5 weeks til 1st Surgeon Appt....how to get a head start?

[gina171 626]

My first appointment with my surgeon is on July 14th, so I have a good 5 weeks. I would like to use this time wisely. I don't feel the need to go on weeks of food funerals, though I am sure I will have 3 or 4 favorite meals during this time. But how else can I best use the time til mid-July?

Here's what I am in the process of doing now:

• I have read several books and am well versed on the different surgery types, am uncertain btw. sleeve and RNY, will rely on physician input once he sees the whole health picture.
• I am seeing my primary care doc on this month to officially record starting weight, and let them know I am getting WLS.
• I will attend support group meetings.
• Am getting my psych eval done this week.
• Trying out different Protein products.

So I guess the big question is, do I start serious, low carb, dieting now, in the meantime? I am the type who can lose 20 pounds fairly easily, but then....I stall, and I stall HARD, and then I usually get sloppy and start slowly regaining. So I am a little worried about losing my 20 easy pounds, showing up to the surgeon mid-July and he says, hey lose 10% of your body weight before surgery please, and then I am stuck "starting over" right in the really hard part of every diet I have ever been on. Maybe I am whining here?

I would like to do everything I can to get a head start before that first surgeon appt, since I'd like to do the surgery as soon as I can bc of work cycles (I work in college administration). I supposedly have no mandatory diet and exercise waiting period (we'll see on that....).

I figure that starting to lose weight now will just mean it's some weight at least that I don't have to lose later, so maybe I should just jump in and diet? Try bariatric recipes? What do you recommend?

Thanks for any input or advice.

Edited June 7, 2016 by gina171

[James Marusek 5,244]

I recommend three things.

1. If you smoke, give that up now. It is a requirement for surgery.

2. One of the requirements for surgery is to get off all caffeine and carbonated beverages. So I went cold turkey on my 6 diet coke a day habit. I lost 20 pounds on that change alone. I also suffered through a week of severe caffeine withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. So don't put off this requirement until the last minute. Do this change now. You do not want to combine this caffeine withdrawal with the effects of recovering from surgery.

3. Walk 30 minutes every day (or equivalent). It really improves your recovery process dramatically. After I left the operating room, I had no pain medicine because I didn't need it. I attribute this to the walking that I did before surgery.

[KristenLe 5,979]

This is what I'm doing...

- getting help with emotional eating / mindless eating

- read book about how to deal with life after WLS (emotionally mostly)

- eat high Protein, lowcarb with 5-6 small meals a day (3 hours in between)

-50% protein/50% produce

- eat slowly - mindful eating

- use small plates

- cut out bread, Pasta and rice (or start to)

- read nutrition labels - keep to less than 5 GMs fat and sugars

Good luck!

Sent from my KFFOWI using the BariatricPal App

Edited June 7, 2016 by KristenLe

[Sophie74656 1,572]

Dieting won't hurt, any weight you loose before surgery will make the actual surgery easier. Many people have to do a liquid diet pre op and that might make it a little easier.

Don't go overboard with the Protein, many people find that after surgery they hate a Protein shake that they liked before surgery

My journey involved seeing a cardiologist, pulmonologist, and a coupme other doctors and for them I was a new patient so it was hard to get appointments. You could use this time to find some in network doctors and schedule some appointments. You can always move them or cancel them later

[miiasan 370]

yes, I agree with everything that has been said:

By time I decided to take my first steps toward surgery, I had already stopped drinking caffeine, but had to stop drinking sodas

I walked 30 min a day at first and eventually added an hour of Water aerobics

I put myself on a 1200 calorie diet - emphasized eating over 60 grams of Protein a day, drinking 60 ounces of Fluid and cutting out all the empty calories I could.

Of course, there were days that weren't perfect, but doing all this really helped to get me ready for my surgery and I lost 9 lbs before seeing the doctor the first time and another 30 before surgery. Knowing that I would have surgery and finally be able to have a tool to help me lose my excess weight was a great motivator.

Good luck with the process and take one day at a time.