The Pre-Op Liquid Diet

So I was just reading a study that was published back in 2005 in the Journal of Obesity Surgery. I've had this document bookmarked for a while, but just now got around to reading it. You know I'm a geek, right! But seriously... this study got me excited. So I'm sharing it with you!!

Here's the link to the study

The Impact of Preoperative Weight Loss in Patients Undergoing Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass

Study Results:

Preoperative loss of 1% of initial weight correlated with an increase of 1.8% of postoperative EWL at 1 year. In addition, initial BMI correlated negatively with EWL, so that an increase of 1 unit of BMI correlated with a decrease of 1.34% of EWL. Finally, preoperative weight loss of >5% correlated significantly with shorter operative times by 36 minutes. 

In Layman's Terms:

• For every 1% of your weight you lose on your pre-op diet and see an increased weight loss of 1.8% over non-losers at 12 months post-op. So if you weigh 300 pounds and lose 1.5 pounds (1% ewl), that means at 1 year post-op, you'd lose an extra 3 pounds over friend friend who didn't lose anything pre-op. 
• Gain 1 BMI point pre-op and see a reduced weight loss of 1.34% at 12 months post-op over the losers.
• Lose more than 5% of your excess weight pre-op and you're on the operating table for 36 minutes less than other folks. 

Isn't that exciting news! Makes that horrible pre-op diet worth it!

~Pam