Preparing yourself for surgery

Your heart and lungs have to work harder after an operation to help the body to heal. If you are already active, they will be used to this. While you are waiting for your operation, try and increase your activity levels.

Brisk walking, swimming, cycling, gardening or playing with your children or grandchildren are all helpful. Swimming can be helpful for those with obesity or joint pain. Try to do any activity which makes you feel out of breath at least three times per week. Start slowly and stay within your limits. Take advice if exercise is difficult for you. Stop and ask for medical advice if you develop new problems including chest pain, dizziness or your heart beat becomes irregular. Activities that improve your strength and balance will also be useful for your recovery, for example daily ‘sit-to-stand’ exercises.

You can see some examples here from Moving Medicine – Chair-based Exercise Programme (opens in a new tab).

Who can help me?

There are a number of mobile apps to help you set goals and track your progress, such as ‘Active 10’ and ‘Couch to 5K’ on the NHS website (opens in a new tab).

Try joining a free Council or community walking group or environmental volunteering scheme in your local area. As well as giving you encouragement and support to start walking and exercising, they are enjoyable and will boost your mood. Ask your GP surgery what is available in your area.

If you have back or joint pain and you see a physiotherapist, ask them for exercises that you can do. There is also information on exercising on the Versus Arthritis (opens in a new tab) website.

For people who are frail, a gentle walk every day, sit-to-stand exercises, stair climbing and reducing time sitting are a good start.

Depending on where you live you may have access to NHS ‘health trainers’ who can help motivate you and offer advice. Please see links at the bottom of the page for a list of services by area.

Your body needs to repair itself after surgery – eating a healthy diet before and after your surgery can really help. This means getting enough protein and ‘5 a day’ or more of fruit and vegetables. These help wound healing and your immune system.

Who can help me?

The NHS – Eat well (opens in a new tab) website has useful resources and information. Your GP surgery may be able to give you some advice and information on healthy eating if they have a dietitian service.

Your weight can affect how well you recover from surgery.

If you are overweight, losing some weight can:

• reduce the stress on your heart and lungs
• help lower your blood pressure
• improve your blood sugar levels
• reduce pain in your joints
• lower your risk of blood clots and infections after surgery
• make it easier to be active
• reduce risks linked to having an anaesthetic

You can check if you're a healthy weight using the NHS BMI healthy weight calculator (opens in a new tab).

You can also read our leaflet Anaesthesia and your weight to learn more about the risks of having surgery if you are overweight.

Who can help

There are lots of free services and tools to help you manage your weight.

You can:

• ask your GP surgery or pharmacy to weigh you and give you advice
• try the free NHS Weight Loss Plan app (opens in a new tab)
• look on your local council website to see if there are weight loss or activity schemes in your area
• join a local weight loss group
• ask if there are NHS health trainers in your area
• speak to your GP about weight loss surgery if you have obesity

Eating well before surgery

Being well nourished is important before surgery.
People who are better nourished tend to recover faster and are less likely to get infections after surgery.

If you have been losing weight without trying, or you're underweight, it’s important to eat more nourishing foods.

Tips to help you gain weight

Try to:

• eat little and often throughout the day
• eat high calorie, high protein foods and snacks
• add extra calories and protein to meals
  • for example, add cheese to potatoes, vegetables or sauces
  • add nut butter to porridge, soups or smoothies
• drink nourishing fluids
  • for example, milkshakes, smoothies, hot chocolate or malted drinks
  • try high protein drinks like Complan, Meritene, Huel or Weetabix On The Go
• avoid drinking water, tea or coffee just before meals
• eat foods you enjoy and can manage easily
• avoid foods that make you feel unwell

You can also read:

• CUH high energy and protein diet sheet (PDF)
• CUH nourishing fluids information sheet (PDF)
• Malnutrition fact sheet – Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• Tips for managing eating problems – Macmillan Cancer Support (opens in a new tab)

Support for weight loss

If you want to lose weight gradually and safely, these pages may help:

• Weight loss resources – British Dietetic Association (opens in a new tab)
• Taking control of your weight – British Heart Foundation (opens in a new tab)

Alcohol can have many effects on the body, but importantly it can reduce the liver’s ability to produce the building blocks necessary for healing. If you drink regularly you should make sure you are drinking within the recommended limits or lower (14 units per week, over 3 or more days. If you drink more than this, you should also aim to cut down before your operation to improve your body’s ability to heal after surgery and to avoid withdrawal symptoms during your stay in hospital. To calculate your unit intake, try this tool Unit calculator | Alcohol Change UK (opens in a new tab).

Who can help me?

You can find information on recommended limits and how to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink on the NHS website (tips on cutting down) (opens in a new tab) and the NHS Better Health – Drink less (opens in a new tab) website.

Stopping smoking is hard, but the good news is that quitting or cutting down shortly before surgery can reduce your length of stay in hospital and improve wound healing and lung function. Preparing for surgery offers a real opportunity to commit to stopping smoking.

Who can help me?

Find out if there is a local Stop Smoking Service (opens in a new tab) in your area.

The following organisations have useful information on the benefits of quitting smoking before surgery:

The Cure Project (opens in a new tab) – a helping hand to stop smoking: this gives useful information about the added benefits of stopping smoking early before surgery.

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) have a Stopping Smoking Guide (opens in a new tab) and a Briefing on smoking and surgery (opens in a new tab).

Smoking cessation | Centre for Perioperative Care (opens in a new tab)