For some people who are overweight, diet and exercise simply does not do the trick. For these people, lap band surgery can help get weight under control. Lap band surgery does come, however, with a very specific diet that the individual must follow. This diet has three main stages through which the individual must progress.
Liquids
Consume clear liquids. After lap band surgery, the body cannot tolerate solid foods, both because of the shock to the body and because of the pain medications that often are prescribed after the procedure---the consumption of solids would lead to many complications, including vomiting, dizziness, and nausea. Clear liquids (liquids that are translucent) thus are the only thing that the individual can have for the day or two after the surgery is complete. The individual must start with just plain water, but they then can progress to items such as broth and juice that is low in sugar. Shortly before going home from the hospital, it's permissible to have thicker liquids, such as protein shakes.
Purees
Mix up purées. At around two weeks after hospital discharge, individuals who have had lap band surgery can have soft foods such as scrambled eggs or smoothies. Low fat meats like chicken are fine at this point, provided they have been run through a blender or food processor. Being able to have purées can help the individual stay motivated to eat healthily, since most foods that are easily blended included fruits and vegetables. The addition of purées also helps the individual feel less deprived, since the foods taste better than much of what is allowed on the liquid portion of the diet.
Normal Diet
Eat whatever you like, provided it is healthy. At around two months post-surgery, most lap band patients are given the green light to eat whatever foods they can tolerate from the major food groups. The individual does have some restrictions, however. Foods have to be prepared in certain ways (e.g., fried foods are poor choices because they cause acid reflux, vegetables have to be cooked because of their high fiber content, etc.), and some treats like soda and candy have to be turned down because of the high sugar content. Meals also have to be quite small and consumed throughout the day more like snacks, and liquids have to be taken separate from meals because there isn't room for both solids and liquids in the stomach at meal time.
