Pre op diet questions since reading my book last night

[LifeRejuvenated 21]

They suggested at the meeting adopting a 1500-1800 calorie diet now & then to 1200-1500 into it more. Stopping caffeine over the next month or two, making sure your Protein is 80-120 g, drinking 64oz Water, not eating and drinking together, eating pea-sized bites, etc... Just wondering if anyone or even if it's advisable/makes a difference if you bit the bullet & start just eating 500 calories daily, that we'll end up only eating afterwards. You'd lose plenty of weight if you could handle it. My head is swimming with all these thoughts today.

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[teedsg 253]

Hi, @@LifeRejuvenated,

I would suggest that you Not eat 500 calories a day. It's not possible to keep that goal life long. I'm in my 6month diet visits as well, and it's a lot of information at one time. So, try it and, this plan will force you to eat the right way. ☺

The thing I'm still struggling with is drinking 30 min before and after you eat.

[James Marusek 5,244]

I would recommend that you follow the guidelines that were given to you.

I recommend you do three things at this stage.

1. Take a good before photograph of yourself, so that you have something to compare to after surgery. Many times we are blind to our obesity. We do not see ourselves. Therefore when the weight begins to drop off rather dramatically, we question if this is really happening. Photographs are a good visualization of our success. Many people carry a before and after photo with them, just to remind themselves of their success.

2. Walk 30 minutes each day, every day until surgery (or equivalent exercise). Walking helps the recovery process go smoothly and minimized the pain levels from surgery.

3. Wean yourself from caffeine and carbonated beverages now. After I gave up my 6 diet coke a day habit, I suffered from a week of severe withdrawal syndrome consisting of severe headaches and body aches. I was miserable. You don't want to combine the effects of caffeine withdrawal with the effects of surgery. By giving up my diet coke habit, I lost 20 pounds on that change alone.

[KristenLe 5,979]

They suggested at the meeting adopting a 1500-1800 calorie diet now & then to 1200-1500 into it more. Stopping caffeine over the next month or two, making sure your Protein is 80-120 g, drinking 64oz Water, not eating and drinking together, eating pea-sized bites, etc... Just wondering if anyone or even if it's advisable/makes a difference if you bit the bullet & start just eating 500 calories daily, that we'll end up only eating afterwards. You'd lose plenty of weight if you could handle it. My head is swimming with all these thoughts today.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

No - that's not recommended. That's not healthy long term and could mess up your metabolism. Follow the plan given - it's not for long that your calories will be that low post-op. My pre-op diet for 2 weeks says DO NOT GO UNDER 800 calories a day.

[shedo82773 1,236]

As everyone has said, follow the guidelines that they gave you. I will say this much anything you can do now only helps you with your upcoming journey. Practice Practice makes perfect. You defintly don't want to cut your calories to love before it won't allow your body to heal li8ke it should after surgery. After surgery we have our tool to help us eat less calories. Hang in there. Come to this site with your ?'s for sure but...do follow what they tell you to do. It is very IMPORTANT to start making the changes now.

[Djmohr 6,965]

Ditto ditto ditto......what everyone else said. the reality is you cannot maintain a low calorie count long term. Your body will likely fight by stalling and then gaining more weight than you lost especially before surgery.

I would follow the guidelines completely. After surgery there will be several months where your intake is at or below 500 and honestly it is not a good place to be, you dont want that situation long term. I stayed at 900 calories for the first 18 months while i was losing and now i have slowly had to get my calorie count back up to 1300 to 1500 to maintain. I have gained and lost 5lbs several times now trying to figure out my sweet spot.

I raised my intake because i wanted to stop losing and allow myself more calories because at 2 years i noticed i was hungrier and could not stay on 1000 to 1300 calories. I think I am very close to the right intake for me but it probably should not have taken this long to figure it out.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

They suggested at the meeting adopting a 1500-1800 calorie diet now & then to 1200-1500 into it more. Stopping caffeine over the next month or two, making sure your Protein is 80-120 g, drinking 64oz Water, not eating and drinking together, eating pea-sized bites, etc... Just wondering if anyone or even if it's advisable/makes a difference if you bit the bullet & start just eating 500 calories daily, that we'll end up only eating afterwards. You'd lose plenty of weight if you could handle it. My head is swimming with all these thoughts today.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I recommend that you follow the recommendations of your program.

You do not get bonus points for restricting nutrition and it can be extremely counterproductive.

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

By the way, you want to be as healthy as possible going into surgery. 500 calories a day is not healthy.

[RickM 1,753]

By the way, you want to be as healthy as possible going into surgery. 500 calories a day is not healthy.

Indeed - this is why some surgeons specifically avoid these liquid pre-op diets that are imposed by some programs - fasting like that isn't the greatest way to prepare for major surgery.

[WLSResources/ClothingExch 3,444]

start just eating 500 calories daily, that we'll end up only eating afterwards.

I intuit that "500" is a typo and that you intended "1500." 500 is très unhealthy for anyone under any circumstances. Your goal is life rejuvenated; 500 won't get you there.

[MaryCatherine 173]

All good advice. I would also say to wean off of caffeine now and stop eating white carbs like flour, sugar, bread, rice, potatoes, Cereal and Pasta.

This way you don't have to go through withdrawal with the pre-op and post-op plans.