Carrying around excess weight can greatly impact your life—and not in positive ways. For many people, it means isolating, not living life to the fullest. When people schedule lap band surgery in Mexico, they often have scenes in their mind of life after their procedure: getting out more, socializing, and truly living life.
For many, having an alcoholic drink or two is central to getting together with friends and meeting new people. But are the lap band and alcohol compatible?
Drinking After Lap Band Surgery
There is no outright ban on having the lap band and drinking alcohol. You can occasionally have a drink or two. But there are certain factors to keep in mind that might change how you drink.
The Healing Stage
Directly after lap band surgery in Mexico, you won’t be able to eat or drink much of anything. You will be placed on a post-lap band diet, which steps down from clear liquids to solid foods over roughly a month’s time.
Once you are healed, there are still restrictions on how much you can consume at a time. You need to keep portions small, not fill up on drinks, and often need to separate eating and drinking to prevent stretching the stomach.
Carbonation and Sugar
Another factor impacting alcohol after bariatric surgery is the fact that they are often made with ingredients that aren’t ideal for post-surgery stomachs. Too much sugar often makes patients feel sick, and carbonation introduces gas that can cause stomach distress. So, while having alcoholic drinks is OK, patients should steer clear of sugary cocktails and carbonated drinks.
Empty Calories
Your lap band will ensure your stomach can only hold so much volume at a time. This means that the calories you consume each day need to be healthy ones, offering you vitamins and nutrients. Alcoholic drinks are pretty much always nothing but empty calories, which leads to patients swapping healthy food for alcohol.
Excessive Eating
Typically, where there is drinking, there is also food. After getting the lap band, it is generally recommended that patients separate eating and drinking by 30 minutes to an hour, or even more in some cases. However, getting caught up in social situations makes it easy to overeat and to combine food and drink, stretching the stomach, causing pain, and even leading to vomiting and other gastric distress.
Ultimately, you can consume alcoholic drinks, but it is imperative that you exercise good judgment when you do. Click to explore more about the Lifestyle Changes After Lap Band Surgery.
