Lap band surgeries are considered to be one of the effective means of ensuring the loss of body weight. It is to be remembered that surgical procedures are not at all recommended for every individual who is overweight but rather in order to undertake a surgical procedure one is usually required to calculate one's BMI or body mass index. In case of lap band surgeries, a silicon band is placed on the upper part of the stomach to form a sort of a small pouch while it is connected to the lower part of the stomach by means of a narrow opening. The main purpose of the lap band surgery is to constrict the size of the stomach which would reduce food consumption thus leading to loss of weight. Here, the pouch is easily filled by food and since the opening to the lower part is quite narrow, the food takes a lot of time to travel to the lower part and therefore hunger is suppressed ably. However, once the surgical procedure is completed, an individual is not allowed to return to a normal diet and in fact he is set on a liquid diet for a while after which solid food are introduced later. Post surgery the stomach is capable of holding about 4 to 6 ounces per meal and therefore it means that food content to be taken in must be high in nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables require to be de-seeded and se-skinned before consumption and hamburgers, pork and steaks are to be avoided. In fact spicy and fried foods and high fiber foods like sweet potato, celery, onions and spices are absolutely banned from consumption. One of the major constituents of the diet of an individual who has undergone lap band surgery is proteins. It is to be mentioned here that medical practitioners' advice the consumption of 50 to 60 grams of protein regularly to prevent deficiency of protein which can lead to anxiety, muscle weakness, hair loss, depression, anemia and even death.



In the beginning, only a liquid diet is suggested and slowly with the passage of time, solids are introduced once the new stomach is accustomed with the kind of food consumed. In case of having difficulty in consuming solid food, one must return to the liquid diet again. Water drinking at regular intervals is mandatory as it aids hydration and even the intake of larger capsules as medicine is prevented. They should be broken down into smaller forms to aid chewing and swallowing.