BOPDHB Patient Resources Laparoscopic Gastric Sleeve Procedure | Page 16

What do I need to do to prepare myself for surgery? Once you have committed to undergoing weight loss surgery, it is essential you start to make changes to your diet and lifestyle. Creating small changes over time can help you to form new habits, making it easier to sustain these changes for life. You may find it helpful to perform a “stock take” of your current eating habits, by writing a food diary for a week. Recording everything that you eat and drink, including portion sizes and volumes, will help you see where your areas of concern are. You will then be able to highlight just one area where you can improve or change, before moving on to the next. These small changes can make a big difference over time. We have included a four day food diary on the following pages for you to complete if you wish. This remains your record, and does not need to be shared with anyone. It will allow you to monitor your steady progress, and may be a helpful tool to look back on, to see changes that you have made. You may find it helpful to download a diet and exercise app onto your smartphone. “MyFitnessPal” is one of the most popular diet tracking apps and is free to download. 12