Gastric band surgery, also known as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB), is a weight-reduction procedure that involves implanting an adjustable band around the stomach. If you’re thinking about having gastric banding to help you achieve a healthy body weight, you might be wondering what to eat after LAP-BAND surgery. The band decreases stomach size and constricts the flow of nutritive content to the small intestines, creating a sense of fullness that reduces hunger and overeating. Similar to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding reduces the size of the stomach - this helps to limit food consumption and promote weight loss.
As with other bariatric procedures, diet plays a significant role in the potential success of lap band surgery. A lap band is an inflatable silicone ring that is placed near the top of the stomach, close to the esophagus. The saline-solution port for adjusting the band’s size is typically placed in the fatty tissue of the patient’s abdominal wall. The band works by creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach, reducing the volume of food allowed, and slowing the process by which that food is released to the small intestines.
For bariatric surgery to be effective in helping you lose weight and maintain your post-surgical weight loss, you’ll need to commit to making life-long changes to your diet. This article provides a detailed overview of the gastric band diet after surgery, offering guidelines and recommendations to ensure a quick recovery, promote weight loss, and avoid complications.
The Importance of Following a Post-Surgical Bariatric Diet
The goal of the post-surgical bariatric diet is to promote a quick recovery and help kick-start your weight loss. Knowing what to eat after LAP-BAND also helps to avoid stretching out your newly-formed stomach pouch.
Dietary Stages After Gastric Banding
Immediately following surgery, patients will be on a special diet explained by their bariatric surgery team. Most patients will start out on a liquid diet for some weeks, then will slowly start to take soft foods, and then eventually solid foods.
Read also: Comprehensive Guide to Gastric Bypass Diet
Stage 1: Liquid Diet (Days 1-14)
During the first two weeks following lap band surgery, you will be limited to a liquid-only diet. This is necessary to protect the small stomach pouch created by the lap band and to give you time to adjust to the changes in your digestive process. Before you leave the hospital after having gastric banding, you will receive clear instructions from a specialized Registered Nurse or Nurse Practitioner outlining what to eat after LAP-BAND surgery.
During the first few days after your procedure, you will be restricted to a clear liquid diet that includes water, clear broth, caffeine-free tea, and sugar-free JELL-O. Within a week, you should be able to start adding small amounts of protein-rich beverages and soft foods to your diet, such as protein shakes, low-fat milk and fat-free yogurt.
Full Liquid Diet Guidelines
You will be on a full liquid diet days 2 to 14 after your surgery. Full liquids are foods that are normally liquid and foods that turn into liquid when they are at room temperature.
You need to:
- Drink six 8 oz glasses of water each day.
- Take 5 to 15 minutes to drink 1 oz.
- Do not wait 30 minutes before or after meal to drink fluids. Sip throughout the day.
- Stop eating when you are full!
- Start taking vitamin and mineral supplements after your 1 week follow-up visit, as ordered.
- Follow all of the "Lifestyle Changes."
Double Milk Snack Choices - choose 3 per day
- 1 cup fat free Fairlife milk
- 5 to 6 oz Greek yogurt (100 kcal or less)
- 1 cup fat free Fairlife or regular skim milk + 2 tbsp Peanut Butter powder
- 1/2 cup Cottage cheese (fat free or 1%)
- 1 cup skim milk + 1/3 cup non-fat dry milk powder
- 1 cup skim milk + Carnation Instant Breakfast (Light Start or No-Sugar-Added)
- 1/2 protein shake (see table on following page for choices)
*can flavor milks with Peanut Butter Powder, sugar-free chocolate syrup or sugar-free hot coco mix
Read also: Weight Loss Journeys: 90 Day Fiancé
Meal Portion Size:
- Protein:1/4 to 1/3 cup or 2 to 3 oz
- Carbohydrate: 1/4 cup
Full liquid food ideas:
- Sugar- free pudding (make with Fairlife or add collagen protein powder or non-fat dry milk powder for extra protein)
- Cream soups (celery, mushroom, chicken, broccoli, ect.)
- Homemade blended liquid soups (ex. Butternut squash soup, Carrot ginger soup)
- Sugar-free popsicle (limit 1 per day)
- Lite yogurt (no fruit chunks)
- Other blended strained soups
Recipes:
- Roasted carrot ginger soup
- Ingredients: 1 1.2 pounds (lbs) carrots, peeled and halves lengthwise, 1 lb parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise, 1 onion, diced, 1 teaspoon (tsp) ginger, 2 cups dry milk 8 cups chicken broth, Pinch cayenne pepper, Brown sugar
- Directions: Preheat over to 350 degrees F. Put the carrots, parsnips, onion, and ginger in a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Pour 2 cups of broth into the pan and cover well with foil. Bake until the vegetables are very tender (about 2 hours). Put the baked vegetables and broth to a large pot. Add the last 6 cups of broth, salt, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and let it simmer partially covered for 10 minutes. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor, adding 2 cups nonfat dry milk. Put the soup back into the pot, adjust seasonings, and heat through.
- Cream Soup
- Ingredients: 1/3 cup nonfat dry milk powder, 1 tsp chicken or beef bouillon
- Directions: Mix dry ingredients and add hot water to equal 1 cup.
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Ingredients: 1 tablespoon (Tbsp) vegetable oil, 1 each butternut squash, 2 cup dry milk, 3 cups low sodium chicken broth, 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated, 1 each medium sweet potato, 2 each large golden delicious apples, 1/2 cup skim milk, 2 tsp cumin, 1 each medium white onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup fat free buttermilk, Pinch pepper
- Directions: Peel potato, onion, apple, and squash. Cut it into 1/4 inch chunks. Heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or stock pot. Stir in onion and garlic until tender. Add broth, potato, apple, squash, and seasoning. Stir well. Lower the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until the vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes). Puree soup in a blender until nicely pureed. While pureeing add 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of buttermilk, and 1 cup dry milk. Serve hot or chilled.
Stage 2: Pureed Diet (Weeks 3-4)
Your diet is extended to pureed foods during weeks three and four after lap band surgery. Pureed foods are similar in consistency to baby foods. You can then expect to progress to a pureed diet that includes low-sugar, low-fat items like smooth applesauce, pureed cooked carrots, eggs, canned tuna, and other pureed fruits and vegetables. At this stage, it’s important to refrain from drinking liquids while eating, and to eat high-protein foods first.
Stage 3: Soft Foods (Weeks 5-6)
Soft foods are added to your diet five to six weeks after surgery. These foods don’t have to be pureed but they do need to be carefully chewed before swallowing.
Read also: Guide to Pureed Foods Post-Surgery
Soft Diet Guidelines
You will be on a soft diet days 31 to 60 after your surgery. You will start this diet after your 1 month follow-up visit.
You need to:
- Chew foods to a pureed consistency (chew 20 to 30 times before swallowing).
- Slowly add soft foods to your meals and snacks.
- Take 30 minutes to eat.
- Eat 3 milk snacks per day and 3 soft food meals.
- Drink six 8 oz glasses of water each day, working up to eight 8oz glasses.
- Stop eating when you are full!
- Take vitamin and mineral supplements as ordered.
- Start doing strength-building exercise in your daily routine, such as strength and aerobics for 60 minutes each day.
Milk Snack Choices - choose 3 per day
- 1 cup skim Fairlife milk
- 5 to 6 oz Greek Yogurt (100 kcal or less)
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup Cottage cheese (fat free or 1%)
- 1 lite mozzarella string cheese stick
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or high protein pant-based milk)
- 1/2 cup Fat Free Chocolate Milk (mixed with 1/2 cup skim white milk)
- 1/2 protein shake (see previous page for choices)
*Can flavor milks with Peanut Butter Powder, sugar-free chocolate syrup or sugar-free hot coco mix
Meal Portion Size:
- Protein:1/4 to 1/3 cup or 2 to 3 oz
- Vegetable:1 to 2 bites
- Carbohydrate (fruit & starches):1 to 2 bites
Soft Food (Looking for crockpot tender):
- Chicken
- Sweet potato
- Banana
- Ground turkey or pork
- Carrots
- Oatmeal
- 90% lean ground beef
- Cauliflower
- Potato
- Salmon, Tilapia, Tuna
- Green Beans
- Cream of Wheat
- Eggs
- Black beans
- Peaches
- Refried Beans
- Broccoli
- Brown Rice
* Not all foods listed, see Choose Your Foods book for more food choices.
Soft Food Menu Items:
- Breakfast
- 1/2 slice of toast with low sugar fruit spread
- 2 scrambled eggs
- 1/4 cup turkey sausage
- Lunch
- 2 to 3 ounces shredded chicken
- 1/4 cup green beans
- 1 to 2 bites of fruit
- 1 to 2 ounces ground turkey
- 1-ounce light cheese
- 1/4 cup black beans
- Dinner
- 2 to 3 ounces salmon
- 1/4 cup mixed vegetables
- 2 to 3 ounces baked fish
- 1/4 cup cooked carrots
- 1-2 bites of fruit
Stage 4: Solid Foods (Week 7 Onward)
Once your bariatric surgeon lets you know you can start eating solid food again (about 28-35 days after your gastric banding procedure) it’s important to carefully pre-plan your meals and snacks. Because the LAP-BAND dramatically reduces the size of your stomach down to about the size of a golf ball, when you begin transitioning off your liquid diet, you will feel full after eating just a few small bits of solid food.
Start by choosing high-protein foods that are soft and easy to digest, such as poached eggs, baked salmon, tofu, cottage cheese, and skinless chicken breast. Vegetables should be steamed until soft, and fruits should be free from skins or seeds. You’ll need to wait 3-4 months after your LAP-BAND procedure before you can eat nuts, raw vegetables, and other foods that can be hard to digest.
General Diet Guidelines
You will be on a general bariatric diet for the rest of your life starting day 61 after your surgery.
You need to:
- Chew food to pureed consistency (chew 20 to 30 times before swallowing).
- Eat lean foods, such as baked, broiled, grilled, or steamed foods.
- Drink eight 8-oz glasses of water each day.
- Take vitamin and mineral supplements as ordered.
- Keep doing strength and aerobic exercise for 60 minutes or more each day.
Milk Snack Choices - choose 3 per day
- 1 cup skim Fairlife milk
- 5 to 6 oz Greek yogurt (100 kcal or less)
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1/2 cup Cottage cheese (fat free or 1%)
- 1 lite mozzarella string cheese stick
- 1 cup unsweetened soy milk (or high protein plant-based milk)
- 1/2 cup Fat Free Chocolate milk (mixed with 1/2 cup skim white milk)
- 1/2 protein shake (see previous page for options)
* can flavor milk with Peanut Butter Powder.
General Dietary Guidelines for Long-Term Success
Lifelong lifestyle ChangesStarting today, you agree to:
- Eat 3 meals a day.
- Eat protein and a carbohydrate choice at each meal.
- Eat your protein first.
- Take 30 minutes to eat your meal.
- Chew your food to a pureed/mush consistency. This takes 20 to 30 chews.
- Eat nutrient-dense foods such as vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and lean meats. Do not eat calorie-dense foods such as chips, cookies, crackers, ice cream, fried food, candy, hot dogs, brats, and bologna.
- Do not eat non-nutrient-dense foods such as pretzels, rice cakes, and animal crackers.
- Eat 3 milk snacks each day.
- Do not drink carbonated fluids such as pop, juice, or alcohol. Carbonation can cause stomach pain. These rinks have extra calories and sugar that is not needed.
- Drink 6 or more cups of plain water a day. You may drink 8oz of unsweetened coffee or tea per day.
- Do not drink anything with citric acid.
- Do not drink fluids 30 minutes before meals, with meals, or for 30 minutes after meals.
- Do not use tobacco or nicotine products. It slows down healing and can lead to complications.
- Exercise 30 minutes or more a day.
- Keep detailed food and activity records (bubble sheets). Bring them to each dietitian appointment.
- Do not use straws. Air bubbles form in your new pouch and can cause pain.
- The first 3 months after surgery, do not eat acidic or citrus foods such as tomatoes, lemon, orange, or lime.
Additional Considerations
Staying Hydrated
Soon after surgery, working to drink plenty of fluids is very important, but can be difficult. Immediately following surgery, you will begin with a clear liquid diet.
Protein Intake
In addition to staying hydrated, patients will need to focus on how much protein they take in. Most bariatric surgery programs will recommend 60 to 100 grams per day, depending on the patient. This will mean focusing on high protein foods and avoiding foods with high amounts of sugar and starch.
High-protein foods include eggs, meats, fish, seafood, tuna, poultry, soy milk, tofu, cottage cheese, yogurt and other milk products. Your goal should be a minimum of 65 to 75 grams of protein a day.
Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation
After any weight loss surgery, patients will need to take over the counter vitamins and minerals for life. Each bariatric surgery program will instruct patients on how much to take. These typically include: a multivitamin, Vitamin B12, Calcium, Vitamin D, and Iron. Some patients will need chewable vitamins, but some can take pills if tolerated.
You must take the following supplements on a daily basis to prevent nutrient deficiencies. Please remember that all pills must be crushed or cut into six to eight small pieces. Brands that contain this formula include Trader Joe’s and Centrum Adult chewable multivitamins.
- Take 1,200 to 2,000 mg of calcium daily to prevent calcium deficiency and bone disease.
- To enhance absorption, take the calcium in two to three divided doses throughout the day - for example, a 500 to 600 mg supplement taken three times a day.
- This total amount should be taken in divided doses of 400 to 500 IUs twice a day. Vitamin D should be taken with your calcium supplement.
- Take 500 mcg of vitamin B daily.
- Some patients need additional folic acid or iron supplements, particularly women who are still menstruating.
Exercise
After weight loss surgery, patients often feel they have more energy and may want to exercise. Walking frequently, starting within just a few hours after surgery, can help patients recover faster. Each patient will be different and should check with their surgeon before they start intense exercise, but once this is started, it should be done with the goal on average to 30 minutes per day of moderate exercising.
Medication Adjustments
Many bariatric patients are already taking several medications for their medical problems. After surgery, patient will often be able to be taken off certain medications or their dosages will be decreased. These decisions will be made with the patient’s primary doctor and their surgeon. Some patients will need different forms of medications if they are taking extended-release drugs, and some will need adjustments in dosages very early after surgery. Changes such as liquid or chewable medications may be needed, and these should be done under the direction of a doctor or pharmacist.
Smoking and Alcohol
Patients who have chosen to undergo a major surgical procedure to make themselves healthier need to quit smoking for the rest of their life. However, quitting can be very difficult and primary doctors and surgeons can assist by giving tools to help patients stop smoking. Most bariatric surgery programs will require patients to stop all nicotine products before surgery. This is because tobacco use can cause multiple problems besides just lung cancer.
Alcohol use after bariatric surgery can have serious consequences. Alcohol is absorbed more quickly into the blood stream after surgery, and bariatric surgery patients will have higher levels of alcohol in their system for a longer period of time after drinking compared to before surgery.
Pregnancy
Female patient should have a birth control plan before surgery and avoid pregnancy for 12 to 18 months after surgery. In order to reach their lowest possible weight and ensure that they have adequate nutrition should they want to become pregnant. In addition, bariatric surgery patients who had problems getting pregnant before can find that they have a much easier time after surgery.
Follow-Up Care
Early after surgery, patients will follow up every few months for the first year. They should have yearly visits with a bariatric specialist for life. These are important visits, since obesity is a chronic disease, and can continue or even return after surgery.
Potential Complications of Not Following the Diet
The greatest risks of the gastric bypass diet come from not following the diet properly. If you eat too much or eat food that you shouldn't, you could have complications.
- Dumping syndrome. If too much food enters your small intestine quickly, you are likely to experience nausea, vomiting, dizziness, sweating and diarrhea.
- Dehydration. Because you're not supposed to drink fluids with your meals, some people become dehydrated.
- Constipation.
- Blocked opening of your stomach pouch. Food can become lodged at the opening of your stomach pouch, even if you carefully follow the diet. Symptoms of a blocked stomach opening include ongoing nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
- Weight gain or failure to lose weight.