CLEAR FLUIDS OVERNIGHT

• water
• clear fruit juice and
• cordial only
• don’t drink everything at once
• small amounts often – 50mls every 10 minutes
• suck on ice if thirsty or dry
• no fizzy drinks

NO SOLID FOOD  -  CLEAR FLUIDS ONLY

VERY IMPORTANT NOTES
Do NOT eat anything other than water, clear fruit juice, clear consommé, and black tea/coffee or cordial – even if it has been delivered to your room – it is probably a mistake.

LIQUIDS ONLY – small amounts frequently to keep you hydrated –    50mls every 10 minutes (up to 2 litres per day). Within a week you should be able to drink 1 cup of fluid slowly.                                                                                             

• 120 ml fruit juice
• 250 ml  vegetable juices/ vegetable soup (pureed, thin)
• protein drinks
• reduced fat milk
• fully vitamised chicken/meat & vegetable soup
• no fizzy drinks

SLOPPY LOW FIBRE FOODS ONLY – EASILY SQUISHED THROUGH THE FINGERS -  OR –
      THE THICKNESS OF BABY’S FIRST FOOD OR SMOOTHED MASHED POTATO

• turn off the telephone, lock the front door, occupy the kids, totally concentrate on eating
• sip very small amounts very slowly
• wait for a minute between sips
• no more than 200mls  at a time
• 2 lite dairy/soya serves daily (1 serve= 1cup milk or 200g lite yoghurt or 35 g cheese)
• ½ cup pureed fruit or mashed banana
• puree cooked veal, pork or chicken, avoid beef (too fibrous) 
• eat small amounts slowly but more frequently, hunger makes you eat faster
• avoid lobster, squid or prawns
• avoid home-cooked spaghetti & rice
• tinned spaghetti & tinned creamy rice are okay
• no fizzy drinks

 VERY IMPORTANT NOTES
 Eat very slowly and chew very well – 30 times each mouthful                                            Low fibre fruit & vegetables only
Low fibre means without the fibrous skin.  Dried fruits like prunes, raisins & sultanas are also off the menu for this month.

Drink 15 minutes or more before eating, and one hour after eating.
SLOPPY/PUREED LOW FIBRE FOODS ONLY

EATING UTENSILS  MacDonald’s sized thicker straw or Teaspoon

TRANSITION PHASE – gradually introduce solids from 5 to 6 weeks only very cautiously

• turn off the telephone, lock the front door, occupy the kids, totally concentrate on eating
• do not increase the portion sizes you have become used to over the last 4 weeks
• eat very small amounts very slowly
• wait for a minute between each mouth full
• cautiously introduce cooked unblended chicken or veal – 50 grams in total to begin with 
• cautiously introduce cooked unblended vegetables
• cut fibrous vegetables into tiny pieces, then chew very well

VERY IMPORTANT NOTES
Eat very slowly
Chew very well – 30 times each mouthful
Cut meat into tiny pieces
Drink 15 minutes or more before eating, and one hour after eating.

EATING UTENSILS        Teaspoon or Equivalent Size

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What to eat for the rest of your life

• turn off the telephone, lock the front door, occupy the kids, totally concentrate on eating
• do not increase the portion sizes you have become used to over the last 4 weeks
• continue the further introduction of solids that you began to introduce at 5 to 6 weeks very cautiously
• the volume and coarseness of the food should slowly be increased over the coming weeks
• eat very small amounts very slowly
• wait for a minute between each mouth full
• continue to cautiously introduce cooked unblended chicken or veal – begin with  50 grams
• continue to cautiously introduce cooked unblended vegetables
• cut fibrous vegetables into tiny pieces, then chew very well 30 times each mouth full
• by about week 10 you should be at the point where you can attend a restaurant and eat an entrée sized meal in both volume and consistency – the time it takes you to eat this meal should equal the time it takes your eating partner to consume both entrée and main meal

VERY IMPORTANT NOTES
Eat very slowly Chew very well – 30 times each mouthful
Cut meat into tiny pieces                     
Cut fibrous vegetables into tiny pieces
Drink 15 minutes or more before eating, and one hour after eating.

Tips for Eating Out

• the drinking rule still applies, 15 minutes or more before eating and one hour after eating;  special exception because you’re eating out, you can take tiny sips of liquid while eating
• while we’re on the drinking subject, for those of us who don’t mind a tipple, with the Lap Band in place alcohol will be absorbed much more quickly and therefore if consumed should be done so very slowly – remember, less is more and a lower tolerance can mean higher blood alcohol levels, so if you’re going to drink, please don’t drive
• just because you’re eating out, don’t decide to “make a meal of it” so to speak, and consume more than you have become used to over the last ten weeks
• eat one entrée sized meal only over the time it takes your eating companion to consume both entrée and main course
• if you don’t like the entrée choices, ask for the main meal served entrée size
• remember, we often eat just for taste, and not for hunger;  if you remember this then savouring one tiny teaspoon of your partner’s dessert for the taste is all you really need
• if you’re worried about drawing attention to yourself by making the above requests, or by seeming to eat less than you have in the past, remember, this is the new you, you DO eat less now, your appetite isn’t as great, you don’t seem to need as much to satisfy you anymore, perhaps you’re coming down with something (any of these statements, casually uttered should deflect the curiosity of family or friends used to the old you, if you’re the shy type and think it’s none of their business.  Otherwise feel free to be loud and proud and espouse the wonders of Lap Band surgery.)
• locate the toilets on arrival so you know exactly where to go if you’re not concentrating on each mouth full and you need to make a hasty exit
• by now you should be able to judge what “tiny” mouthful means and should be back to using knife and fork
  

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