What happens if I don’t do the Preop Diet before Weight Loss Surgery?
Following the preop diet for your weight loss surgery, designed by your Surgeon or Doctor is very important for a successful bariatric surgery. Many patients decide to have weight loss surgery and these patients must realize that by making this important decision to have surgery, a commitment and investment is required for success. Patients that are having weight loss surgery in Mexico must be prepared for all steps of the weight loss journey both before and after the surgery. Every step is important, starting with the preop diet.
There many good reasons to follow your Doctor or Bariatric Surgeons Pre-Operative Diet before Weight Loss Surgery. Here are a few…
- The preop diet is designed to shrink the patients fatty liver. For pre weight loss surgery patients, it is necessary to shrink the patients enlarged fatty liver. Most obese patients have an enlarged fatty liver due to their eating habits and being overweight. The fatty liver can cover up to the entire stomach thus making the laparoscopic surgery more complicated. Your Bariatric surgeon may need to make an extra incision in order to lift liver and have better access to your stomach, if you do not follow the preop diet. This may lead to additional surgery time and a longer recovery.
- The preop diet is important to help the patient mentally and physically prepare for the surgery and the post-operatory stages. The patient should consider the pre- op diet to be a training period that helps their body adjust to smaller food portions, healthier food choices and avoid going through a so-called “withdrawal effect” during the post-operatory stage. “Withdrawal effect” happens when we change our diet not gradually but abruptly, thus consuming less nutrients which causes head-aches, general weakness, and tiredness. The longer a patient follows the pre-op diet, the less likely he is to have a “withdrawal effect” during the post-op stage.
- The preop diet will help the patient lose weight.
- The preop diet helps reduce the amount of abdominal fat the patient carries in their abdomen prior to surgery thus making the surgery easier for the surgeon and less risky for the patient.
- The preop diet eliminates the sugars from the body. Our body takes up to two weeks to eliminate the craving and addiction to sugar. The preop diet since it is typically sugar free, helps the transition phase and allows our body to discharge the sugars in our system and during the preop phase it is easier to deal with the sugar withdrawal rather than after surgery during a stringent postop diet phase. Thus the preop diet makes our life after surgery easier, due to the fact we will have eliminated the desire to eat sugars after surgery.
- The preop diet helps with the patient’s hormone control. Bariatric Pre-op diets typically helps to control complicated hormone systems in our body that are responsible for causing obesity (for example our insulin levels).
- The preop diet is designed to teach the patient how to eat after surgery. Post weight loss surgery in Mexico, and during the weight loss phase it will be important for the patient to eat lean protein, green vegetables and salad with lite dressing. The preop diet helps prepare the patient for their weight loss phase after surgery.
- And finally the preop diet helps patients have faster recovery due to the high amount of protein in their bodies.
According to Dr. Juan Hidalgo, Bariatric Surgeon at Weight Loss Team, located at the CMQ family of hospitals in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, it is ideal for a patient to start the preop diet as soon as he or she has made the decision to have Weight Loss Surgery. The higher the BMI, and the longer the prop diet is followed will allow for the patient to be better prepared for their surgery. Patients need to follow the PREOP DIET a minimum of 2 weeks or more obviously depending on the patients starting weight. A patient with an extra high BMI (60 or more) will need to discuss the length and amount of time that would be required for their preop diet with their Bariatric Surgeons office. For these high BMI’s, the patient should expect to follow the diet for at least 12 weeks (3 months prior to surgery) minimum.
Both the Pre-Op diet and the Post diets will focus on lean protein as it mains source of nutrients. This is because the patient’s body needs lean protein to function properly. Protein will also not only help create weight loss but also improve wound healing as well as the maintenance of muscle tissue and helps the patient avoid hair loss post-surgery.
No matter which Weight Loss Procedure patients decide to have, it is important to progress gradually through all the stages to prepare for surgery. This way the patient’s body will be ready and will have the time to heal and adjust to all the changes.
So to wrap up yes it is important to follow your doctor’s preop diet and a failure to do so may lead to surgery complications and hardships for your recovery.
For more information regarding Clinics/ Hospitals and Weight Loss Options mentioned in this article:
Weight Loss Team – Bariatric Surgery Center at the CMQ Family of Hospitals
Website: www.weightlossteam.com/
Email: info@weightlossteam.com
Telephone: Toll free 1(800) 404-9064 or + 1(818) 949-6911
