I Did It, I Cheated... Help

[Chunky_Dunk 61]

I am a week post op and my pre op diet consisted of low sugar, no fruit chunk yogurt and Water. Nothing else! My diet was only 3 days. I am happy that you do have some variety in your pre op, but I know it sucks to have to do it for two weeks! I am now on an all liquid diet and it is definitely tough (and my stomach can only hold 4 - 6 ounces) so I know it has to be hard. Just try your hardest to prep your mind for it because it continues after surgery. I don't get hungry, but my mind and mouth do want flavor. I am not going to tongue lash you for cheating...it happens. You are going to learn from that, stay strong, and move on. Hopefully the stress and regret you feel will help keep you on the good path. I have another week of Clear liquids and then move on to fuller liquids (chowder and cream of... kind of stuff.) It is a tough road, but every time that I get a head craving for a food I start looking up different foods and recipes I can have in a month or two. I even found (if you think you would like to try) several websites that have alternatives to carbs. I am a huge bread, Pasta, pizza, tortilla, etc. lover! I found that the paleo diet (which I am not doing...only the low/no carb foods) has cool and healthier alternatives to those things. They have recipes for lasagna with cabbage in place of the Pasta, and even ways to make bread, tortilla, pasta, and even Pizza Crust using zucchini, squash, cabbage, and cauliflower (not together of course.) The pictures of the foods look absolutely amazing (much better than they sound)! I am hoping that this can be a healthier alternative. Good luck to you! You will do great! God bless!

[JeanZ_RN 378]

For Protein shakes, I like them better almost frozen. I put mine in the freezer for 25-30 minutes (shake well before and after the freeze part). They come out with ice crystals in them, which I like a lot.

[Jus1Nita 31]

Not to encourage you not to put forth your full effort to lose the 20 lbs., if that is what is required by your doctor, but there are times that in order to motivate people to meet a loss, there is a chance that the doctor may have requested that you do above the actual number, so that you reach the "real" weight loss which is needed to shrink your liver in order to perform a safe and less complicated surgery! It's called "reverse psychology" or what I like to call.... "tricking the bad behavioral mechanisms that are inherent in us into submission"

For instance, when I need choir members to be at a certain place, at a certain time, and knowing that if I say 2:00, they'll get there at 3:00, I will tell them to be there at 1:00, so they'll be there at 2:00 on time. Do I get belly aching and whining about "why do we have to be there at 1:00, the event doesn't start until 3:00" Yes, but guess what, they never fail to get there on time, because some "people" generally have a built-in behavioral mechanism to be late. So for the half-steppers, I trick their "behavioral mechanisms" into being on time by requiring them to show up earlier than the actual scheduled time.

I say all this to say.... it's not all gloom and doom, and you're not a complete failure! Continue on the mandated plan, and lose as much as possible and keep in mind that if you don't stick to it, it will delay the surgery even further. You just never know, 20 lbs. may not be attainable or even the "true" amount that you actually need lose, but if you stick to it and loss as much as possible, you may find that you actually lost the "real" about weight needed, even if it's less than 20 lbs., to perform a safe and less complicated surgery because the liver will have decreased to the actual desired size. The point and encouragement here is to lose as much as possible, so that if the doctor does require 20 lbs. you won't have that far to go!

Keep up the good work, and remember to STAY BEAUTIFUL by remaining positive in your thinking and in your words.... and your actions are guaranteed to follow!

[linda305 173]

Not to encourage you not to put forth your full effort to lose the 20 lbs., if that is what is required by your doctor, but there are times that in order to motivate people to meet a loss, there is a chance that the doctor may have requested that you do above the actual number, so that you reach the "real" weight loss which is needed to shrink your liver in order to perform a safe and less complicated surgery! It's called "reverse psychology" or what I like to call.... "tricking the bad behavioral mechanisms that are inherent in us into submission"

For instance, when I need choir members to be at a certain place, at a certain time, and knowing that if I say 2:00, they'll get there at 3:00, I will tell them to be there at 1:00, so they'll be there at 2:00 on time. Do I get belly aching and whining about "why do we have to be there at 1:00, the event doesn't start until 3:00" Yes, but guess what, they never fail to get there on time, because some "people" generally have a built-in behavioral mechanism to be late. So for the half-steppers, I trick their "behavioral mechanisms" into being on time by requiring them to show up earlier than the actual scheduled time.

I say all this to say.... it's not all gloom and doom, and you're not a complete failure! Continue on the mandated plan, and lose as much as possible and keep in mind that if you don't stick to it, it will KY the surgery even further. You just never know, 20 lbs. may not be attainable or even the "true" amount that you actually need lose, but if you stick to it and loss as much as possible, you may find that you actually lost the "real" about weight needed, even if it's less than 20 lbs., to perform a safe and less complicated surgery because the liver will have decreased to the actual desired size. The point and encouragement here is to lose as much as possible, so that if the doctor does require 20 lbs. you won't have that far to go!

Keep up the good work, and remember to STAY BEAUTIFUL by remaining positive in your thinking and in your words.... and your actions are guaranteed to follow!

Thank you so much Jus1Nita. Thank you for taking the time out and making me feel so motivated to keep going. I felt so much warmth in your kind words. I think today has been the worst. I decided to stay home while my husband visit family and freinds. I don't have the will power to sit at the table and just have a shake. Its hard but I am fighting through it.

[is it just me 80]

Thank you so much Jus1Nita. Thank you for taking the time out and making me feel so motivated to keep going. I felt so much warmth in your kind words. I think today has been the worst. I decided to stay home while my husband visit family and freinds. I don't have the will power to sit at the table and just have a shake. Its hard but I am fighting through it.

U should be proud... That was a big step............ Happy thanksgiving

[Noor1969 150]

I'm still in the prep stages of my surgery (looking to get sleeved in February) but my surgeon does the 2 week pre op liquid diet and I am dreading it. I'm having all kinds of "last meals" and "food funerals" to prepare for all of the stuff that I can't eat again. I know this is wrong, because it's just going to make me gain even more weight and make my surgeon's job harder.

I'm trying to psych myself up for the 2 weeks of liquids by drinking a Protein shake every day and doing my research about what Protein powder samples I'd like to try. Nashua Nutrition lets you buy a sample of just about all of their Protein flavors for just a couple bucks a sample.

Not much advice I can give you except hang in there. I've been on liquid diets before and I know how difficult they can be. Try not to stress yourself out over your mistakes--just learn from them and move on. You are not alone, I'm going to be going through the same thing in just a few weeks.

Keep your eye on the prize and remember the more you adhere to the prep diet, the easier it will be for your surgeon. You can do this!