Category: Weight Loss

For those trying to stick to healthier eating habits and lose weight, meal prepping offers a great deal of benefits. Meal prepping can help you save money by eating out less and buying items in bulk, wasting fewer ingredients. It also encourages healthy portion control, so it’s a win-win if you’re trying to stay on track with your new eating lifestyle post Lap-Band® Surgery.

How meal prepping can help your weight-loss journey

Portion control and healthier options 

For Lap-Band patients, meal prepping has two obvious benefits that can help them lose weight. Not only is it great controlling how much you eat, but it also helps you control what you eat. When meals are pre-planned and cooked ahead of time, it’s harder to slip up and eat something that doesn’t fall within your meal plan. Temptations like midday fast food runs and happy hour with your coworkers are easier to resist when you know you have lunch and dinner already made.

Eat a variety of foods

An unexpected perk of meal prepping after Lap-Band surgery is the variety it provides. How many times have you come home from work, stressed about what to cook, and then relied on the same old tired recipe? Instead of feeling satisfied, you’re bored and you’re craving junk food. 

When you have the time to plan out a week of meals, grocery shop, and prepare the meals at the start of the week, you have more time to think about variety and incorporating different fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats into your meals. This variety will, in turn, give you a good mix of nutrients. You’ll also say goodbye to the extra stress of worrying about what to prepare every night.

Part of your weight-loss journey after the Lap-Band procedure involves following a specific meal plan, ensuring you fill your body with high-quality foods, like proteins and nutrient-dense foods. Following this meal plan and meal prepping go hand-in-hand. Instead of making food decisions on the fly, you’ll have a meal already prepared that meets all of your requirements.

How to meal prep after Lap-Band surgery 

Meal prepping might feel like a daunting task at first, so instead of a full week of meals, try making meals for three or four days instead. Sit down with the meal plan your Lap-Band specialist or dietitian provided you, and search your favorite cookbooks, Pinterest, or Google for flavorful recipes that meet your food guidelines. 

Once you choose your recipes, create a master list of everything you’ll need to buy. If you can plan recipes with overlapping ingredients, such as spinach in your morning smoothie and as a side for dinner, you can cut down on costs. You’ll also save money if you choose recipes utilizing an ingredient you already have in the house, such as chicken breasts, fish, or a certain spice. Be sure you set aside dedicated time both for planning meals and cooking them so you can make meal prepping a habit.

Curious about how the Lap-Band Program can help you lose weight and get on track to a healthier lifestyle? Watch our online seminar today!

You’ve probably heard adaptive fitness discussed in the context of individuals who have suffered accidents or have disabilities that impact the way they move. However, adaptive fitness can also be an important part of your weight-loss journey after the Lap-Band® procedure. 

Adaptive fitness includes exercises that are modified to accommodate people with temporary or permanent disabilities. When it comes to exercising after the Lap-Band procedure, trainers use adaptive fitness to develop plans for individuals who may have trouble doing certain exercises due to their weight.

The importance of exercise after Lap-Band

Individuals who undergo bariatric surgery, like the Lap-Band Program, are overweight or obese. During the aftercare process, exercise will be an important part of encouraging healthy weight loss, along with a balanced diet, portion control, hydration, and healthy sleep habits. For overweight and obese individuals who have just started their weight-loss journey, completing certain exercises may be difficult or impossible

For instance, you may not be able to squat deep enough to benefit from the move. Some poses may be uncomfortable because of the pressure they put on your joints, or you may have trouble getting up off the floor repeatedly for certain exercises.

How adaptive fitness can help you exercise after Lap-Band surgery 

Adaptive fitness is all about doing moves that are comfortable. This means focusing on low-impact exercises that take your range of movement into consideration. After your Lap-Band surgery, you should start slow and work up to more difficult exercises once you are more comfortable. If you have limited mobility in certain areas due to excess weight, work on building strength in other areas. 

Many of our patients find exercising in water to be easier on their joints. It’s a great way to work on cardiovascular fitness in a supported, low-impact environment. Other examples of adaptive fitness exercises include doing push-ups against the wall instead of the ground and staying seated while performing exercises. After Lap-Band, you should start your fitness journey by working on increasing your stability and flexibility.

Exercise will not only help you lose weight after Lap-Band—it will also help relieve stress and anxiety and improve your self-esteem and mood. Just remember, there’s a difference between pain and muscle soreness. If you feel stabbing or sharp pain during exercise, stop immediately and contact your doctor. 

Learn more about the Lap-Band Program with our free online seminar, or check out the Lap-Band blog for more tips on diet and fitness after bariatric surgery.  

If you’re considering undergoing bariatric surgery, you have several choices. One of the main draws of the Gastric Band, or Lap-Band®, is that it involves no partial amputation of the stomach or digestive tract. The Lap-Band is completely adjustable to your body’s changing needs, and, if the need arises, it can also be removed. 

When considering weight-loss surgery, one of the most common questions asks if pregnancy is possible after Lap-Band surgery. Not only is it possible, but because the Lap-Band is adjustable, the gastric band can remain in place during pregnancy. Some people opt to have it adjusted during their pregnancy or removed altogether once their goal weight is achieved. It’s important to consider your options before removing the Lap-Band during pregnancy. 

Lap-Band advantages

One of the major benefits of the Lap-Band is that it is non-anatomy altering, adjustable, and removable. The minimally invasive Lap-Band Program allows for a quick recovery time in which most patients can head home on the same day as their surgery. The procedure is performed with just a few small incisions and is completed laparoscopically. However, it is not recommended that the band is removed once patients reach their goal weight. Weight loss with Lap-Band is gradual, and patients can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. 

The Lap-Band is considered a tool in the weight-loss process. Its success is determined in conjunction with the other important steps patients take, including an exercise regimen and a healthy diet with balanced portions. The Lap-Band helps patients control portion size, and when it is removed, patients may no longer feel satisfied with smaller portions. Removal of the band may cause patients to begin eating larger meals, causing the potential for weight regain. 

Lap-Band removal

Removing it is not advised once you reach your goal weight. However—though uncommon—if patients experience complications such as food intolerance, heartburn or acid reflux, band slippage or erosion, or Esophageal Dilation, the Gastric Band may be safely removed. Removal is completed laparoscopically. 

The Lap-Band and pregnancy

Many women wonder if they can become pregnant after the Lap-Band procedure or if they will need to have the band removed. Though it is safe to have the Lap-Band while pregnant, it is recommended that patients don’t get pregnant until at least a year or two after the procedure. Patients typically lose most of their weight in the first year, so it is advised that patients wait until their weight stabilizes to become pregnant with the Lap-Band.

During pregnancy, the Lap-Band can help with safe portion control; it is a common misconception that women must “eat for two” while pregnant. The Lap-Band can be adjusted during pregnancy to allow for larger portions if needed. Some surgeons will recommend that the band is emptied before giving birth, but patients should speak with their doctors regarding their pregnancy and the Lap-Band.  

For more information on pregnancy and the Lap-Band, register for our online seminar or call 1-800-LAPBAND.