You should expect bariatric surgery to change your diet forever. But some of those dietary changes likely will start before your surgery. Many medical centers require candidates for the weight-loss surgery to stick to a diet beforehand, in part to prove their willingness to make the changes they'll need to make after the surgery.
Function
In most cases, patients seek out bariatric surgery because they're extremely obese, and their weight threatens their health. In some cases, they have diabetes, high cholesterol and other conditions, such as sleep apnea, associated with extreme obesity. Bariatric surgery makes you lose weight by significantly restricting the amount of food you can eat at one time, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. In some cases, it also prevents you from absorbing some of the nutrients in the foods you do eat.
Basics
Because bariatric surgery can cost upward of $35,000, many health insurers place restrictions on who they allow to get the procedure. According to Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center, insurers and physicians may require you to follow a weight loss diet for three or six months before permitting you to get bariatric surgery. This weight loss diet should emphasize low-fat foods, especially fruits and vegetables.
Warning
Although it might be tempting to eat one or more "last meals," in which you gorge on large amounts of high-fat foods, you should resist this temptation, according to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. If you gain any weight in this pre-surgery phase, you'll just need to lose it afterward, and any additional weight can make your surgery more difficult and even more dangerous.
Pre-Operative
Although many programs encourage you or even require you to diet in the months prior to your bariatric surgery procedure, they don't list specific food requirements. But in the days immediately before your procedure, you'll need to follow a very specific liquid diet, according to the University of Mississippi Medical Center. One week before your surgery, you'll need to replace all your meals with the diet shake Slim-Fast or with the nutritional shake product Ensure. You can eat up to seven of these in one day, but you're not allowed to consume carbonated drinks, drinks with sugar, caffeine or whole milk. And you need to avoid solid foods completely.
Prevention/Solution
Losing just 10 or 20 lbs. prior to undergoing bariatric surgery can help your body cope with the effects of the surgery, according to the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. In addition, losing a few pounds can make it easier for your surgeon to perform your bariatric surgery procedure, since the excess weight often drops off your abdomen.
References
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseeases: Gastric Bypass
- Your Bariatric Surgery Guide.com: What Does Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery Cost?
- Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center: Program FAQs
- Upstate Medical University: Pre-Operative Phase - Gastric Bypass
- University of Mississippi: Bariatric Surgery Pre-Op Instructions
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