I Was So Excited About Surgery But Now..

[ladiJ 83]

I feel bad posting this because I know the majority of the people on her have 1-2 week liquid pre-op

diets and I cannot even imagine the difficulty, so I feel like a whiner but..

I was so excited about finally making my decision for surgery and living on the boards for awhile. I had

first consult with surgeon and he say start no sugar, no salt, no soda, low carb diet. I was doing well the

first week but then found out that the under 100 grams of carbs is not really low carb and I need to be under 50.

So I dropped to less than 50 and by day 4 I was sick, I had to leave my grandson's sports game, I almost fainted

at the grocery store and I ended up spending a day in my bed. (almost like the flu).

I added carbs and have not lost any weight, but the real concern is this: AFTER surgery, I know you need to

eat your Proteins, you cannot even get carbs in, how will I manage, will my body adapt?? Do you find yourself

weak, feeling as if you will pass out or have the flu?

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[AdeptDreamer 104]

I get weak/sick everything I start a diet.. But Benjammin offered some great insight!

[crystalintville 66]

The pre-op diet sucks but it makes it much easier afterwards. I lost 25 lbs on mine from 1st week of May to May 25th. I eat around 40 grams of carbs a day.

[soccermomx2 111]

I agree....the first 6 weeks post-op I had a couple of episodes of wooziness when standing for long times in the heat at my son's soccer games. Your body is an amazing thing and will adjust well as long as you follow your guidelines. Get lots of fluids & Protein, rest and try not to compare yourself to others. Each of us is different and even though we are all on the same journey we will move along that path at different paces.

Be proud of yourself for make the decision to be healthier and everything else will follow.

Best of luck on your surgery and recovery!!!

[Katie713 423]

I think there is a balance to having some healthy carbs that will help level you out post-op. What you experienced is more than likely a type of withdrawal from years of consuming a lot of carbs. Do some research into low glycemic carb values so you can have some healthy carbs, perhaps in yogurt, fruit, nuts and Beans.

This is sort of a gradual process withdrawing from carb addiction, and boy don't I know it since I was on that wagon a long time. Now, I watch my carb intake at less than 50 most days, but some days I do eat more. I enjoy cottage cheese with canned fruit. Strawberries and plums are naturally lower carb, or I have a Oikos yogurt with fruit to start my day off. lunch might be a small salad with grilled chicken or shrimp, fruit or nuts & cheese for a snack, a Protein shake, Protein & veggies for dinner and an evening snack. I have lots of small meals to stay on an even keel - but the meals are very small and not heavy in carbs.

Your body will adapt.

[Chimera 644]

If you drastically cut carbs when you have been consuming a lot you can go into such severe withdrawal that the symptoms are flu like. There is some great reading out there about why we are not biologically designed to consume the processed food that made us heavy in the first place - and makes billions of dollars for the food industry.

This is a great book~

http://www.theendofovereatingbook.com/

I cut everything prior to surgery - I quit a 28 year old, 2 pack a day smoking habit which was utter agony - I will NEVER go through that again, which is why I will never take another puff. I cut out sugar, all white carbs that are processed (bread, rice, flour, sugar etc.) Cut out coffee - because I am addicted - did the same thing with soda.

I have tried everything known to man to lose weight - only to lose and regain it all - this time I was not going to f*** around That is why I needed to ditch it.

There is a reason it is so hard to cut the carbs - we become addicted to them and they light up our dopamine centers like a christmas tree - its like putting a needle in your arm.

I baked a birthday cake for my 16 year old's sweet 16 two weeks ago - and I am still recovering from the tailspin that suddenly upping the carbs does to you, everyone in my family is suddenly voraciously hungry, craving bread, pizza, candy, etc, and is cranky and tired. A couple of slices of cake over a week and a bag of croutons for the salad and this is what it has done to us when we do not keep this kind of stuff in the house. I've read on another forum one woman who has lost all of her weight and is in maintenance was struggling with carb cravings after having a single bag of 100 calorie snack bags - it is so not worth it - because once you stop eating them, you stop craving them.

The birthday week set my husband up for a stall that has not broken - perhaps it is just time for us to both have one, we have lost steadily since our surgeries in may. Now that I have the first 100 lb loss under my belt and begin the next phase I am fine tuning and planning to crank up the excersize and start to wean myself off of any artificial sweetners (hi Crystal Lite).

Best of luck to you - no one ever said this was easy - though a lot of folks think that choosing this route is - it is anything but. It is also the best decision I have ever made for myself and my health.

[DEZ1975 170]

It took about 8 days for my body to adjust to no carbs. You will feel weak and lightheaded as you detox, but it gets better, epecially if you stay hydrated. You have to go low carb and shrink the liver so it is easier for the surgeon to manipulate during surgery.

[Chimera 644]

Also the nutritionists at my surgeons office tell us that there are no essential carbs - basically we do not need to consume them at all. Ketones produced from the burning of fat is the body's ideal and preferred fuel - and that is what shrinks the liver and is the mechanism that creates weight loss for us during this losing period.

Of course there are many Vitamins and minerals we do not consume if we are not eating fruits and veggies - we are getting a good amount from supplementation though.

[LadyK 164]

I was just thinking the same thing this morning, because I almost passed out in the shower, I was only washing my hair and I felt so exhausted. I thought how will I do this after and my surgery is tomorrow at 1pm....I notice that if I just carefully calculate my movements, and move slower I don't feel so bad. Just keep reminding yourself that there is a prize at the end of this wobbly tunnel LOL Your weight loss goal, You can do it!! Thanks for posting this!