Lap Band Diet and Nutrition

During your consultations before your Lap-Band surgery, your surgeon already has advised you about the proper diet guidelines after the procedure. You must strictly follow these guidelines to avoid any risks and complications that may occur. If you can’t remember any of the guidelines discussed by your doctor, this article should be very helpful for you. These dietary guidelines are very critical to your fast recovery and weight loss success.

You can take a sip of water or suck on an ice cube right after surgery but you shouldn’t drink more than this. This is because of the fact that you shouldn’t stretch the small stomach pouch being held by the Lap-Band. Drinking too much will cause you to vomit or even increase the chances of the stomach tissue to slip through the band. If slipping happens, an emergency procedure may be required. You can drink a little more fluid the day after your surgery but it is important to drink small amount of fluids at a time. Aside from water, you can also choose to drink clear liquids that have a sufficient amount of calories but as mentioned, don’t drink too much to avoid vomiting and nausea.

The next phase of the Lap-Band diet is the liquid diet during the first couple of weeks after the procedure. Thin liquids can be tolerated during this time which can include clear broth or soup, skim milk, fruit juice, and no-sugar added popsicles. You should drink water throughout the day to keep your body hydrated.

The next couple of weeks, exactly three to four weeks after the procedure, will enable you to consume pureed foods. Pureed foods are slightly textured foods comparable to the consistency of baby foods. Protein-rich pureed foods are recommended to be eaten first then followed by some pureed fruits and vegetables. This will give you an ample supply of vitamins and minerals needed by your system. You can have pureed skinless fish or chicken, mashed potatoes, peas, and low-fat yogurt or pudding.

Soft foods can be eaten five weeks after the Lap-Band procedure. Soft foods are actually solid foods which are tender cooked like fish and ground turkey. You will be eating small quantities of soft foods but it is extremely important to chew the foods well before swallowing. Otherwise, you may experience vomiting, stomach irritation, swelling, and even a possible stoma or the stomach opening obstruction.

During the sixth week after the operation, you can now move on to regular solid foods. The most important thing to remember is to eat only small quantities of food, to chew the foods well, to choose foods appropriate for proper nutrition, and to drink lots of liquid throughout the day. You should only eat three meals a day, strictly avoiding in-between meal snacks. Also, make sure that these three meals contain adequate nutrients. Your new stomach can only hold about ΒΌ cup of food or two ounces every meal so you should stop eating once you feel a sense of fullness.

Tasty Diet and Nutrition

In 5 Element Diet & Nutrition there are five basic categories of taste: salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and spicy. What a particular food tastes like indicates which organ(s) are going to benefit from the nourishment being delivered. On the other hand, when you have a craving for a particular taste, that’s an indication that the organ related to that taste is weak and needs to be balanced.

The Five Tastes A balanced diet includes food that combines the five tastes: Salty / Sour / Bitter / Sweet / Spicy

Understanding and Balancing TastesWhen your meals combine as many of the ’5 tastes’ as possible, you’re well on your way toward cultivating good digestion, which is a hallmark of good health.

  • To make sure each meal you eat is “balanced,” all five tastes need to be included. Be alert to your desire for sweet foods in the morning. “Sweet” is the taste associated with the digestive organs, and too much sweet food during breakfast can negatively affect your digestion.
  • Sweet craving is an indication that your digestive system needs help. Cravings for the other tastes indicate the need to rebalance and strengthen the organ systems related to those tastes.
  • Don’t eat anything sweet on an empty stomach. This includes naturally “sweet” foods like bread and fruit; in addition to products high in refined sugar. When you do want to eat something sweet, make sure you eat a more complex food first.
  • If you have an ongoing craving for sweets, eat more protein. Complex foods help the pancreas back into balance, and ward off the sugar highs and lows that lead to hypoglycemia and eventually diabetes.
  • Acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese herbs, and healthy, balanced food choices can help you rebalance and strengthen your organs, and boost your overall experience of health.

    • Kitty Bradshaw is a licensed acupuncturist, with an advanced clinical degree in Oriental Medicine. Studying and working with Oriental Medicine since 1986, Kitty combines Traditional Oriental Medicine with Taoist healing methods to offer healing possibilities beyond the level of standard health care. Her deep understanding of Chinese medical herbs, combined with her intuitive abilities to diagnose and treat difficult problems, has helped many people regain and maintain their health.

    Diet and Nutrition Advice That the Experts Follow

    One of the biggest health food debates is over butter or margarine. Some people believe butter is healthier because it’s more natural but it contains animal fat so it has cholesterol and very high levels of saturated fat. Margarine on the other hand is made from vegetable oils and plant products so it has no cholesterol and it contains more “good” fat than butter does. However, some margarine may contain a large amount of Trans fat and can be bad for the heart, so it’s a good idea to stay away from stick margarine and go for labels that contain omega 3 oils. Another debatable food is milk, low fat or skim. A good rule to use for this situation is to remember that the more fat it contains, the more saturated fat the milk will have. So skim or one percent milk is going to be better for you than two percent milk.

    Finally, fresh and frozen vegetables are also discussed to try and determine which is better for us. Fresh sounds better and it still has all of its nutrients but if it is stored at forty-fifty degrees for a week or more, then it’s probably lost at least a good portion of those nutrients. When you buy frozen fruits and vegetables they are usually packed at a time when they have their most nutrients and you can know exactly what you will get.

    Keeping these general guidelines and thoughts in mind when we are shopping can really help many of us to make smarter, healthier choices for ourselves and our loved ones. This way we can know exactly what we will be eating and feel better about the choices we make for the people we care about.