Soft Food Diet for Lap Band Patients
Lap-Band surgery is for those who are at least 100 pounds overweight and have not been successful with any other weight loss program. The procedure involves placing a silicone band around the top portion of the stomach. This leaves just a small opening that goes to the bottom part of the stomach, and basically turns the top portion into a small pouch, so that food intake must be very limited. The fact that food is so limited means that specific diet guidelines must be followed.
The First Few Weeks
According to the University of California at San Diego Medical Center, during the first 1 to 2 weeks after the Lap-Band procedure, you can only have clear and thin liquids, such as soup broths, sugar free popsicles and fruit juices.
In weeks 2 through 4 you can add a few more foods, but they must be strained or pureed, just as baby foods are. These foods include things such as yogurts, puddings, strained and mashed peas and mashed potatoes. Meats can be included here but they must be pureed also.
Soft Foods
At 5 weeks after surgery you may now begin adding soft foods to the diet. While you may still include any of the foods listed above, especially the mashed and pureed vegetables and meat, the soft foods part of the diet provides you with a few more options.
Soft foods can be whole foods, but they must be cooked and tender. Fish, ground meats, soft breads and well-done vegetables without the skins are included in the soft food category. Also cut food into very small pieces to help you chew them effectively.
Choose Foods Wisely
Your new, smaller stomach can only hold 1/4 cup of food, so it is important to choose your foods wisely. While there may be many soft foods that you may desire, such as cheesecake, there are still some that you must limit. Sugary foods such as cakes and cookies should be avoided. The experts at Lap-Band Surgery Information state that you should not eat sweets because they are often high in fat, sugar and calories but do not offer any nutritional value. Since you are so limited with how much you can eat, eat foods that are nutrient dense. For example, 1/4 cup of ice cream does not provide you with nearly the same amount of nutrients that 1/4 cup of sweet potatoes will.
Also, sweets will slow down your rate of weight loss, which will defeat your original purpose for the procedure. If you begin to have trouble digesting the new foods, even though they are soft, the designers of the Lap-Band procedure recommend you go back to the liquid or pureed diet for a few weeks before trying again. Slowly add foods back in one at a time. This will help you determine which foods are giving you a problem, and it will also help to prevent vomiting, which can cause the band to change positions. If you continue to experience problems when you reintroduce soft foods, speak to your surgeon or health care provider.
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