diet before surgery

Does anyone know of a safe weight loss program prior to surgery.
I am quite overweight and wanted to lose weight before my surgery. I only have just under 4 weeks and so far I've only lost 4lbs. I'm walking 4 miles a day and restricting my caloric intake to about 1500 cals. I'm trying to do this right but I really would like to have 20 lbs off before surgery.
My doctor agreed with me and now I have to figure out how to do it. I've searched the net for safe (short-term) programs as I want to return to a regular weight loss program post op so I just need something for a few weeks.
Anyone out there have any suggestions or diet recommended by their physicians.

Just my opinion...I loved South Beach...it's much healthier than Atkins and I lost 11lbs in the first 2 weeks!

Thanks crmaan. I"ve been looking at that one but I'm still a bit concerned about some aspects of rapid weight loss before surgery and the effects on your electrolytes.

Hi Sande5, I too needed to lose weight and have lost 50 lbs over the last year on a low fat vegetarian diet..I know how important nutrition is during times of stress and healing so I recently added in good fats and meat protein....I spoke to a dietician and she said I'd need 3 serving of protein/day post surgery to boost my immune system and heal properly..there is no way I'm eating tofu 3X/day! The bottom line for me is that this is not the right time to focus on weight loss but to get as much nutrition as possible in the foods I now eat.....so that I have a healthy immune system to fight off infection and recover as quickly as possible. Sure I'd love to be 30lbs lighter but if that means compromising my immune system and taking much longer to heal then it's just not worth it.

Thanks healingangels. I was a bit down this morning as I looked at my scale and noticed I hadn't lost a pound last week. I've been walking 3-4 miles a day and have been eating a very healthy 1500 cals a day. I feel great and I really thought I'd have lost some weight this week but nothing. I am really trying to get in better shaper prior to the big day. The more I walked and thought about it, the more I realized that I'll keep doing what I'm doing and if I don't see the numbers going down, I at least know that my heart will be in great shape with the increased exercise and I'll be able to get moving much faster.
I too am just not willing to risk doing anything that will make my recovery slower. I have a daughter getting married three weeks after my surgery and another daughter due four weeks after my surgery so I've got to be healed well by that point.

Thanks again for your advice. I love this site

For now Sandee5 stop looking at the scale and think NUTRITION...I only weighed myself once every 2 months or when I was "swimming" in my clothes...I went from a size 24 to 18. I'm disabled and can only walk short distances so I did Leslie Sansone's walking tapes at my own speed and ate 1500+ calories.. slow but sure! I'm looking forward to 3 weeks rest and then starting up diet/exercise all over again.

I agree. I too carry extra pounds and have a hard time to keep it off. If you are doing a lot of walking you may be building some muscle and they say muscle weighs more than fat. I have also stopped looking at the scale and look at how my clothes fit and how easily I am handling the exercise. I have found that nutrition is so important. Our oldest DD is a type 1 diabetic and we have learned a lot about the importance of a balance healthy diet....

Now it is time for my daily ration of chocolate!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by sande5 Does anyone know of a safe weight loss program prior to surgery. I am quite overweight and wanted to lose weight before my surgery. I only have just under 4 weeks and so far I've only lost 4lbs. I'm walking 4 miles a day and restricting my caloric intake to about 1500 cals. I'm trying to do this right but I really would like to have 20 lbs off before surgery. My doctor agreed with me and now I have to figure out how to do it. I've searched the net for safe (short-term) programs as I want to return to a regular weight loss program post op so I just need something for a few weeks. Anyone out there have any suggestions or diet recommended by their physicians.

If yor Dr feels you need to loose weight, prior to sugery I have two questions:

1) Did he/she give you a diet and exercise plan?

2) What happens if you show up, day of surgery at your current weight?