Essential bariatric nutrition guidelines before surgery
Once you decide to undergo bariatric surgery, you must keep in mind that your lifestyle shortly will change a lot. The bariatric nutrition guidelines we share here will help you a lot to start the way through your surgery day.
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This transformation should start even before your surgery. You will have to make changes in what you eat, according to your surgeon’s indications. The success or failure of your bariatric surgery will lay on these preop nutrition changes.
REMEMBER: This information on diets prior to weight loss surgery is merely indicative. You should consult your bariatric surgeon to give you the necessary and personalized indications, attending to your health needs and requirements.
Starts four weeks before your surgery
Any kind of weight loss surgery requires a strict, low-calorie diet for approximately 2 to 4 weeks before. With this diet you are expected to lose between 15 and 45 lb.
This weight loss will help to decrease the volume of the liver, the fat that surrounds the intestines, and the fat of the abdominal wall. All this will make you have a softer abdomen so that your surgery will be easier.
Follow a meal plan to reduce risks in surgery
You need to have a regimen that provides you around 800 to 1,000 kilocalories in which you consume healthy food and plenty of fluids.
As we said, with this type of diet your liver size will be smaller before surgery. As this organ is close to the stomach and is generally larger when you are obese, a smaller liver means less chance of complications during surgery.
Just as important as what you eat is how you eat it, and beverages must be regulated as well as solid foods.
Why should I follow these bariatric nutrition guidelines?
- They help you to prevent nutritional deficiencies that may result from a decreased intake of food, maldigestion and/or malabsorption of nutrients
- Help to achieve the maximum amount of weight loss
- Prevent nausea, vomiting, dehydration, hair-loss, dumping syndrome and other potential side effects
Adopting some of this eating practices also will help you
Start making changes weeks before your surgery is crucial to help you prepare for your new lifestyle. Therefore, we recomended you to adopt these eating practices as soon as possible once you have a surgery date:
- Chew your food thoroughly. This becomes very important after surgery. With the reduction in the size of your stomach and other changes in your anatomy you must be able to chew food to a liquid consistency before swallowing.
- Practice eating slowly and stop eating when you feel full or comfortably satisfied. After surgery, it is important to eat slowly in order to recognize your feeling of fullness and prevent intolerance. When you feel a pressure in your upper stomach area, this will be your new full feeling.
- Practice sipping beverages slowly and drink between meals. Drinking too quickly, gulping and/or drinking too soon after eating solid food may cause pain, discomfort or other intolerances.
- Drink adequate amounts of fluids to prevent dehydration. Fluid needs are individual and some people may require more fluid to maintain adequate hydration than others.
- Stop drinking beverages containing carbonation, caffeine, sugar and alcohol. Carbonation may cause abdominal discomfort and may stretch out your new stomach over time. Caffeine may irritate the stomach and increase your risk for an ulcer after surgery. Caffeine as well as alcohol may also contribute to dehydration. Beverages containing sugar and alcohol are high in calories and will hinder your weight loss.
Social support is associated with successful weight loss after surgery
Involve family and friends in appointments before and after surgery will help you a lot. They encourage and help you achieve your goals for a healthier lifestyle. Also, multiple studies show Support Group attendance after weight loss surgery is associated with greater post-operative weight loss.
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