Keto diet before surgery

[Aprilaaa 1]

Has anyone or is anyone doing Keto diet or low carb diet to drop pounds before surgery? I need to lose some pounds before my preop appt but I dont know if this type of diet is dangerous to do before surgery. Im wondering if anyone has any experience with this?

[Creekimp13 5,841]

Lots of people do low carb before surgery (and many do after as well). Hopefully, you're talking regularly to a dietitian and can discuss the best guidelines to follow.

[Fallinfast 7]

So most preop diets are there for 2 reasons... to see if you will comply after surgery and to shrink your liver. Doing Keto high fat, low carb isn't going to shrink your liver.

I can lose like crazy in Keto but it always comes back as soon as I am out of Keto. You can reach Keto without the high fat when you do liquids.

[RickM 1,753]

As noted, some programs do low carb as a pre-op diet to improve liver condition prior to surgery. Low carb can help you lose a bit quicker initially as it promotes some additional Water weight loss, so if you are trying to game the system to make a certain weight by a certain time, it's a good way to do that. But, as Fallingfast has found, since it's mostly water weight, it comes back as soon as you stop.

And, if you are doing true Keto as in high fat, low carb, moderate Protein, it's not so good as a long term weight loss diet owing to its high caloric density. Indeed, the clinical use for such high fat, low carb diets is to avoid or minimize weight loss after a non-WLS stomach surgery.

[EsoKev 94]

My surgical team uses a low carb/keto approach instead of the liquid diet. The had me at no more than 60 grams net carbs per day. They've found that the patients seem to be able to handle it better than the liquid diet, and it has the same effect on the liver. You just have to do it longer than a liquid diet. I'm surprised by how good I feel on it (once I was past the initial stages of getting used to it). However, I don't think it's all that sustainable as a permanent lifestyle, though I'm sure some will disagree with me on that.

[Beta98 93]

Talk to your nutritionist / dietician. Mine gave me a low carb plan to follow. when I'm 3 - 4 weeks from surgery they will change it to another more restrictive plan, and then when I'm 1 week before surgery the liquid plan. They have a reason behind each phase.

[GamePlan18 24]

Yes, that’s the diet my Dr and NUT recommended to lose the 12lbs he required before the end of my 6 month insurance program.