Question:
can lap band patients juice their own veggies and fruits?

i am interested to know if juicing is allowable. i am. not sure. i had lap band surgery 3 weeks ago and am now able to start adding newfood items gradually back into my diet. so any advise or help would greatly be appreciated.    — stevenzak (posted on July 5, 2008)

July 5, 2008
Steven, I am 19 months post op and I juice my fruits and vegetables. It's a great way to get them included into your diet. I have the Jack LaLanne juicer and I have gotten my money's worth out of that machine. I love it!
   — mec566

July 6, 2008
I only caution that there is a lot of sugar in fruits, also check withn your Dr. it may be to soon for this. Good Luck..
   — Ira Sansolo

July 6, 2008
true some fruit have a lot of sugar but veggies would be great,wonder where i could get a jack lalanne juicer?
   — SWEETPEA52

July 7, 2008
3 weeks out of lapband I was eating small amounts of chunky food 3 meals/day.... no juicing. We aren't supposed to be eating fruits as they have too many carbs. I will admit to one or 2 frozen strawberries in a protein shake or a few frozen blueberries. Juicing means you are drinking liquids... the only time we are supposed to do this is when we have too much restriction to eat breakfast. A protein shake would be in order. Here are the rules my surgeon has us follow: (1) 3 meals per day, no snacks (2) 70% protein, 30% veggies (3) eat all protein first, then veggies (4) solid, chunky foods to keep pouch full (5) no drinking before, during or after meals (30 mins) (6) 10 mins exercise per day, more is better (7) at least 64 oz non carbonated, sugar free fluids/day (8) less than 30 gms non vegetable carbs/day Hope this helps, Dawn Vickers, RN, BLC, CLC
   — DawnVic

July 11, 2008
Thank you for this wonderful question! I find it so sad that nutritionists and doctors concentrate on protein and seem to ignore the benefits of juicing fruits and vegetables. Then they tell us to pop a lot of vitamin pills and others because our surgery makes our ability to really benefit from foods a challenge, and never ever talk with us about juicing our fruits AND ESPECIALLY VEGIES! Did you know that you can juice 2.5 cups of vegies and end up with 6 ounces of juiced vegetables to drink? In fact, I checked in with my nutritionist in January because Id had a very serious issue last year of liver failure caused by a bacteria and a very up-side-down health year. In other words, very, very close to death. My health was greatly improved by January and I wanted to be checked out to be sure I had returned to good health. I still keep my records (www.MyFitDay.com), drink my 96b oz. of liquids, exercise, stretch, strength training, etc. I told her that I was sorely not getting enough vegetables because I was only eating 1 ounce of carrots twice a week. Not good. I am 3.5 years out from my RNY and now down 140 lbs, doing lots and lots of exercising, weight training, and stretching, but only eating 1 ounce of carrots twice a week. She said, "Have you considered juicing?" Nobody seems to talk about the benefits of juicing. I brought out my Juiceman II juicer which I'd used in the 1990s and then got out of the habit, my Juicing for Life books by Cheri Calbom (she has 20 books out now on nutrition -- check her out on Amazon.com), and commenced juicing my fruits and some vegies. I was never happy with throwing away the pulp, and tried various ways to save the pulp, but... finally simply accepted the fact if I juiced something, I'd have to throw away the pulp. But, did you know that most of the nutrients are in the pulp? So, another machine is necessary. Juiceman II or Juiceman Pro, but Vita Mix for vegetables because the Vita Mix machine is the only machine which will pulverize the pulp in beets, celery, broccoli, etc. Cost is $350 to $750 depending upon how serious you get with juicing vegetables and grinding up your own seeds to make flour and other things). I agonized over the expense for years, but when I finally understood that the greatest nutrients in vegies cannot be liquidified unless they are processed by the Vita Mix machine, I bought the works. Now, every day I get my 2 1/2 cups of vegies in 6 ounces of liquid, pulp and all. One of my favorite soups made in my ViaMix (so far since I just purchased the machine about 2 months ago) is Tomato Soup, with AnyWhey protein powder, real tomatoes, cheese, carrots, onions, coconut oil, and garlic. 5 minutes of mixing at top speed, and I have HOT YUMMY SOUP right in the mixer! Another one of my favorite green drinks is 1/2 cucumber (peel and all) and 1 apple (seeds, peel and all). Absolutely delicious! So, yes, you can juice and you should juice both your fruits and vegies daily. Besides, if you COOK the vegies, you destroy the nutrients: they are so much better raw. What is also great is that the juicing of fruits and vegetables counts towards your daily requirement of liquids whether it be 64 oz. or 96 oz. Stay clear of watermelon because that one is exhorbitantly high in sugar. If you wish to e-mail me I can respond in greater detail giving you resources which will really help you. [email protected].
   — Christine Gibson