What is the Liver Reduction Diet?

• The aim of this diet is to be low in carbohydrate and fat.
• Following this diet achieves changes to the liver, it ‘shrinks’ in size and softens, making it easier to move during surgery.

What is the aim of the diet?

• To reduce the size of the liver to make it easier for the surgeon to move around to reach the stomach and make it easier to create the new smaller stomach or “pouch”
• During laparoscopic or ‘keyhole’ bariatric surgery, the liver has to be lifted out of the way, enabling access to the stomach lying beneath it.
• If the liver is heavy, fatty and immobile, it is harder for the surgeon to see and gain access to the stomach underneath. This could be a reason for changing to open surgery.  Open surgery means a larger abdominal scar, which results in longer recovery and increased risks.
• To reduce the size of the liver, it is necessary to follow a diet that is low in carbohydrate, low in fat and moderate in protein.
• Foods high in carbohydrate include sugars and starch food. The starch carbohydrate foods include bread, rice, potato, pasta and cereals; therefore it is necessary to temporarily avoid these.
• You will lose weight by following this diet, but more importantly, your liver will shrink and you increase your chances of having a safe operation.

Different surgeons will ask you to follow different LRD regimes. The LRD below was the one I followed. It is not the milk diet and allows “real food”.

I personally could not manage the full amount of food on it. However I did lose 1.5 stone on it.

DD Liver Shrinkage Diet – Liquid 2017 version

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