My surgeon requires me to me a 2 week liquid diet (His offices uses Optifast, which I actually really like - some of the bars are super tasty). I'm on my second day of full Optifast - 4 shakes and 1 bar a day, plus broth and jello if I want.
I was also told I needed to lose about 10% of my body weight before surgery, so while I was doing all my pre-surgical testing, I was doing Optifast 'lite' (2 shakes a day, 1 bar, a meal consisting of 4-6oz of protein and 3 servings of veggies. (But no peas, yams or potatoes) I was also allowed 1 serving of fruit OR yogurt, and all the jello and broth I wanted.
So far I lost 14lbs, and I expect to lose another 10 by my surgery date, which is almost the 10% (I started this all at 264lbs)
I think that starting the diet before the 2 week liquid was a big help. I've cut back on most of my cravings, and I think its a good way to prepare for learning to eat well after surgery.
The two weeks of liquid should shrink the liver and such to make the surgery easier and safer.
Lol, I was doing so well on the Opti-lite, but as soon as they said to start on full liquid, I have a massive craving for a chimichanga! But its passing.