Obesity Surgery
It is important to follow a diet before bariatric surgery and prepare the body for surgery. After the operation, your existing diet will change radically. In order for this transition not to be too harsh, it is necessary to diet for a certain period of time. Many foods consumed before the surgery are either not consumed at all or need to be interrupted for a long time. In this process, a diet is applied to avoid difficulties and to prepare the body for surgery. In addition, pre-operative diet provides convenience according to the type of surgery, especially since it will reduce the fat in the abdomen and liver. The diets to be followed before the surgery vary in duration according to the obesity surgery to be performed.
- Diet should be started at least 2 or 3 weeks before gastric band surgery.
- Tube stomach and gastritis bypass patients should start dieting at least 4 weeks before.
It is very important to have a diet before obesity surgery to prepare your body for the surgery, to heal faster, to lose more weight and to adapt more easily to your diet that will change after the surgery. It is very important to reduce abdominal and liver fat caused by excess weight with diets made before the surgery to minimize possible complications after the operation. Patients who become obese by gaining excessive weight usually have psychological problems such as emotional eating disorder. At this stage, meeting with a specialist psychologist or psychiatrist before the operation will allow you to solve this problem fundamentally. At this point, it will be much easier for those who solve the problem of psychological eating disorder to diet before the operation. The main points you need to pay attention to before the operation are;
- Avoiding the urge to overeat.
- Reducing your portions
- Avoiding high-carbohydrate food consumption
- Stop using saturated fat throughout your diet
- Not consuming packaged ready-to-eat foods as much as possible.
- Not consuming foods with high sugar content.
- You should include mainly protein and vegetables in your diet.
- Avoid substances such as alcohol and cigarettes.
- Consumption of soda should be stopped.
- Semi-solid foods should be consumed in the last 2 days before surgery.
- Rich protein contents such as red meat, fish, chicken should be consumed.
- Lots of milk and dairy products should be consumed.
- Legumes such as dry beans, chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans should be consumed.
- Care should be taken to consume protein-rich eggs.
- Additional protein powder supplements can be taken to protein consumption
- Avoid doughy foods such as pizza, bread, hamburger.
- Nuts with high fat content should not be consumed.
- Fried products such as potatoes and sausages should not be preferred.
- Food and beverages containing high fat should not be used.
The Purpose Of The Diet Applied Before The Operation
The main purpose of the diet applied before bariatric surgery is to reduce the amount of fat present.
- Especially the reduction of liver and intra-abdominal fat facilitates the application of laparoscopic procedures.
- During the diet, it is aimed to lose fat instead of muscle loss by consuming foods high in protein instead of high-carbohydrate foods.
- Those who will undergo obesity surgery should follow a diet of 900 to 1200 calories with at least 60 to 90 grams of protein per day, accompanied by a specialist dietitian, at least 2 weeks before the date of surgery.
- Another purpose of preoperative diet is to reduce the risks associated with the surgery.
- Pre-operative diet will make it easier for the patient to get used to the new diet in order not to make a sudden transition to the new diet after the surgery.
- Applying physical activities together with diet before the operation will enable the patient to recover faster.
- Avoiding smoking and alcohol during this diet phase and not consuming it after the operation will increase your recovery speed. After the operation, alcohol should not be used for a certain period of time.
- Plenty of fluid consumption while following a diet before the operation facilitates the transition to liquid nutrition for a while after the operation and minimizes the possibility of edema retention.
- Since liquid foods leave the stomach more quickly, the feeling of bloating is less experienced.
- The herbal teas you will consume during the diet will speed up your metabolism and facilitate your digestion.
Preoperative Nutrition Principle
After obesity surgery, your existing diet will change completely. If needed, you can get treatment from a specialist psychologist before the operation. This process is a bit difficult and is a long road. In order to take firm steps on this road, you should solve your psychological problems before your surgery and apply a diet to get used to your new eating order. In order to adapt to your basic nutritional principles after the operation, you need to start applying these principles in your life before the operation. These nutritional principles are;
- Consuming foods with high protein content
- Consuming low-carbohydrate foods, if possible, not at all
- Eating regular meals
- Low-calorie or no-calorie fluid consumption
- Consuming at least 2.5-3 liters of water daily
- Avoiding packaged and ready-to-eat foods
- Not consuming acidic drinks and alcohol
- Consuming plenty of vegetables and fruits with low sugar
- Reducing the portions
Starting to apply these principles in your life before the operation will reduce the risks that may occur during the operation and will make it easier for you to get used to your new diet after the operation. In particular, patients with a BMI of 50 and above should be fed in line with these principles before the operation, which will increase their recovery rate after the operation.