Undergoing weight loss surgery is no small feat. It’s something that you need to prepare for well in advance to make sure your body is strong enough and has everything it needs to make a full recovery from the surgery.
This means that you are not only committing to a lifetime of lifestyle changes after the surgery, but you will need to make changes before the operation too. In this guide, you will find everything you need to know about the pre-bariatric surgery diet.
Why is a bariatric diet before surgery important?
In order to qualify for bariatric surgery, you need to meet a variety of requirements, one of which is the willingness to make long-term changes to your diet and lifestyle. But these changes actually start before you go for weight loss surgery.
The bariatric surgery pre-op diet’s main goal is to reduce the amount of fat in and around your liver. This decreases the chance of complications during weight loss surgery and sets you in good stead to make a speedy recovery.
Bariatric pre-op diet guidelines
Directly after your bariatric surgery, you will be asked to make some drastic changes, but many of them are only for a short period of time to ensure your body has the best chance to heal. After a couple of weeks, you will transition to a normal healthy diet which you should maintain throughout your life.
The guidelines given to you by your doctor will be specific to you, but these are the general dietary requirements for most people heading into bariatric surgery.
- You should try to completely eliminate any intake of saturated fatty acids. This includes those that could be consumed from fried foods, whole milk products as well as fatty meats.
- Supplement your diet with protein shakes.
- Completely eliminate foods that are very high in carbohydrates. This includes bread, potatoes, desserts, and pasta as well as sugary processed foods.
- Supplement your diet with daily multivitamins.
- Don’t drink your calories, so stay away from sugary cool drinks or juices.
- Avoid alcohol completely.
- Practice portion control, this will help to take some pressure off your body before surgery and also teach you how you will need to eat after the surgery is done as your body will not be able to handle as much food.
- Don’t smoke cigarettes.
- Avoid any other foods suggested by your doctor.
What to eat during a pre-op bariatric diet
Now that you know the general guidelines you will need to stick to for your diet before weight loss surgery, let’s take a look at what sort of foods you should be eating.
During the run-up to your bariatric surgery, try to stick to foods that are high in protein but low in calories, and that are easy for your body to digest. Protein shakes are suggested as a great option because they are easy to make and provide your body with the nourishment that it needs without overloading your system.
As the date of your surgery draws closer, you will likely need to move to a mostly liquid or all-liquid diet. This will depend on your overall health, but if doctors think your body might struggle with the surgery recovery, you may need to stick to an all-liquid diet.
Your doctor will prep you with guidance on how to eat for the 24 hours before your surgery. Your anesthesiologist may request that you drink a surgery carbohydrate-rich drink about 2 hours before the surgery, but don’t do this unless specifically requested.
Post-op diet for weight loss surgery
After weight loss surgery, your diet will progress in stages, gradually increasing the kinds of foods that you can eat. The main focus of this diet is to allow your body to heal, but also to train you in the ways you will need to eat going forward in order to keep losing weight.
The main focus is portion control and learning to be satisfied with eating smaller meals. Here are the phases that your doctor will likely recommend for bariatric surgery recovery.
Liquid diet
For your first few days after surgery, your doctor will likely recommend only clear liquids so that your body has the best chance of avoiding surgery complications. After a couple of days of clear liquids, you will likely graduate to incorporating other liquids such as thin soups or broth, sugar-free juice, decaffeinated coffee or tea, and sugar-free gelatin.
Puréed diet
Once your doctor has approved you to move on to the next phase of the post-op diet, you will move on to puréed foods. These are foods that can be puréed into a thick yet liquid consistency, like that of pudding.
This can be done at home with a variety of fruits and vegetables. It’s important that during this stage you ensure you are still getting a variety of nutrients into your body. Try to incorporate fruits, vegetables and protein into this stage of your diet.
Soft foods diet
After a few weeks on a puréed diet, your doctor will give you the go-ahead to move on to a soft foods diet. This will consist of soft foods such as boiled eggs, steamed white fish, canned fruits, and ground meat. It’s important to control your portions at this stage to ensure you are maintaining a healthy caloric intake.
Stabilization diet
About 2 months after surgery, your doctor will give you the go-ahead to start introducing hard foods back into your diet. You will still need to chop the food up into small sizes to avoid blockages and keep your portion sizes small because your stomach will no longer be able to handle big portions.
Ending thoughts on your diet before bariatric surgery
Now that you know just how big of a lifestyle change you will undergo, not only after but even before your bariatric surgery, you know it’s not a decision to be made lightly. That being said, it will change your life in the best way possible.
Although it will feel challenging at the time, it will provide you with the opportunity to make a permanent lifestyle change for the better. Are you ready to live your healthiest life? Get in touch with our team and discuss your weight loss surgery options today.