Diet Before Weight Loss Surgery

One of the things you may have to do before weight loss surgery is to maintain a special diet that can help you lose a portion of your pre-surgical body weight. There are many reasons for this.

First, your bariatric surgeon may want you to lose some of your excess weight before surgery for safety reasons. In some cases, you will be expected to lose as much as 8% of your pre-surgery weight. Losing weight before surgery can cut down on complications. For example, your liver is given time to shrink. Your surgeon will also be able to use smaller incisions. Studies have shown that losing even 15 pounds before surgery can lead to better outcomes.

In other cases, insurers will require that patients pursue a supervised medical weight loss program for six months before they will pay for bariatric surgery.

The actual diet you will be on depends on your doctor. Your doctor may prescribe a low-fat, high protein diet for several weeks before surgery. Usually, people on these diets will consume around 1000 calories a day, and 100 grams of protein.

Another option is a liquid diet. With this sort of diet, you will consume high protein, low calorie shakes in order to lose weight before surgery. These shakes may be prescribed by your doctor. There are also shakes that can be purchased over the counter here in Ann Arbor.

In the week immediately before surgery, you will most likely be on a full liquid diet. This diet restricts you to only foods which are liquid at room temperature. In the 24 to 48 hours before surgery, you will consume only clear liquids. These include chicken broth, jello and clear juices.