How Many Calories Should a Lap-Band Patient Consume?

Lap-Band patients have had gastrointestinal surgery and are required to stick to a specific diet. The amount of calories consumed varies at each stage of the surgery and recovery.

Pre-Surgery

• Lap-Band patients need to follow a pre-surgery diet to aid the shrinking of the liver (so the doctor can have a better view in the abdomen). This diet also helps you get used to your new lifestyle and assists in boosting metabolism. It is usually a fast and ranges between 800 and 1,200 calories per day.

In the Hospital

• While in the hospital, patients are allowed to consume any number of clear liquids (such as broth, gelatin, and ice pops) and may do so in their own time. The clear liquids have little nutritional value and are used simply to make sure the Lap-Band is in working order. Calories consumed during your stay may vary between 50 and 200 a day.

Up to Four Weeks After Surgery

• As you recover, your doctor will advance your diet. You should not attempt to advance it yourself. You will start out on strained, full liquids for the first week and then move to pureed foods. Typically, Lap-Band patients at this stage stay on clear liquids for up to two weeks. Calories consumed aren’t as important at this point as protein and fluid intake. You must consume 70 to 80 grams of protein and 64 oz. of water daily. Calories vary but tend to stay between 600 and 1,000.

Four Weeks to Six Months After Surgery

• During this time, your doctor will advance you to soft foods and then on to a full diet. The soft-food stage averages 600 to 1,200 calories per day, and the full diet averages between 800 and 1,500 calories per day.

Maintenance

• Maintenance is the hardest part of any diet. Holding to a diet of 800 to 1,500 calories per day and watching protein and fluid intake will keep the weight off and your new stomach happy.