If You are Overweight Prior to Surgery

Eating a balanced diet and making sure you consume a range of key nutrients (carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals) will help your body heal and recover after your surgery, regain your strength and energy and lower your risk of complication. Your body burns a lot of energy during and after surgery — so fuel up by increasing your calories from nutrient -packed foods. Your body also has increased protein needs for healing. So increasing the protein in your diet is important.

If you are overweight, losing weight prior to surgery is the healthy thing to do. Making small changes to your eating and exercise habits can make a big difference. It can help you shed enough excess weight in the weeks or months before your surgery to make a difference in your recovery. And, you don’t necessarily need to achieve your ideal body weight right away. Losing even a portion of your excess body weight may lower your risk of complications during or after surgery. If your BMI is above 27, we recommend that you consider losing 3-5% of your current weight.

• Eat at least 3 times a day.
• Pay attention to your body. When you feel you have had enough to eat, stop. Quit before you feel full.
• If you still feel hungry, wait 15 minutes before you have more food. If not true hunger, cravings will go away.
• Drink plenty of calorie free drinks or choose to just drink water.
• Focus on adequate protein: Choose lean meats, fish, and seafood, low or non-fat cheese, fat free milk products or soy milk, Greek yogurt, beans/peas/lentils, ¼ cup nuts or 2 Tbsp. nut butter
• Try a protein bar with more than 7 grams of protein/serving and less than 150 calories/snack (meal <300>
• Choose ample fiber: vegetables, fruits and whole grains are good sources.
• Reduce sugar.
• Limit alcohol.
• Keep all food in the kitchen, only eat in a chosen place, and keep food on the stove to avoid unnecessary seconds.
• Prepare meals without added fat and sugar.

How can you minimize muscle mass loss?

• Add more physical activity to your day.
• Eat a varied and healthy diet with adequate lean protein.

The goal is to lose 1-2 lbs of weight per week leading up to surgery unless otherwise directed by your physician.