How To Prepare For Bariatric Surgery
Preparing properly for the weight loss surgery will help you to –
- Feel secure and avoid stress,
- Prevent risks of complications during and after the surgery,
- Get ready physically and mentally for continuous dietary and lifestyle change.
The most important cornerstones of preparing:
- Understanding your individual reasons of obesity. Analysing your daily habits and reasons of obesity will help you focus on the most damaging issues after the surgery. Are you overeating or eating unhealthy, lots of sweetened sodas or other high calorie products, irregular and large meals, stress at work or home and eating as a compensation, intense work routine, lack of physical activity. These are all factors that you can control. Find your hidden ‘inner dragons’ and prepare a plan how you will fight them!
- Information. Your surgeon is going to discuss the surgery and all related issues before the surgery. However, researching the types of surgeries, benefits and risks, continuous lifestyle prior making the final decision is essential to avoid lack of knowledge and to prepare yourself seriously for the weight loss journey and your new life. Read more about the post bariatric lifestyle on our blog!
- Pre-operation diet. Our expert bariatric team recommends starting a protein high and low sugar, low fat and low carbohydrates pre-operation diet at least two to three weeks prior the surgery or earlier, if the surgeons require.
The purpose of the diet is:
- Reducing body fat and shrinking the liver. Reducing the body fat in the abdomen and liver increases patient’s safety during the surgery and shortens the length of the operation,
- Preserving and protecting muscle tissue. Increased protein intake keeps the body away from using muscle tissue as an energy source on a reduced calorie diet, and burn fat instead,
- Preparing the body for surgery and recovery. Eating healthy, increasing protein intake, as well as taking vitamin and mineral supplements will help the body heal and recover after surgery,
- Preparing your body and mind for post-surgery diet. The pre-op diet is very similar to the post-surgery diet (reduced calories, high-protein, low-fat, low-carbohydrate).
Read more about dietary guidelines here.
- Aim to stop smoking. Smoking may increase the risk of blood clots during and after the surgery.
- Increase physical activities at least a little. If you have not found, what kind of activities you like, start with longer walks. Moving at least 20-30 minutes a day will reduce the risk of early complications and will help you get used to physical activities.
- Plan at least 2 weeks free to start your new life. The first 6-7 days will be for the surgery journey. And it is absolutely recommended for you to rest another week or two at home just to recover after the surgery and get used to new life and routine.
- Plan your post-operation meals. Be sure you will have all necessary for first days meals after coming back home.
Asking questions to a specialist is always the best way to find out more. Our expert bariatric team will help you to make the right decision!
Apply for a free consultation about bariatric surgery here!
