How Do I Prepare for Weight Loss Surgery: Everything Sacramento Patients Need to Know

Bariatric Patient Prepping for Bariatric Surgery

Introduction

Obesity is a growing epidemic worldwide. Weight loss surgery can be a life-changing option and a transformative tool to finally enable weight loss for people suffering from obesity.

Before undergoing weight loss surgery, you’ll need to go through several steps to ensure you’re physically and mentally ready for the procedure. Preparing for bariatric surgery isn’t just about meeting medical requirements—it’s about laying the groundwork for long-term success.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for weight loss and bariatric surgery, in Sacramento, ensuring a smooth and successful journey toward better health.

Understanding Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery is not a quick fix; it requires long-term lifestyle changes and guidance. Procedures such as the gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, and bariatric sleeve gastrectomy reduce the stomach’s size and alter how your body processes food. It transforms your metabolism, improves gut flora, makes a positive impact on hormones, and many other positive physiologic changes. These surgical weight loss methods can help individuals who are extremely overweight regain control over their health and their life.

Before diving into the preparation process, it’s essential to understand the options available and how they align with your health goals. Dr. Steve Patching specializes in various surgical weight loss techniques and tailoring them to each patient’s needs.

Insurance Qualifications

One of the first steps on the road to weight loss surgery is ensuring you meet your insurance’s qualifications. It is recommended to make a call to your insurance provider to have them provide you the exact qualifications to receive coverage. Although specific requirements can vary, the qualification process for many insurance plans typically follows something like the following:

Consecutive Appointments: 3-6 consecutive visits with your bariatric surgeon. This will vary depending on your provider and whether you have an HMO or PPO plan.
Medical History & Physical Examination: Your Bariatric surgeon will go over your medical history and perform a physical examination.
Psychological Evaluation: A mental health screening with a mental care specialist ensures you’re emotionally and mentally prepared for the changes ahead.
Nutritional Consultation: At least 1 nutritional consultation/apt is required from a Registered Dietician. However, some insurance providers will require multiple consecutive appointments to make sure you create better dietary habits so you can make sure to fulfill your nutritional needs and remove any unhealthy behavior around food.
Sleep Study: If you struggle with sleep apnea or other sleep disorders, a study may be required. This will help create a plan to make meaningful improvements to your sleep.

General Care Referral: It is important to note, some insurance providers will require a referral from your general care doctor.

These steps are part of the insurance process that will qualify you for surgery. Meeting these criteria can feel like a lengthy process, but they are vital to ensure the safety and long-term success of your procedure. Many patients are surprised at how seamless this process can be when working with a bariatric surgeon’s office that has years of experience. They will take you through each and every step as you prepare for your sleeve surgery or weight loss surgery.

Holistic Preparation for Weight Loss Surgery

A holistic approach to bariatric surgery preparation goes beyond meeting insurance requirements. It involves adopting new habits and focusing on your overall well-being, including nutrition, exercise, sleep, behavior, and mental health.

Nutrition

Preparing for weight loss surgery often requires dietary adjustments. Your bariatric surgical team will guide you in:

Tracking your food intake.
Transitioning to eating smaller meals.
Identifying triggers and habits tied to emotional eating.
Transitioning to a high-protein, low-sugar diet to prepare your body for surgery.
Creating a better relationship with food, one where you feel in control and enjoy healthy food.

Physical Activity

Establishing an exercise routine before surgery not only enhances your physical health but also helps create habits that will support your long-term success after surgery. For those new to exercise, simple activities like walking or light resistance training are excellent starting points.

The key is to change exercise from something you dread to something you enjoy—a way to prioritize your well-being. Starting with short daily walks can be an incredibly effective starting place for building consistency and fostering a positive relationship with movement. A simple walking routine often has a profound impact on both physical and mental health, helping patients shift their perspective on exercise from something daunting to something empowering.

Over time, this momentum can lead to lasting lifestyle changes and a newfound appreciation for staying active. Once someone becomes more active and consistent with a simple walking routine they are more willing to explore other types of exercise, (gym, rowing, biking, etc).

Mental Health

Understanding your relationship with food and addressing underlying mental health challenges is vital for long-term bariatric success. Often, unhealthy eating habits stem from unresolved emotional or psychological struggles. That’s why gaining insight into your mental health, learning ways to improve it, and achieving a sense of internal well-being can be a cornerstone of your bariatric journey. Many comprehensive bariatric programs offer access to counseling or support groups to help patients work through these challenges, providing the tools needed for sustainable success. Often, speaking with people who have gone through the process can provide you with key tips and tricks needed for your success.

Lifestyle Changes

Bariatric surgery involves significant lifestyle changes; including reducing portion sizes, understanding your behavior, creating new boundaries in your relationships, following a more structured eating schedule, and overall prioritizing your health much more than you perhaps were before. Practicing these habits before surgery can make the post-surgery transition much smoother and more manageable. This is why choosing the right center in Sacramento is imperative to your success. If you want to learn more about how to choose the best center check out our article here:

6 Key Factors for Choosing the Best Bariatric Surgery Center

A truly comprehensive bariatric program goes beyond these basics. It provides in-depth guidance on nutrition, exercise, mental health, and overall lifestyle adjustments, emphasizing the development of sustainable habits through effective behavior change. Tracking your food intake, discussing it openly with your bariatric surgeon, and examining your relationship with food are essential steps on this journey. Not every center will provide this to you.

The more effort you put into building these habits before surgery, the better prepared you’ll be to navigate life afterward. This preparation not only eases your transition but also significantly enhances your chances of achieving long-term success. Often, how seriously a patient works on themselves before surgery is the biggest predictor of how they will do after. I have seen too many people focused on the surgery itself, and how things look afterwards. Stay present on the step you are on now, and I promise you will be ready for what’s to come!

So you understand about what it takes to prepare for a bariatric operation, but what can you expect afterwards?

What to Expect After Bariatric Surgery

While preparing for surgery is essential, understanding the post-surgery journey is equally important. The days and weeks following your weight loss operation will require commitment to:

A Post-Operative Diet: This typically starts with liquids and gradually progresses to soft, and then solid foods.
Ongoing Nutritional Monitoring: Your body will process food differently, requiring regular check-ins to ensure you meet your nutritional needs.
Exercise Progression: Physical activity will become a key component of your weight loss journey, helping you maintain your results.

Sacramento’s bariatric patients benefit from Dr. Patching’s comprehensive full care program:

The Bariatric Wellness Program

This in depth, individualized program includes guidance on nutrition, exercise, and behavior changes. Dr. Patching has walked over 1,500 people from suffering morbid obesity to becoming a bariatric success!

Conclusion

Now that you have a better basic understanding how to prepare for bariatric surgery, our suggestion is to setup an appointment with a Bariatric Doctor. Here, you should simply seek education and dive deeper into the best options for your case. A great Bariatric Doctor with a lot of experience will be able to map out all possible options for you. The doctor will support any decision you make and even speak to your primary care to update them on your care.

Sacramento’s own Dr. Steve Patching has over 25 years of experience performing weight loss surgery, including procedures like gastric bypass and gastric sleeve operations.

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We also gathered a few more resources that may help support you in your decision or give you more information on the journey ahead. You will find the resources down below.

Have you already done research online, but simply want to speak with the most experienced Bariatric Surgeon in Sacramento? We have some more information below about the best no pressure and informal way to do just that.

Thank you for reading. More importantly, thank you for allowing us to be one small part of your journey towards a new life!

About the Author:

Dr. Steve Patching

Bariatric Medical Director | Advanced Robotic & Bariatric Surgeon
1st Bariatric Center in the US Certified by ASMBS
Former Chief of Surgery
Bariatric Center of Excellence
Founder, The Bariatric Wellness Program

Should You Seek Bariatric Care

Are you still having a hard time understanding if bariatric care is right for you? The first thing to remember is you do not need to make the decision on the surgery now. Do not let any center make you feel pressured. This is not a sprint, and it should go at the pace you are comfortable with not theirs. Right now, it’s your job to simply gather more information from the experts in your area. Go from researching online to speaking with a bariatric program in person. This is exactly why we created the Bariatric Informational Seminar.

Learn more about the most comprehensive, successful Bariatric Wellness Program in Sacramento and Bay Area. This program is designed specifically for people who are ready to transform their lives through lasting improved health & weight loss. Led by the most experienced bariatric surgeon in Sacramento, Dr. Steve Patching.

Bariatric Informational Seminar

Learn more today! Attend our Informational Bariatric Seminar. The best no pressure way to learn more about bariatric care. Maybe bariatrics is right for you, or maybe it isn’t, either way you won’t find that out online. So, if you are considering bariatric care at all, we encourage you to contact our office to schedule a Bariatric Informational Seminar.

This is an informal, no pressure meeting where we will go over the benefits, myths, and most important factors of great bariatric care. Dr. Steve Patching will be there to answer any questions you have and help you decide if bariatric surgery is right for you. You will be joined by your peers also wanting to learn more about the process. Let us figure this it out together! Give us a call or request an appointment below.

More Resources:

The American College of Surgeons: https://www.facs.org/
The Obesity Society: https://www.obesity.org/
The National Institutes of Health: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/bariatric-surgery

Go From:

FIGHTING BY YOURSELF WITH A 1-3% CHANCE OF SUCCESS

To Our Program:

EMBARKING ON A JOURNEY WITH A TEAM THAT HAS A 90% SUCCESS RATE