can add some things back but I guarantee you won’t miss them any longer once you have gone a long time without them.

The lap-band diet is designed to help you lose excess weight; if you choose to eat the foods above you will not lose weight. All the things above is what made you overweight to begin with and your changing your life for the better so this is the change you have waited for.