How to Eat After Lap Band Surgery

Video Transcript

"My name is Christine Marquette and I am a registered dietitian with the Austin Regional Clinic and I am going to talk to you about how to eat after lap band surgery. The first couple of days after a lap band surgery you will typically be put on a clear liquid diet and you will be limited to having only one ounce at a time. Usually you will be given small containers let's say for example that you would be given pills in while you are in the hospital to help you control your fluid intake to only an ounce at a time. After that first couple of days you will be advanced to an actual full liquid diet and what that means is that you are going to have some foods that are pureed so it won't be all clear liquids, it would be things like mashed potatoes that had been very much pureed, fruits that had been pureed, vegetables that had been pureed so again very very soft foods and you'll be on that particular diet for a good three weeks. After that you are going to be advanced to a soft foods diet meaning that you are going to have slightly more solid food. It is going to involve some more meats that are soft, things like ground meats whether it is ground chicken or very lean ground beef and your foods will be spread out into four or five very small meals throughout the day and you will be sipping on water and fluids as well throughout the day. After that six week period if you have tolerated that well you will be advanced to a more solid foods diet that is involving crunchier foods, a little bit crunchier types of vegetables and more solid forms like meats such as chicken breasts, actual whole fish those types of things and you'll spend a good six months on that particular eating plan again following four to five small meals and sipping on fluids throughout the day. Once you have tolerated that you'll be advanced to a more regular diet making sure that you are limiting your calories to between a 1,200 and 1,600 calories per day. Typically a diabetic change list is listed to help you keep track of your calories and to help you limit your portion sizes. So those are just the ways that are typically used to eat after lap band surgery."