If you are scheduled to have gastric sleeve surgery soon, don’t wait to start preparing. While there are certain things you have to do the day or week before, there are a lot of other things that you can begin doing now to lessen your to-do list as the surgery date approaches.

Stop Smoking and Drinking Now

No matter how close or far away from the surgery date you are, stop smoking now. Smoking interferes with your lung function (and thus the anesthesia procedure and recovery time), your heart, your blood pressure and several other factors that could complicate the surgery. Alcohol is also discouraged because it can cause stomach irritation, and if you’re about to have surgery on your stomach, the last thing you need is additional irritation complicating your recovery.

Get Your Life Ready

Now is the time to take care of excess laundry, home repairs, work projects and more. Get as much of your life in order as you can now because once you are trying to recover, you’re not going to want to deal with some pesky house repair. You’re going to be off work for a few weeks, and you will not be able to go in and handle projects during that time.

Prepare Your Clothing and Kitchen

Identify clothing that is loose-fitting and comfortable, especially around the abdomen. You’ll need to wear that after the surgery while you heal, so if you don’t have anything that doesn’t constrict you, you’ll need to go shopping now. Also stock up on the foods that you’ll be eating after the surgery and get rid of those you can’t eat so you won’t be tempted.

Start a Diary

It’s vital that you know what’s going on emotionally as the surgery approaches. Keep a journal of how you feel and what you have eaten. Review the entries occasionally to identify resistance and fears; talk about these with your doctor.

Follow All Pre-Op Instructions

This should go without saying: Follow all pre-op instructions. It’s easy to forget or cut corners, and this surgery is too serious to be able to take shortcuts with preparation.

Gastric sleeve surgery has helped many people lose weight, and it requires good preparation. If you have more questions, contact your doctor to discuss what else you should do.