Support Tips
Eat three small meals a day
The LAP-BAND System creates a small stomach that can only hold a certain amount of food. If you try to eat more than it will hold discomfort and/or vomiting will occur. Repetitive vomiting will contribute to complications such as “slippage” where some of the stomach slides up above the band causing heartburn and blockage. Treatment may require an operation to revise the position of the Lap-Band. It is important to learn how much your stomach can hold comfortably and then not exceed this amount.
Eat slowly and thoroughly
Food can only pass through the narrowed area in the stomach if it has been “chopped” into very small pieces. That is why you have to chew very well and plan to take more time to eat meals.
Stop eating as soon as you feel like your not hungry
Once the upper pouch above the band starts to stretch from food, the brain receives a signal that enough has been eaten. In other words, you have a feeling of satiety (fullness). But it takes a little while to become aware of these signals. So you may eat more than is good for you. This can lead to nausea and vomiting. Take your time over your meal and try to recognize the feeling of fullness in yourself. Then stop eating immediately.
Don’t drink while you are eating
The Lap-Band will help you lose weight the most effectively with solid food. If you drink at mealtimes, the food becomes more liquid allowing more food to be consumed. It is preferable for you not to drink anything while eating and for two hours afterwards to retain the feeling of fullness for as long as possible. Try to avoid liquid calories as much as possible such as juice, sugary drinks, shakes, and alcohol.
Don’t eat between meals
After you have had a meal, don’t eat anything until the next meal. Eating snacks in between meals lessens successful weight loss. It is extremely important to follow this principle. Until your band is properly adjusted you may get hungry between meals. It is better to eat a nutritious snack than to increase your portion size at your meals. Eventually, as the band gets tighter you will lose your desire to snack.
Eat healthy, nutritious, and fresh food
Foods high in protein and vitamins, such as fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and cereals is recommended. Avoid foods high in fat and sugar. Eating small meals requires careful food choices to take in enough vitamins, minerals, and protein. (Consider proteins, vegetables and carbohydrates in that order.) Fruit is good to eat but avoid juices.
Most of our patients take a vitamin supplement and a calcium supplement as well as some extra form of fiber. Note: Solid food is more important than liquid food. Liquids are transported directly through the band and do not make you feel full.
Avoid chunks of fibrous food
Food that is stringy or fibrous such as asparagus might block the narrow opening of the band. It is difficult to sufficiently chew this food into small enough pieces to pass through. Almost all food that is cut into tiny pieces and chewed well can be eaten.
Drink enough during the day
Water is required to breakdown fat. That is why you need to drink enough fluids each day. Remember, only water, tea, or coffee (without milk/cream and sugar) or diet, non-carbonated drinks are allowed! You have to keep the food and drinks completely separated during the day. Consider drinking 1-2 cups of water before starting each meal.
Exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day
This rule is just as important as the rules for dieting. In addition to a good low-calorie diet, physical exercise, which consumes energy—and thuscalories—has been shown to be very important to successful weight loss. Physical exercise can also help you to improve your general health. Excess weight makes it challenging to exercise as much as you should, but usually the more weight you lose, the easier it gets. Start with simple exercise such as walking or swimming, and gradually increase your program to include more intensive forms of exercise such as cycling, jogging and aerobics. Important: you should always check with your primary care physician regarding the amount and type of exercise you should do.
Support Classes
These are held each month and the first few are specific to those who have just had surgery. Other classes are ongoing support to help you through issues. These are taught by experienced patients also trained in focused ares of support such as psychological, dietary, exercise and general healthy band living. Click here to go to our calander of when these classes are held.
Frequently Asked Questions
Immediately after you should have anti nausea medicaiton to help. Use it. If you are feeling sick or having pain it may mean that you are not chewing your food well or that you are not following the dietary rules properly. Vomiting should be avoided as much as possible. It can cause the band to slip which may require surgery to fix. Surgery and anesthesia can cause short-term nausea which can usually be treated with medications.
Weight-loss results vary from patient to patient, and the amount of weight you may lose depends on several things. First of all, the band needs to be adjusted appropriately and that can take several adjustments. Also a lot depends on how committed you are to your new lifestyle and the changes that you need to make in your eating behaviors. The surgery is not magic and the pounds don’t just disappear without effort. We are happy with one pound a week, although usually we see a little quicker weight loss at the beginning. It usually takes a couple of years to lose 100 pounds.
Lap-band patients tend to lose the weight a little slower than gastric bypass patients but are less likely to gain weight back due to its adjustability. You should focus on long-term weight loss and remember that it is important to lose weight gradually while reducing obesity-related risks and improving your health.
Regular follow up are expected and vital to successful weightloss. We like to see our patients every two to four weeks after that until your band is tight enough and then once a month for the first year and/or until weight-loss goals are achieved and then every six months to a year after that.
No, it does not affect or hamper physical activity including aerobics, stretching and strenuous exercise.
They are performed by an experienced nurse or Dr. Hansen in the office. A local anesthetic is given and a needle is passed through the skin into the access port to add or remove saline. This process most often takes only a few minutes. Most patients say it is nearly painless.
There are no restrictions based on the access port. It is placed under the skin in the abdominal wall When the incisions have healed it should not cause discomfort be a limitation.
Although the band is not meant to be removed, it can be and usually is done laparoscopically. However with the band gone the stomach returns to its former shape and the person usually regains their weight.
This varies depending where you carry extra weight, how fast your loose it and the elasticity of your skin which is related to age. Your skin turns over every seven months. If you loose weight rapidly it doesn’t have time to “tighten up” and then “puddles.” If weight loss is more gradual then there is less “hanging.” The need/desire for plastic surgery is very individual and we can suggest the names of plastic surgeons.
This is VERY common. We think it has to do with the distribution of water in your body. Other things that can make your band seem tighter is a change in altitude, stress, and hormones during menstral periods for women.
The lap-band helps you eat less and feel full in two ways–first by limiting the amount of food you can eat and second by slowing down the time it takes for the food to be digested. When your band is properly adjusted, you will feel full on a lot less food and not get hungry for several hours.
One of the major advantages of the lap-band is that it can be adjusted. If your illness requires you to eat more, the band can be loosened by removing saline from it. When you have recovered from your illness and want to lose weight again, the band can be tightened by increasing the amount of saline. If the band cannot be loosened enough it may have to be removed.
Becoming pregnant can be easier as you lose weight. We can loosen the band to make sure you are able to eat enough and tighten it so you don’t gain too much during your pregnancy. We don’t want you losing weight while you are pregnant.
We need to empty your band prior to any procedure that includes putting a tube down your throat such as general anesthesia, endoscopy, etc.
We recommend a good chewable or liquid vitamin to be taken every day as well as calcium and fiber supplements.
You should be able to take prescribed medication. You may need to use capsules, break big tablets in half or dissolve them in water so they do not get stuck in the stomach and make you sick. You should always ask the doctor who prescribes the drugs about this.
We will teach you several strategies when eating out. Most of our patients will split a meal or plan to take a lot of it home or only eat a small amount.
Alcohol has a high number of calories. It also breaks down vitamins. An occasional glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage (as long as it is NOT carbonated) is not considered harmful to weight loss.
There may be a reduction in the volume of your stools. It is important to get enough fiber in your diet which may necessitate the use of fiber supplements.
If you live in the area and have had your Lap-Band placed elsewhere, we are not currently able to see you for adjustments.
