The pre-operation preparation took two weeks before I went to the surgery center and two more days once I was there.

You have to follow a special diet for 14 days to shrink the silhouette of the liver. You also can’t smoke for those two weeks as well. I guess, they will be able to tell with Pulmonary Function Test or PFT. PFTs are noninvasive tests that show how well the lungs are working. The tests measure lung volume, capacity, rates of flow, and gas exchange. This information can help your healthcare provider diagnose and decide the treatment of certain lung disorders.

My surgery center required that I watch a number of videos and complete more online forms. The videos covered just about every question you might have about the surgery. The only thing that they did not show you was an actual surgery taking place. That would have been kind of cool to see, well, maybe just a little scary as well. My wife got to see the surgery video the day before I had it. I guess I could have went with her, but it was supposed to be for your partner, so I did not go.

The two week post-op diet is even worse. I still can’t stomach the thought of one of those shakes and it is over a month since I have had to drink one. I suppose it would be a little easier for me to get my total protein if one of my meals was a high protein shake but I just can’t do it. You will consider youself lucky when you start your no chew diet. You will find yourself counting the days. I broke the rules and had scrambled eggs on my thirteenth day post-op. I had enough of those damn shakes. I am telling you all this because you need to be ready for all the crap you have to deal with. The hardest thing is watching your family eat all that yummy food. You will crave everything. All I could think of was eating a hamburger. Of course, you can’t have a hamburger bun and it just doesn’t taste the same on romaine lettuce.

You have survived your 14 days of hell. It does get better as the days progress mainly because you are still not sick of the protein shakes yet. That will come later.

On my first day I had a PFT and a stress test. The stress test was a non-contrast treadmill test. I was able to walk on the treadmill right up to the target time, so I was happy. The PFT was not as enjoyable. It took almost as long as the stress test. On my second day they placed a midline IV, and I had an Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). If you have just fallen off the turnip truck, it is an endoscopic procedure that examines the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and first part of the small intestine (the duodenum).

My final test of the day was to figure out how many calories I could eat after my 14 days of hell, post-op were over. The test measures your breath acetone levels.

Endogenous acetone production is a by‐product of the fat metabolism process. Because of its small size, acetone appears in exhaled breath. Historically, endogenous acetone has been measured in exhaled breath to monitor ketosis in healthy and diabetic subjects. Recently, breath acetone concentration (BrAce) has been shown to correlate with the rate of fat loss in healthy individuals. In this review, the measurement of breath acetone in healthy subjects is evaluated for its utility in predicting fat loss and its sensitivity to changes in physiologic parameters. When biologic factors are controlled, BrAce measurement provides a non‐invasive tool for monitoring the rate of fat loss in healthy subjects.

How to calculate how many calories you should eat to lose weight

Daily caloric needs are different for every person, so don’t expect your sweet spot to match your workout partner’s or your best friend’s.

It’s particular to you and you alone, and that’s because we all have our own Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). According to Healthline, this number can be found by using the Harris-Benedict formula. This formula is split by gender.

• Women: 655 + (9.6 × weight in kg) + (1.8 × height in cm) – (4.7 × age in years)
• Men: 66 + (13.7 × weight in kg) + (5 × height in cm) – (6.8 × age in years)

For even more accuracy, you should multiply your BMR by another number that’s based on your activity level. So multiply by:

• 1.2 if you are sedentary (little to no exercise)
• 1.375 if you’re lightly active (exercise 1-3 days a week)
• 1.55 if you are moderately active (exercise 3-5 days a week)
• 1.725 if you are very active (exercise 6-7 days a week)

Whoopee, I can eat a whopping 600 calories a day for the next six months, or until I reach my goal weight. I was informed that I would not get those results for two weeks, so it something to look forward to.

Guess what, tomorrow is the big day?!

Resources

Bariatric Surgery Workbook and website.