Pre-Surgery Diet for Gastric Bypass and Lap-Band

 The bariatric pre-surgery diet is low in carbohydrates and high in protein. The purpose of this diet is to use up the glycogen (stored carbohydrates) in your liver. Depleting your liver’s glycogen stores will shrink the liver so it does not have to be moved during surgery.

You should follow this diet for 14 days prior to surgery. The day before surgery, however, you will be drinking sugar-free clear liquids and doing your bowel preparation.

The pre-surgery diet consists of the following nutrients each day:

• Carbohydrates: No More Than 30 grams
• Protein: Approximately 80 grams (exact amount not important)
• Fat: Approximately 60 grams (exact amount not important)

Your main focus will be on limiting carbohydrates; the protein and fat will follow. You can achieve this by basing your diet on non-carbohydrate foods (see next page) and limiting your carbohydrate foods. If you choose to consume low carbohydrate, high protein drinks or bars during this diet be sure to read the nutrition label for exact carbohydrate content. This diet is not healthy for long-term use.

Carbohydrate Foods: (Limit to one or no servings each day)

Each serving contains approximately 15 grams of carbohydrate and some protein

Food	Serving
Bread	1 slice
Cereal	½ cup
Pasta	½ cup
Rice	1/3 cup
Beans (ex. Kidney, garbanzo, lentils, pinto)	½ cup
Starchy vegetables (corn, peas, potatoes, squash)	½ cup
Fruit (fruits contain no protein)	1 medium piece or ½ cup canned without added sugar
Juice	½ cup
Milk	1 cup
Yogurt	1 cup
Sweets (ex. candy, cake, cookies)	Varies (best to avoid these)

Limited and Non-Carbohydrate Foods:

These foods have very little or no carbohydrates and varying amounts of protein.

Food	Serving Size	Carbohydrate Amount
Beef, pork, fish, poultry	3 oz.	None
Cheese *	1 oz.	0 - 2 grams
Cottage cheese *	½ cup	4 grams
Egg or ¼ cup egg substitute	1 each	None
Peanut Butter *	1 Tbsp.	3 grams
Vegetables (non starchy)*	1 cup raw or ½ cup cooked	Varies (1 – 3 grams)
Fats (butter, margarine, oils)	1 tsp.	None
Sugar-free: jello, popsicles, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, broth, tea	Variable	None

Serving sizes:

It is important to know standard serving sizes. The following are some helpful hints; however, measuring your food is best.

• 3 oz. meat - size of deck of cards
• 1 Serving fruit or vegetable - size of your fist or a tennis ball
• 1 Serving bread or potato - size of cassette tape
• 1 Serving pasta, rice, cereal or bagel - size of hockey puck
• 1 Serving cheese - size of your thumb or four dice

The following is one sample menu suggestion. If you do not typically eat this much at meals, decrease portions as needed. The main consideration for this sample menu, and during this phase of your diet is to keep your carbohydrate intake to 30 grams per day or less. The amount of protein and fat in your diet does not need to be counted.

Sample Menu:

Reading and understanding the Nutrition Label is essential. The Nutrition Label indicates the amount of carbohydrates in the food. Start by looking at the "Total Carbohydrate" number on the Label, and then check the serving size or portion. If the food contains fiber, this amount can be subtracted from the total carbohydrate number since the body does not absorb it. Similarly for sugar alcohols, the body absorbs about half of the calories, but these substances are not absorbed like a typical carbohydrate and can also be subtracted from the total carbohydrate number. Because of the recent craze of Low-Carb diets, there are numerous products on the market that state a ‘Net Carb’ amount on the package. You CAN use the net carb number (be sure to check the serving size) as your total carbohydrate amount.