Did your Doc require a pre-op diet?

[Belynda 0]

Hi all

I have to do 2 weeks before surgery of Optifast and 4 weeks after. How do you cope with eating with your family at meal times? And having it at work?

While I am looking forward to getting closer to surgery (7 May) and maybe losing some weight, I aren't looking forward to missing food for 6 weeks.

For those who had to do liquid diet for 2 weeks or more, how did you cope?

[luv10nis 0]

I also "cheated" several times on my liquid diet stage. I was allowed a 300 calorie meal at night, like a Lean Cuisine. Well, I would only have one shake during the day of 200 calories that would allow me the extra 700 calories for a real meal at night. I cheated a few times and was surprised when I went into surgery on the 14th to discover I had lost 13 lbs during that time still. Keep your head up.

[luv10nis 0]

Here are some things that I did that made it easier for me. Keep in mind I only had to do this for 2 weeks.

1. Drink plenty of Water. I always had water with me. I am an avid diet pepsi drinker. I quit pop all together during this stage.

2. I made a list of things I could do in place of eating. For example, just step outside and walk for 5 minutes to get my mind off of it. I even had a friend I would call to have a meeting we dubbed, "talk me out of it".

3. I purchased cottage cheese, Budding lunch meat, and tuna. When I was feeling really hungry this is what I snacked on due to the low calories, low carbs, and somewhat higher Protein.

I hope this helps. You will get through this. :-)

[Belynda 0]

Thanks Julie. I have 5 weeks to go before I have to start the Optifast, so I have time to get my mind around the fact I am starting a new way of life. I just need to get in the right frame of mind. Not there yet - I'm still saying good bye to the bad foods that I love.

As I constantly yawn, I chew gum, and suck sugar-free lollies, so this will have to do. Having a list of things to do instead of eatings, and reminding myself why I am doing this, will help during the cravings time. I hope!

[jlkreul 0]

[luv10nis 0]

Thanks Julie. I have 5 weeks to go before I have to start the Optifast, so I have time to get my mind around the fact I am starting a new way of life. I just need to get in the right frame of mind. Not there yet - I'm still saying good bye to the bad foods that I love.

As I constantly yawn, I chew gum, and suck sugar-free lollies, so this will have to do. Having a list of things to do instead of eatings, and reminding myself why I am doing this, will help during the cravings time. I hope!

You are welcome. You are going to do fine. The one thing you have to remember is not to beat yourself up if you do slip and cheat. Just get back on it. We have beat ourselves up our entire lives. If not, we wouldn't be where we are today. The one thing I kept thinking about is am I going to be able to do this once I get the band on since I had a harder time staying on the liquids. Since being banded I am telling you, there is no choice. You aren't going to be able to cheat.

My family had pizza last night and boy it smelled and looked awesome. I knew I couldn't have any. As I continued to do report cards, I am a teacher, I kept thinking of how bad I wanted some. Well, all night I started feeling better. I was able to move in my bed better and do things the first night home from surgery I couldn't do. All night long the pizza tore my husband up. He had acid reflux, heartburn, you name it. I told him, I won't be missing that at all. :wink::tt1::lol:

YOU CAN DO THIS! It won't be a easy thing but you can do it.

[Belynda 0]

Having your food get revenge on you is one thing I wont miss! Acid reflux is something I am getting more of because of my weight pressing on my stomach. I wont miss that! lol. Or having to hoag the bathroom the next day. he he

I've just read some where that if you do colour association with food, you start to go off the bad food. eg red for bad food, yellow for food to have occasionally, green for food to have lots of (healthy food). So when ever I see fatty, oily, high carb food, I picture a red 'STOP' sign. When I see fruit and veg, I see a green 'GO' sign. Something that I am going to try.

[MacMadame 81]

I am required to lose weight using any diet I wish.

[Cocoabean 430]

I was not required to lose weight, but if I gained I'd be canceled.

I was required to do a fasting program for two weeks pre-op to shrink my liver. My doc sells one of the liquid programs, the name is escaping me right now. I chose Medifast. I already had the food from a previous "diet attempt." My doc said it would be fine. I cannot say that I like the food, in fact, the shakes taste horrible to me. Some of their Soups are decent, and their bars are pretty good. I like that they have food you can chew, plus you add a "lean and green" meal daily, so I did not feel as deprived.

It was not a fun two weeks, but I managed it without too much cheating. I did Medifast at work all day and hubby and I would have a lean and green for dinner. Some people actually loose quite a bit of weight using this program long-term, more power to them! I could not. The worst part was going to a friend's surprise b-day parting and not being able to partake. There I was with my vanilla shake while others enjoyed the bounty. But, as my surgery was so close, I was able to keep my eye on the prize. It is not easy mixing a special diet with family and friends.

This is another reason I chose the band over bypass, being able to eat regular foods in smaller portions.

Anyway, after my surgery my doc told my hubby that my liver looked great and he could tell that I had done very well on the program. Of course, instead of telling the doc I was a stellar patient, he said, "oh, whew, she was so worried about how much she cheated!" :biggrin: What a guy!!! Of course, DH was the one who made me fess up to eating peas with my mashed potatoes after I went on full liquids. To this my doc said that I could add other soft foods since I tolerated that fine. Yay!

Denise

[Belynda 0]

I've just got my instructions from the doctor. Along with Optifast 3 times a day, I'm allowed 1 piece of fruit a day, and 2 cups of veg a day. Not so bad - at least I can eat with my family at dinner.< /p>

I'm mentally getting into the right frame of mind so I please with myself and I know that I am doing the right thing, and this is going to work.:shades_smile:

[Tangerine4 0]

I saw my doctor yesterday and his pre-op diet is a low fat diet for two weeks. He said that they used to do opti-fast for two weeks but it was too hard for the patients and by day 3 they were calling asking if they could eat something and he feels this very low fat diet works just as well.

[myturn0421 0]

DH surgeon (my soon-to-be surgeon:biggrin:) has us to a 10 day liquid/mushy diet. High protien and low carb/fat. DH lost 15lbs during that 10 days.

[debrainwater 0]

My surgery is scheduled for 4/14 and yes, my Doc has me on "New Direction" weight control system (protein shakes). It truly sucks, yesterday was the first night and I'm already out of my mind. I can only have a 9 oz Protein Shake, three times a day and all the Water I want. I am a little confused, if I wasn't able to stick to this diet before, how does my doctor expect me to now? My poor family, I am trying so hard not to be grumpy. I just keep saying the "Serenity Prayer". Can anyone please give me some words of wisdom or encouragement? Any suggestions?

[antsmith101 0]

For me the first couple days when starting the Protein diet... it put me in a bad mood and also had headaches couples into the diet. I think what worked for me was that I modifed the diet slightly...

First couple days I would for morning/lunch I would drink the Protein Drink and then for dinner I would eat a protein food only... like 1 chicken or 1/2 cup of meat product or tuna. This way my body would get used to the protein and also get used to the small amount of food change I have done..

Then after couple days I start cutting the dinner part into like 1/2 the amount and include protein drink.

Then after another couple more days of that diet I would move to a all protein drink.

Anyways whatever work for you... you just need to find the right combo and for me just jumping into a diet never worked.

Good luck

[Cocoabean 430]

My surgery is scheduled for 4/14 and yes, my Doc has me on "New Direction" weight control system (protein shakes). It truly sucks, yesterday was the first night and I'm already out of my mind. I can only have a 9 oz Protein Shake, three times a day and all the Water I want. I am a little confused, if I wasn't able to stick to this diet before, how does my doctor expect me to now? My poor family, I am trying so hard not to be grumpy. I just keep saying the "Serenity Prayer". Can anyone please give me some words of wisdom or encouragement? Any suggestions?

What kept me going was knowing it was for a short time only and that the surgery was near. My surgeon said it showed I did really well because my liver was nice and small and that made his job much easier.

It is very worth it to stick with it!! It was horrible and I was a grump, I said I'm sorry to my DH every day, in advance, just in case.

I don't recommend cheating, but I do admit to having pretzels from time to time, and the plan I was on allowed for a high Protein and green veggie meal, that helped.

Focus on the prize, having a surgery easier on your body from having a smaller liver!

Take care,

Denise