What Can Lap-band Patients Eat After Surgery?

Lap-band patients must learn and utilize healthy eating habits after surgery for the rest of their lives. However, the first six weeks after the surgery requires a very strict diet where the patients slowly incorporate solid foods after living on liquids for a few weeks.

First Day

• The day after surgery, the patients can only have clear liquids, such as broth, juice or jello for meals, and juice in between meals.

Two Weeks

• For about two weeks, Lap-band surgery patients can eat foods that are pureed. They should also be high protein to help with the healing process. Approved foods include eggs, vegetables, casseroles and fruit.

Third Week

• Patients can start adding more solid foods to the pureed diet by week three, but they should still be soft. Liverwurst, cottage cheese, canned fruits and vegetables rice and noodles are among the accepted foods.

Fouth to Sixth Week

• Meats that aren't fried and have been ground up after being cooked, plus raw vegetables and fruits, are now allowed too as long as the body can tolerate them.

Post Six Weeks

• Patients have more liberty to experiment with various foods to see what they can handle. Food like bread, hamburger, foods with seeds, and spicy and fried items might be difficult to digest or may only be eaten in small qualities.

Liquids

• Once patients surpass the six-week post-op phase, they are advised to drink 4 to 6 cups of liquid between each meal for the rest of his life.