There are many things that you can do prior to surgery to prepare. Control of your body and weight is the very first step! You have already accomplished this because you are on the road to making one of the best decisions of your life…to improve your quality of life – Bariatric surgery.
Surgeons advise patients to follow good nutrition by consuming a variety of quality foods, staying well hydrated, getting good sleep and promoting healthy weight loss pre-operatively. There are many guidelines that you will need to follow after surgery, so becoming familiar and practicing these rules is also a must. Patients should do all their food, fluid, vitamin/mineral and protein supplementation shopping before surgery. The idea is to alleviate any stress once you are home from surgery. Set yourself up for success right from the beginning by planning ahead and allowing yourself time to heal and relax once surgery is over.
Many surgeons advise their patients on the many benefits of weight loss prior to surgery. One of the best ways to do this, while promoting good nutrition is by using the VHP – very high protein shakes. The VHP shakes are complete high protein meal replacements. We usually recommend drinking these shakes for breakfast and lunch and then eating a small sensible high protein, low carbohydrate diet. Weight loss prior to surgery has been shown to decrease the size of your liver and make it easier for the surgeon to perform your surgery.