How much weight loss prior to surgery?

I am curious as to how much weight your surgeon and/or ins. required you to lose prior to surgery?

My insurance (United) didn;t require any weight loss prior to surgery. My surgeon did not require a particular amount to be lost prior to surgery either. I was just asked to follow a low-fat diet. To be honest, I didn't really follow the diet until I had a surgery date set. I ended up losing 9 lbs in 2 weeks.

--Christina

The amount varies by Doctor and Insurance requirements.

The main reason for weight loss prior to surgery is to shrink the liver.  The Liver is the FIRST place fat is stored in your body.  But doing the no-fat liquid diet, your liver shrinks a large amount.

The shrunken liver is a good thing because MOST of the surgical procedure is done under the liver, and it makes it easier for the doctor to move it out of the way because it is smaller than it "normally" would be.

So, stick to whatever to surgeon says - after all, you want him comfortable doing the surgery as well.  He knows what has worked for him in the past.

Sorry if my question seemed as though I was challenging my surgeon's request.  I realize that every surgeon and/or insurance company is different.

I believe that with my surgeon's request, he wants to be sure that good eating and exercise habits are in place prior to surgery.  I agree with this whole heartedly and feel that this will allow for me to have the most successful long-term experience.  My liver has never been mentioned so although it would be beneficial for it to shrink, I was never led to believe that was the only reason why he wanted the weight loss.

I was just interested in hearing other's experiences as it seems very unique to each person. 

GHI doesn't require me to lose any weight, but my surgeon does require that I lose 5% of my body weight which comes out to be about 12-15 lbs. He mentioned that shrinking the liver made it easier to navigate and that was the only reason he requires it.

Hi SHAMMY!

Here is my typical reply, the short answer though is typically 10% of bodywt.....Some folks have had to for specific individual reasons lose greater amounts. I have seen up to 100# to be safe for surgry and folks manage to do it! (those with BMIS in the 60-70's)

WT LOSS BEFORE SURGERY/MOTIVATION/AVOIDING THE LAST SUPPER SYNDROME
In our program we are required to loose 10% of our body wt before surgery....
Loosing weight pre-op is required by many surgeons & for many reasons... and I am so happy I did!
1.. to show motivation,
2.. ability to adhere to a plan (as we will need to for life!), if you can't be mindful and able to follow restrictions pre-op how will you do it post-op?
3.. to increase your health even a modest 5-10% wt. loss is very helpful, the National Institute of health has even researched this...(hence why weigh****chers is so focused on the 10% wt loss)
4.. decreases surgical complications (by exercise and decrease wt your heart and lungs are in better shape for surgery, anesthesia and healing!)...
5.. Also psychologically it is tough going from a super-sized big Mac meal to clear liquids for 2 weeks post-op!
6.. ***MAIN ONE FOR PROTEIN SPARING or MEDIFAST DIETING***It helps shrink the liver and this eases their surgical procedure and decreases chance of nicking it....
7.. exercising before helps you continue after!
8..The more you lose pre-op the less you will have to lose post-op and the closer to an ideal body-wt you will attain!

I lost the weight by doing the food pyramid. That's it, I was eating so bad (fast food daily, large portions, consuming every high-fat/sugar thing imaginable and NOT exercising that just cutting down and walking 2 miles a day helped!

For ME, it was "no one" was going to stop me from having this operation, it was my decision and all that was asked of me was to loose 30 lbs, I figured this is a small price for such a wonderful gift I would be given and the opportunity to have a healthier happier longer life....! I was so motivated/psyched; I dropped 30 pounds in 30 days and went on to drop 15 more before surgery! (Although this took me 2 months, as it got harder and I had a few last meals, we all do but you can't let this ruin your opportunity!) I believe it is what allowed me to get to a normal BMI as well! And it is not unheard of for surgeons to postpone or cancel surgeries if one gains weight!!!

Exercise was another key; I faithfully walked 2 miles everyday..it helped that my mom went with me a lot! (a buddy is so helpful!) I followed the food pyramid given to me by clinical nutritionist Dr. Boham...I also wrote everything down (Many find www.fitday.com helpful for this) that went in my MOUTH!!! Or you can get food pyramid/bullseye version at: http://www.xenical.com/hcp/1400_Am_Beye.pdf


I also had to remind myself how BAD I wanted this! Everyday it was/had to be more important to me to change my bad habits and lose weight to have this surgery than to continue to slowly kill myself with food/keep myself from the only hope I had!. I also told everyone about my plans and they helped support me, my friends/family and coworkers! I really can't give you any more guidance than this, it really had to come from within, it was a mindset with me, and I wanted this BAD real bad and I knew it was my last resort/chance! I felt invigorated and motivated by the end results...the long-term had to outweigh the short-term gratification of eating bad choices or overeating! It was a learning opportunity for me to change my habits and practice chewing well, not drinking with meals and eating smaller portions, giving up sugar/caffeine/carbonation/alcohol (if any of those are your issues, carbonation/caffeine/alcohol weren't issues for me)!

So a few weeks/months of healthy habits to lose pre-op wt is not a lot if you frame it right! IT IS NOT FOREVER and it is about starting this journey!

Your posts always give me a boost, Jamie! Thanks! Jen

Thanks for all of your answers!  I am now soda, caffeine, sugar, chocolate and ice cream free. 

Every day is a struggle, but ya know what?  I realized that it was out of habit that I was reaching for these things.  I don't miss soda and coffee at all!  They were simply a part of my routine and now that I've broken that routine--I hope to never ever go back!

I too was required to lose 10% of my weight. I am being operated on at Albany Medical Center. Its best to lose as much weight as possible before surgery :) I have MVP and their requirement was 10% although Albany Med would have asked for that amount to be lost anyway. Good luck!

From what I've read, most programs will get you through whatever your insurance requires. That could be 10%, 50 pounds or even just supervised diet with no weight loss.