StormWarning

I'm not real sure. I see Walmart carries the premier Protein bars but I didn't see the drinks. I will try to do a search and see where all they can be bought once I get back to computer. Sitting in parking lot ( for an hour now) waiting on hubby to decide he's worked long enough. Sent from my iPhone using VST

I too am on a liquid diet. Doctor requested two weeks but I started early so I will be 19 days total I agree with the comment about premier Protein shakes. I bought mine at sams. They are pretty good. I am also using EAS advantage carb control in chocolate and strawberry. And also Atkins shakes in chocolate. By far Premier Protein tastes the best but they are all doable. EAS and Atkins have no where near the 30g of protein that premier shakes have but it changes up the taste and breaks up the monotony of things. Best of luck on your diet. Sent from my iPhone using VST

I want to wish you all the best tomorrow Luauna. I too hope that your surgery goes smoothly and recovery is speedy. Please keep us updated on your progress when you are able. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. Congrats!!

I am not real sure what my goal weight is. I weighed 147lbs when I got married in 1995 but I was just a kid so to speak. Married at the age of 17. I can say that at that weight I was a size 10/11 baggy. I say baggy cause my clothes didn't fit well but my hips wouldn't fit in a size smaller. (wide hipsters I guess) I think I would like to see 160-165 which would put me at a healthy bmi on the lower side. At the same time, i have weighed so heavy over the years that i personally would be happy with anything under 200lbs. In the mix of it all, I think I will leave the weight thing up to my doctor, and then I will go from there.

For the record I have not had my surgery yet. That comes on the 6th. But I do have orders already from the doctor. Phase 3.Soft food diet that we begin in our 4th week. Here are some options that they have given us. Soft foods are comprised of: things that are easily chewed and will mush up in your mouth easily. Examples: scrambled or soft cooked eggs cottage cheese cottage cheese w/pureed fruit refried Beans tuna, salmon, chicken, or egg salad mixed well with low fat mayo chicken leg or thigh meat soft cooked veggies mac-n-cheese whole wheat grains meats that are cooked to really soft consistency-crockpot, pressure cooker Soft cooked or stewed fruits oatmeal, cream of wheat, grits moist meatloaf, turkey loaf Soups that have easy to chew veggies and meats I know there are some items on this list that will make somes jaw drop open like the mac-n-cheese and whole wheat grains. However they are not harmful in moderation and remember we are still healing and in need of some soft foods. Some doctors may recommend other things, this is just what my doctor says are options for us to try at this stage that others have done well with. Good luck to you.

First off, Best of luck tomorrow. I hope your surgery goes very smoothly and your recovery is speedy. Please keep us updated on your status. Secondly, Welcome to the boards. There are so many great people here who are more than willing to lend an ear, a shoulder or advice when needed. Just think tomorrow you will be sitting on the losers bench, fulfilling all your dreams come true. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

I love seeing these photos. It give me stars in my eyes and hope that I too can achieve success. I think you look fabulous and are well on your way in finding the new you. Keep up all your hard work.

As far as my liquid diet things are moving great. My only problem is having to cook for everyone. It's one thing to smell the food, but to be there cooking/handling it brings on a great deal of pain at times. I so bad want to taste/sample like I always do when I am cooking. I have done real good about avoiding this. I run to my kids or hubby to taste to see what seasonings need to go into it yet. I keep asking myself what the crap I have done. Why did I commit myself to start the diet early. How could I have been so dumb. This is my moment of weakness. I don't crave the food so to speak, but I want to eat what everyone else is eating. Last night before I went to sleep I found myself crying. My husband really is a great guy when he's not crushing you in the middle of the night. He asked me what was wrong, and I really couldn't put it all into words. I warned him about the emotions that could come during this whole process after surgery, but I never expected those emotions to hit this soon before surgery. Not this hard anyway. I told him I felt so alone. I feel as my world is being turned upside down, in disaster mode while everyone else is going their merry little way. I told him I know I can do this but that I hate I am doing this alone that no one can understand or relate how it feels to have to keep up with the demands of everyone elses food preferences and watch them eat. Even though I don't feel hungry I sure could take a bite of what they are eating. Maybe this is the head hunger everyone talks about. Honestly I don't think about food, not hungry, the shakes do a good job, but when I see others eating REAL FOOD, hell yea I want some of that. Thankfully I have had the strength to stay away. I hope that continues. I don't know why I seem so A$$ backwards. Everyone says the first 3 days are the hardest, then it will get easier as it goes, and for me it seemed the first 3 days were a piece of cake and now is when the struggles begin. Tomorrow is my official diet date, so there is no turning back, I must continue on with what I am doing. Hubby has volunteered to take on some/most of the cooking for awhile to help ease my troubles, He is even going to do some of the shakes with me. I think that translated into him eating lunch while at work, and having a shake at dinner with me. On a good note. I am down 6lbs. I would love to lose another 16 in the next two weeks.

This must be a side effect of this surgery and its beginning process! So I have to admit that ever since I got my surgery date, my nights have, well been not so full of sleep. I find myself tossing, turning, dreaming, and wide awake at times. But I am not the only one going through the change. Something has come over my husband. We will be married for 17 years in december, and have always had your side, my side, with a common snuggle in the middle. Well let me tell you; he has apparently lost his boundaries since everything with the surgery is coming into place. The closer to my date, the worse my nights get, and not just cause of me, but from his actions as well. Last night for example, I went to bed around 11. I was tired and couldn't wait for him so I laid down. I have this problem though, when I am tired and go to bed, I get a little hyperness and want to talk or what not. Well needless to say once I was in bed, i grabbed my phone and found myself responding to emails, reading this forum, playing slots, etc. Before too much longer hubby was crawling in bed. We will just leave out the details and just say LIGHTS OUT!! lol I found myself trying to find that right comfy position to fall asleep. Just when I got comfortable and closed my eyes, my bladder said excuse me missy, I have other plans!! I really hate this liquid diet, it gives me an overactive bladder... lol Once back in bed, i eventually fall asleep, but I am plagued once more with the hot, no cold, no hot symptoms. My tossing and turning quiets down and I finally am resting good or so I think I was in the moment my husband rolls practically on top of me.. I am hissing, pushing him, trying to figure out why the hell I am practically laying on the bedside table. This is the 3rd or 4th time he has ended up on top of me, it is very unlike him to sleep this way. I am worried about after the surgery, I am not sure if I can handle the shock of being woken up in the middle of the night from pains of having your hubby roll onto you. Its scary. I am hoping he can get his sleeping habits straightened out, and if its because of the upcoming surgery I am hoping all will change once surgery is over and he don't have to worry anymore. I too am thinking about sleeping in the double recliners in the living room, but he won't sleep without me, so I am sure he will be joining me; or convince me to come back to bed. I hope things move smoothly, he was never like this for any of my other surgeries.

The pre-op depends on your weight, and your bmi. My bmi said i needed a one week liquid diet, but I am over 300lbs which would require a 3 week diet, but i'm guessing since my bmi was lower than expected I only having to do a two week diet. Again all up to the doctor. Here is the description from his book: The length of the diet is determined by the surgeon and may differ from one patient to another. In our practice, we determine the length of the diet by the patients body mass index (BMI) or weight. Patients who have a bmi lower than 37 are not required to do a liquid diet prior to surgery because they are less likely to have an enlarged fatty liver. Patients who have a bmi from 37-42 are required to do a preoperative diet for 1 week prior to surgery. Patients with a bmi between 42-47 do a 10 day liquid diet and patients who have a bmi higher than 47 are required to diet for 14 days prior to surgery. Patients who are over 300 lbs are required to diet for 3 weeks and more than 400 lbs for 4 weeks etc. These are only some guidelines we use in our practice, but the recommendation from surgeon to surgeon and case to case do vary, Page 23-24 in Dr. Alvarez book.

Yes it is, we will definitely have to stay in touch.

Aww thanks cegull for asking. Actually I am impressed/surprised/and worried that the liquid diet is actually moving very smoothly. I've had no problems other than the extra potty breaks from all the extra fluids. I am now day 3 into it, staying satisfied with the shakes (pre-made ones for now) I do find that I am easily tempered or my fuse is wired very short at times. My boys just give me hugs when I get that way, Tell me it will pass, suggest maybe a nap, etc. I've had no headaches, no food cravings, nothing. Thats whats worrying me. I expected this to be very difficult and hard, and since it is going so well, I find myself thinking on the what ifs. Even though I started my diet earlier than was requested there is an upside of things. I have been staying within the limits of the 800-1000 calorie diet, sometimes finding it hard to hit those numbers, but staying well hydrated , I have managed to drop a few pounds. I was not requested to lose weight for the surgery, but I would secretly hope to lose 20 lbs. If I can lose 17 more lbs I will go into surgery under 300. That would be awesome for me.

Thanks for sharing. I love collecting the recipes from here for future meals. It give me something to look forward to.. I may have to try some of those shakes out now since I am on my pre-op liquid diet.

Well I got email back from Susan this evening. It appears there is only one other person sharing my date with Dr. Alvarez.. She did give me her email, what are your thoughts about contacting her? Would it be viewed as rude? Ideas on how to break off into a conversation in an email to someone you don't know but that have so much in common with? UGH, i hate being the shy person sometimes.

Thanks for the update Susie. I've been meaning to message and check on ya again, but I seem to have my hours screwed up. I try to wait for hubby but it plays with my sleep schedule at times. Glad to hear you are doing so well. I hope your fatigue disappears real soon. Keep up all your great work!!

Congrats on your date. The time may seem like it's dragging sometimes, but before you know it, it will be just round the corner. I am anxiously waiting for the 6th. I want to wish you all the best on the journey you are pursuing. I hope it brings great things.

Thanks for the invite Mom. Sorry if it took awhile to get over here, I kinda slept in today. Thanks Dooter for starting the thread. The other August Thread is great but it is very long if you are just starting out. I am currently on my liquid pre-op diet now. I was to officially start on the 23rd but I figured few extra days would not kill me. And they haven't so far even though I am only on day 2 this has been a piece of cake for me. I did mess up yesterday when I added banana to skim milk and blended. NO FRUIT ALLOWED!! I am scheduled for surgery with Dr. Alvarez on August 6th. And you can call me Jennifer or Jenn for short if you don't want to call me Storm.

Thanks for clarifying Mczoo. I figured it was a bad choice and not allowed once I entered it in MFP. I have had no headaches, and I functioned just fine on the 912 calories I did get. I have been in the habit of only eating once a day for a while now which is a big part of my problem today and why i weigh what i do, so the shakes throughout the day has kept me from ever feeling hungry.

Let me clarify bananas are not on my list. They were just sitting there and I didn't want them to go bad. Thats why I used them. I was thinking hmm fruit, I figured it couldn't hurt that was until I entered the values into myfitnesspal. I was like WHAT??? I deleted and re-entered thinking I made a mistake. NOPE it was correct. I will say there will be no bananas in my future diet. Thankful its not my official diet yet. lol I so cannot wait for post op. I am ready to get this show on the road. But all in due time.

Congratulations on your date. I know how excited you are. I will keep you in my thoughts and hope nothing changes for you. Best of luck. Keep us updated on your outcome,.

So today was my first full unofficial day of liquids. I say unofficial cause I am not scheduled to started liquids til the 23rd but I personally chose to start sooner. I am worried. You hear people here say how difficult their liquid diet is/was and yet they have/had an easy going surgery. Here I am having an easy liquid diet thus far, so am I going to have a rough surgery? A nerves me alil. Heres a run down of my diet today. Breakfast HEB opti-meal strawberry shake 170 cal. This shake was awesome but high in carbs I thought. Lunch 1 cup strawberry/banana SF jello 20 cals Atkins Milk choc. Delight shake 160 cals Snack Premier Protein choc. shake 160 cals And heres where I think I went wrong, Dinner 2 bananas blended in skim milk. 402 cals. I never knew bananas were so high in carbs until I added them into myfitnesspal. So far has managed about 7 cups of water along with the other fluids from the shakes. as far as exercise for the day I was lazy, but I did manage to get in 35 minutes of push mowing when we did the yard work. Once inputted thats about 400 cals burned. Total cals for the day. 912 exercise 397 net 515 remaining 285 I was trying to limit my daily cals to 800 but am allowed up to 1000. Am I doing this right? Any suggestions? I have not even touched any of the 98% fat free soups that I bought as the shakes are keeping me well full.