Overeating before pre-op diet common?

[flowerpower11 5]

Hello, My surgery is June 16th. I start my pre-op diet next Sunday... or sooner if I can. I would like to eliminate sugar and flower this week. What I am curious about and asking for help with is that if anyone has experienced worse overeating before the pre-op diet date and surgery? Unfortunately, all the crappy food makes me feel horrible emotionally and physically and I am finding it more difficult to just "stop" than ever. At least there is only a week left but living my life so miserable is no fun.

I am telling only a handful of people about this surgery, so in a way I feel like I do not have much support - but telling people would be to much drama. And I am glad to be avoiding that.

So my question is, have you experienced this and how did you remedy the situation?

[thesuse2000 698]

Hi flowerpower,

My surgery date is the same day as yours!

I can relate to a lot that you talked about... I haven't been eating THAT badly, but I keep trying to get a head start on eating less/better and that hasn't been going so well - definitely in part because I'm stressed about the deprivation ahead with the pro-op diet.

I can't speak to what's normal, but that's what I'm dealing with, and I'm guessing we're not alone in this. I think some do get motivated beforehand and start eating better, and I wish I was one of those, but that hasn't been the case. But I will follow the rules starting with the pre-op and beyond.

Hang in there - we will get through this!

[gowalking 10,790]

I ate so much before I started my pre-op diet that I literally made myself sick. You will get through this and it's not unusual. And hopefully, your relationship with food will change as it has for me. To paraphrase what a friend said, 'nothing tastes as good as normal' feels. I use normal rather than thin but you can use whatever you like.

The point is that once you get healthier and to a more normal weight, and with the help of your tool, you will not miss food as much as you think you will. Good luck!

Oh...and thesuse....Dr. Ren was my surgeon as well though it was a band and not the sleeve. She's terrific as is all the staff at NYU. She banded Alex too.... So good luck to you also!

[InfiniteButterfly 438]

I had food funerals prior to going on the pre-surgery liquid diet. I chose a few foods that I knew I wasn't going to get (in that form) post-surgery and had them one last time. Take-out Chinese food. A nice sushi dinner. (I actually have a bariatric-approved recipe for beef and broccoli, which was my go-to food, but I won't be having it with the mounds of fried rice and fried won ton and all the other goodies), and while sashimi may someday be on the plate, the bento I enjoyed likely won't be due to the frying and the rice is a goner.

I can't really be sad about it. And I don't regret for an instant that these are things I won't have again. I knew it wasn't healthy even when I was eating it...the heavy, sluggish feeling afterward was enough to tell me it wasn't good. But it was important to me to have a 'last meal' so to speak, of a few favorites (I spaced them out a week or two apart prior to the liquid diet)

[Kindle 8,667]

I ate the same quantity of the same crappy food right up until the day I started my preop diet. But once started, it was GAME ON. I was so excited for this change to happen I had no problems with the preop or postop diets. You just have to be in the right state of mind and enjoy this wonderful new life you have chosen. Don't wallow or lament or whine about the small stuff. It's JUST food and it's JUST for a few weeks. You can do this. Go check out the before and after posts and use everyone else's successes for motivation. One day those will be your posts.

[thesuse2000 698]

Thanks for the good wishes! And congrats on your amazing success!

I ate so much before I started my pre-op diet that I literally made myself sick. You will get through this and it's not unusual. And hopefully, your relationship with food will change as it has for me. To paraphrase what a friend said, 'nothing tastes as good as normal' feels. I use normal rather than thin but you can use whatever you like.

The point is that once you get healthier and to a more normal weight, and with the help of your tool, you will not miss food as much as you think you will. Good luck!

Oh...and thesuse....Dr. Ren was my surgeon as well though it was a band and not the sleeve. She's terrific as is all the staff at NYU. She banded Alex too.... So good luck to you also!

[ladyhill 0]

I have started my own pre-op preparations, beginning today. I am not necessarily trying to lose but hope I will. I am just trying to set a timer for every 2 hours, for eating, using My Fitness Pal to monitor what goes in and exercise as well as keep up with the flow of fluids (this one I am horrible at). I am hoping for the surgery before the end of June. Awaiting approval at this point.

[par1959 470]

Yes, it is very commom. I had my last supper a week ago tomorrow. Steak, potatoes and salad with lots of beer to wash it down. The pre -op diet has not been as bad as I thought it would be. I wasnt perfect but close. Down 15 lbs in 5 days. Goal was 10 and I have 2 days to go. The trick for me was specified meal times and practice eating or in this case sipping slowly. I could make a shake last anwhere from 1/2 hour to a one time best of 1.75 hours. There is a Soup put out by Bariatric Advantage that also helped . Less calories than their shakes, but more filling.

[Blazzrr 37]

I was eating too much this weekend and I was having trouble stopping. My surgery should be in mid-July so this is annoying!! My goal at the moment is simply not to gain weight, but i need to find a way tommanage this a little better.

I am wondering what is motivating others to eat light before you have to? It feels like the sleeve will take care of my weight much more expeditiously than I can so i am having trouble finding the motivation at the moment. I am still preparing well for the surgery and changing habits, I know I will make sure I am a post-op long-term success - basically because I never, ever want this life I have now back and will do whatever it takes to stay far away from here.)

Are others feeling like i am?

[beth_d 12]

I'm so happy to read others have had this same problem!

This past week was my last medically supervised diet visit and ever since I have gone right back to my horrible eating habits. I don't do my preop testing for another three weeks! Hopefully I will be able to calm down so I don't gain 20 more pounds before surgery.

[Marta4656 0]

I can also relate to this. I've been on a "diet" since Jan 28, 2014. I've lost about 30 pounds on my own. In March I had my first appointment with my surgeon and have gone through the normal stuff. I'm currently awaiting insurance approval. i told my daughter today that I am going to have several "food funerals" before I go on the pre-op diet. Just knowing that I won't be able to eat those foods again is kind of scary. But hopefully, I will eat it, and get it out of my system. Some people are trying to talk me out of having the surgery since I've lost 30+ pounds on my own, but I know I've reached my plateau. Now i need a tool to help me. We will ALL make it through this. No one said it would be easy, but it will be worth it!!!

[dreamgirl45 32]

Hello, My surgery is June 16th. I start my pre-op diet next Sunday... or sooner if I can. I would like to eliminate sugar and flower this week. What I am curious about and asking for help with is that if anyone has experienced worse overeating before the pre-op diet date and surgery? Unfortunately, all the crappy food makes me feel horrible emotionally and physically and I am finding it more difficult to just "stop" than ever. At least there is only a week left but living my life so miserable is no fun.

I am telling only a handful of people about this surgery, so in a way I feel like I do not have much support - but telling people would be to much drama. And I am glad to be avoiding that.

So my question is, have you experienced this and how did you remedy the situation?

I can relate, too. Ever since I received surgery pre-approval from the insurance company, I've been going to town eating things I think I'll never enjoy again. Yesterday, I ate BBQ and fried food to the point that I felt sick and in pain when I turned in for the night. Also, for a really long time I kept soda drinking to maybe 1 Sprite or Coke a week, but I swear I've been having 1 soda or carbonated beverage a day (especially Sonic limeade, which is made with Sprite), all in an attempt to have a foof funeral since after the surgery I'm told that I can never have carbonated beverages again. The kicker is soda isn't good for us anyway and I cringe when my 7 year old asks if she can have a soda!!!

[jjinWA 511]

I have been enjoying my "last suppers" for the past few weeks. :-). My surgery is June 17. I keep saying eat it now cuz I can't have it afterwards. I know that is probably not the best way to go about this, but I know that once I have surgery I will have to be serious about my diet. I am not going to do this to my body and not follow plan. I just wish my surgery date was sooner. I just want to get on with my new life! I am ready for it!

[Blazzrr 37]

I am so happy everyone is being so honest and not judgmental! My surgery will be in July, so I had been afraid to post about my overeating so far out. Well, I continue to overeat, I'm not happy about it but I know myself, and my mind sees this as the real finale on a lifetime of dieting - it's the king of all binges because this is truly the last, last time! YEAH!!!

July is just very far away which is hard!

I do have a short list of rules - no matter what I do:

1. I cannot gain more weight,

2. I cannot DIE (very important bc I don't want to have a heart attack or something crazy!!! From all the junk food)

3. I must eat 5 fruit and/or vegetable servings a day. Preferably fresh and organic. This includes fruit smoothie, (counts as 2 servings) carrot celery juice, (counts as 2 servings) etc. (this goes with the I "can't die" part - it helps me feel physically better and to digest and deal with foods that are fried or very fatty otherwise i feel SOOOOOooo much more sick.)

This overeating is no surprise to me. it is to be so expected for me, if it weren't i wouldn't need this surgery to get my life back!!

Thank you everyone!!!

Hugs!

[gowalking 10,790]

Hey people....I keep seeing you all saying you'll never eat this or that again. Just know that this is not necessarily true. Some things yes, you may have trouble with, but there are lots of folks, myself included, who can eat anything.

We just choose not to...or choose to eat it sparingly. The only thing most of us can't do is plow into it like we used to.

Here's a perfect example. I still eat carbs, just a little as compared to BB (before banding). I would eat two or three bowls of noodles and sauce. Honestly. Now I eat 1/4 cup. I know I could likely eat a whole cup but I'd probably not feel well if I did it....and I'd gain back weight as well. So I choose to eat 1/4 cup and my band stops me from pigging out on it.

Like so many on this site say, 'it's a tool and not a magic wand'. That phrase works for any WLS you are having.