Summer finally hit us with all the weather moodiness that Chicago has to offer. It’s the time of the year when all the combinations of heat, wind, and rain attack the windy city with increased intensity. What may be the most difficult in terms of the lap-bander lifestyle is the heat wave, which immediately brings to our minds an assortment of smoothies, frappuccinos, and shakes. Because lap-band doesn’t protect you from calories sucked though the straw, we at DayOne Health usually discourage our lap-band patients from these types of indulgences. So, for those of you who feel that summer loses much of its charm without blended treats, we decided to post this blog especially for you. So dig in for some good summer damage control advice!

Where to get a perfect lap-band friendly smoothie?

In general you should avoid all blended frappuccinos, shakes, and smoothies; but, if you really feel that leaving these items out of your diet makes you miserable let’s do some damage control. So the simplest and a best way to control what you eat is to prepare it yourself, and the situation is no different with shakes or smoothies. As a lap-bander you probably have a lot of experience in preparing your own meals, so try to apply your nutritional knowledge to create your own perfect lap-bander dessert. If you have a lap-band, you most likely still have a blender from the days of your liquid diet. This is the perfect time to put it back to work! You have all the tools you need, so why settle for mediocre quality fast food shakes, when you can make your own with the best possible ingredients at half the price? So, the best place to get the most lap-band friendly smoothie is your home.

Lap-band challenge – Smoothies & Shakes

Remember, the biggest mistake made in relation to blended foods is going far above the portion size limit. Your smoothie should be treated as a little snack, never as a full meal. And again, just because you can eat more of it than you normally would with solid food, doesn’t mean that you should. The most basic, and yet definitely still delicious recipe for your own shake is a cup of skim milk and fruit of your choice – my favorite is always berries. If you feel like you want a little more sweetness, you can add a little sweetener. The good thing about making your own shakes is that you can always make more, split it into one cup portions and pop the rest into the fridge for later. There are about 100 calories in one portion, and that’s what we call a perfect snack! If you are going for something with even fewer calories, an effective method is to use ice or more fruit instead.

Ok – what if I want to buy a good shake?

If you don’t have time or the passion for making your own shakes, you should still try to control your consumption of calories, sugar, and fat in ready made shakes. Here are two rules of thumb that you should always keep in mind when getting your blended treats:

• Try not to buy your shakes at fast food restaurants. Fast food shakes are most likely made with both milk and ice cream, plus additional toppings. For instance, if you decide on a simple small vanilla shake at the golden arches, expect it to be above 500 calories. Just for the record, your lap-bander daily calorie intake should be 1,200 calories, so spending your “budget” on a few minutes of icy pleasure in this case, is not your best investment.
• Avoid high sugar content shakes.  When ordering a frappe at your favorite coffee place always mind the sugar and fat levels. For instance, a small size blended coffee with no flavor syrup, will have about 30g of sugar per serving. Or in other words, six teaspoons of sugar! Can you believe that? Our advice for you here is to just get the ice coffee and ask your barista to blend it for you and add some sweetener to taste. Maybe it won’t be as creamy as your favorite frappe, but it will keep your sugar under control.

To hear more about the lap-band diet and lifestyle, please contact our DayOne Health patient advocate at 312-239-3838. If you would like to hear more about our comprehensive weight loss program, schedule your first one-on-one consult with a weight-loss surgeon today.