Hey all,
So I am confused.....I have a doctor who is very experienced and I feel very confident in.....but he told me that he does not need me to do a pre-op diet. My BMI is a little lower and I am Doing self pay, but I would still think this maybe would be necessary? Has anyone else had gastric sleeve without doing the pre-op liver shrinking diet?

Never heard of this but, if you’re worried I would just still to eating lean meats and veggies nothing else. Also drink lots of water and sugar free things just to be on the safe side.

My ex. doctor just wanted patients to eat low carb high protein and then clear liquid the day before, I found this out just before he kicked me to the curb. Current doctor, liquid diet before, length of time depends on BMI and physical condition. Any Help?

2 hours ago, Elle_Woods said:

For those who did not do a pre-op diet, did you doctor tell you to eat in any specific way? Were you supposed to lose weight before surgery anyway?

No to both. My insurance approval and surgery came very quickly. So I used the time to have food funerals, and I'm grateful I got that chance.

I would be cautious.

i believe everyone does a pr op, depending how much you wiegh

part of it is to reduce liver, the other part is to mentally prepare you to drinking food post op.

how much do you weigh?

be careful

I didn’t have to diet only 2 days of surgery prep

I didn’t have to do a diet either. I believe they have you on a diet to shrink your liver.

I’m 10 months post op and the pre op diet is very important. Acclimate to your new lifestyle and If you can’t stick to that diet you will be miserable post up

You will be fine....i didnt have one, im post op down 16lbs in 7 days.. its not that hard.

I will have a 4-week low-calorie pre-op diet specifically geared toward liver shrinkage. Here are the requirements:

Breakfast: 1 protein shake paired with fruit or vegetables

Lunch: 1 protein shake paired with fruit or vegetables

Snack: 1 low-fat dairy snack paired with fruit or vegetables

Dinner: 3oz. lean protein, 1 serving whole grain, and vegetables

Also, the dietician also said the protein shakes should contain:

less than 200 calories

greater than 25g protein

less than 10g of sugar

She specifically recommended Premier Protein shakes. I know they are less expensive other places, but I wanted to get the nutrition information to ensure they would meet the requirements. I have yet to try this brand, but chocolate is my favorite flavor of other brands, especially Adkins.

I just had one week of low carb.

I think the pre op diet was more for my own discipline. There are numerous studies that if shown that the liquid diet is not the most effective way to reduce the liver but it is the least intrusive and this most practical. One example is here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4709363/. But any decrease in size is a good thing in my opinion. I think the huge variation in surgeon requirements stems from a lot of things like the surgeon’s comfort level and what each surgeon has become accustomed to. I mean honestly, my surgeon didn’t know what my liver size was before surgery so who knows how much smaller it got in one week.

My pre-op diet will be 2 meals (mostly lean protein, some veggies) and 2 protein shakes for 2 weeks and clear liquids the day before. I asked my surgeon about the dreaded 2 week protein shake pre-op diet and he said that he only requires this pre-op diet when patients have very high BMIs.

I think that it's very helpful to learn about others' experiences, but can also be concerning when one person's experience differs greatly from another's. I wouldn't worry too much However, if you're still worried you could develop and follow your own low calorie/high protein diet pre-op diet.

For me, I'm okay with the requirements set by my surgeon. Some say it takes 21 days to form a habit and for me it's repetition. Besides, the more I lose pre-op, the less I have to lose post-op, right?

My pre-op diet was 7 days with only liquids, jello and broth. I'm on my 4th day. It's been hard but it seems to be getting better. I've lost 5 pounds. 3 more days to go then surgery!

6 hours ago, blondechic said:

My pre-op diet was 7 days with only liquids, Jello and broth. I'm on my 4th day. It's been hard but it seems to be getting better. I've lost 5 pounds. 3 more days to go then surgery!

You can do it! One fun thing that my mom taught me many. many years ago when I was not feeling well. What she would do is to make a two or three different flavor batches of jello and put them in a square or rectangular cake pan. After they have set, cut them into little cubes and serve all of the flavors at once. This way you have both a flavor and a color difference in your small portion-control container. My favorite combination was strawberry and lime. You could do this too with the ready-made jello cups. Just combine more than one flavor into your container.