The good news is there is usually no pre–operative diet required prior to the insertion of a gastric balloon. Inserting a balloon is a non–surgical procedure so it is not necessary to shrink the liver prior to surgery unlike the other weight loss surgery procedures.
However, it is a good time a week or two before the procedure to start making changes to your diet to help you adjust more easily after the balloon is in place. It also means you can plan for after the procedure rather than having to sort everything once the balloon is placed. Try the following top tips to help:
- Buy in some smaller plates and even smaller cutlery to help with your portion sizes after the procedure. A 6-inch plate would be about the right size – that’s the size of the part where the food goes not the rim.
- Get in some nourishing protein containing liquids ready for just after the procedure when you will be on liquids only – meal replacement, milk, pulse based, smooth soups for example. A blender will be also useful at this stage.
- Normally you will progress onto a soft, sloppy diet like Weetabix, scrambled eggs etc.
- Start to think about your new healthy eating regime – after about a week or so you will progress onto a normal diet so try to make this as healthy as possible. The healthier your diet the better your weight loss results are going to be.
- Clear the cupboards / fridge out – get rid of all the high calorie snack foods and replace with lower calorie snacks and healthy fresh fruit (see our members area for more details).
- Start to think about your target weight – your balloon will usually be in place for 6 months or 12 months so realistically you can lose 1-2 pounds a week if coupled with a healthy diet and regular exercise.
