Did you know that your favorite drink may contain the same number of calories as an average size chocolate bar? If you decide one evening to sip on your favorite appletini, be prepared that it may cost you up to 300 calories! Yep, 300 calories in 6 ounces of apple goodness. Let’s face it. Alcoholic drinks are calorie bombs, and if you are a lap-band patient, best stay away!

Counting your calories and watching what you eat teaches you the right habits allowing you to get the most of your band. On average, a lap-banders’ diet should consist of 1200 calories per day, so planning your meals is a very important part of your lap-band journey. If you take into consideration that one beer has about 120 calories (12oz), drinking three beers would mean that you just wasted one full meal! Imagine that two scrambled eggs, with two strips of turkey bacon, toast, and a coffee, equal exactly 360 calories. But the worst part of it is that three beers won’t make you full. In other words, beer will go straight through the band and leave you looking for snacks. As a result, you will end up with an empty stomach and an extra 300 calories added to your daily count.

If you think that 300 calories is still not much, imagine that 8oz Long Island Tea can even contain 800 calories! Crazy isn’t it? Another candidate for the most caloric drink would be Margarita, 811 calories in 12oz. So now imagine that the most basic burrito with chicken is around 700 calories. I don’t know how about you, but I would rather have a burrito. Especially when, as a bandster, I wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing anyway, so my actual count would be 350 calories. Keeping your hunger and your calorie intake in check are the two most important components of losing weight after weight loss surgery. Lap-band blocks the hunger, but doing the math is still up to you.

For the lap-band beginners, DayOne Health’s advice would be to stay away from alcohol drinks for a while. It just doesn’t seem right to have a drink instead of a meal. Counting your calories the whole day just to end up with over two thousand because of an after-work margarita, doesn’t make much sense either. If you need some advice on how to eat right and get the most out of your 1200 calorie diet, you should definitely meet with a dietitian. At DayOne Health, nutritional consults are a crucial part of the lap-band weight loss program. We always make sure that all our patients are well informed and prepared to take full advantage of their lap-band surgery. If you feel you have any questions concerning your diet, or you think you would like to improve your eating habits, don’t hesitate to call us and see our dietitian. To hear more about the lap-band diet and book an appointment with Lauren please call 312-255-1900.