How to lose weight pre-op?

[BigSue 1,373]

I'm at the beginning stages of getting weight loss surgery, and one of the requirements from my insurance is a 3-month medically-supervised diet with my PCP. My surgeon also wants me to lose at least 20 pounds prior to surgery, but the more, the better.

I went to my PCP last week and told her about my decision to have weight loss surgery (which she supported) and the requirement for a 3-month medically-supervised diet, and she basically just gave me some pamphlets on healthy eating, which are, frankly, no help at all. I mean, I already know that kale is healthier than pizza.

I've done a lot of fad/crash diets in my life, and as you can probably guess, they did not work in the long term, so I'm hesitant to go in that direction again. My surgery will probably be in July and I don't want to start regaining before I even have the surgery. I started intermittent fasting (16 hours fasting, 8 hours when I can eat) a few weeks ago, and that's going ok. I haven't had much trouble sticking with it, and I actually like skipping Breakfast because it's one fewer thing to do in the morning. I also think it's helping me to get out of the habit of snacking, and sometimes I even stretch the 16 hours of fasting to 18 or more. However, I still have unhealthy eating habits during the times when I eat, and I'm not sure if I can lose enough weight through intermittent fasting alone.

For those of you who had to lose at least 20 pounds before surgery (not counting the pre-op liquid diet), how did you do it?

[ChubRub 1,702]

When I first met with my nutritionist, she asked me about my bad habits. My 2 worst bad habits were fast food and soda, so that's what we started with. I offered to cut out both, but then she mentioned that cutting out all fast food might be hard, for instance if the family wanted to get take out/pizza, etc.

So I agreed to give up "car eating" which is where I ate most of my fast food, along with the soda. Just doing that was enough to get the ball rolling. I don't know what your bad habits are, but maybe just start with eliminating 2 or 3 of them, and see what happens?

[AZhiker 2,252]

It is very helpful for longterm success, that if you cut out an unhealthy habit, you replace it with a healthy one. Instead of soda, drink ice tea - or a Bai drink. I love those things. Instead of snacking on chips, make a veggie bag every morning so you can grab it and munch away on carrots, celery, peppers, red cabbage, jicama, cuckes, or whatever veggies work for you.

If you do this, you won't be fighting the strong feelings of deprivation which can undermine the best laid plans,

[AJ Tylo 1,399]

Not hard but wont be fun I am doing this for my x wife as we speak she is getting it done end of May

Since i have a nurta girl who handles me here is her plan

Gallons of broth, she has a band on he wrist and has to move 5 miles a day, Lucky she hits that easy at work, She eats small portion and low calorie food 6 times a day. For example today she will be eating chunked chicken, veggies two shakes and grapes. But she can sip and drink broth all day. She hates it and is miserable but she realizes the rewards seeing me.

Going to prep her food today for the next three days here is it for dinner and lunch - Breakfast for her is a yogurt and shake. I will make two of each and she can mix and match them up - Goal is to keep her under 900 calories a day. Not easy because she cheats at work. and If tired blows the day with the Starbucks drive thru suicide coffee creations.

1. 7 oz salmon cauliflower rice and grapes

2. 7 oz skirt steak Avocado and asparagus and fruit cup

3. Chicken sausage one link, Brown fried rice with egg and tons of veggies

I am professional trained in the kitchen - Use a App to track your calories and be careful with the sauces, seasonings and oils. You can have a healthy piece of fish and ruin the healthy side with a glaze or sauce!

[Machalo 283]

I've lost just under 40 pounds in the last 6 months on my own; surgery for me isn't until April 13. I had lots of bad habits that I needed to break, like soda, diet soda, chocolate, candy in general, chips, white rice, eating out too much, etc. I picked one or two things each month and weaned off of them.

The first month, I gave up candy and chips. Next month I gave up sugared soda, limited diet soda to 2 per day, and stopped eating at fast food restaurants.

Do it a little bit at a time. Making small goals will start the ball rolling for you, and that will motivate you to change the next bad habit. For me it was also motivating to have to weigh in every month. My insurance stipulates that once I started the journey and had my first weigh-in, that I couldn't go up so much as an ounce (from that first weigh-in) during my four months or I would be denied. No lie, that was a huge motivator.

Also, remember why you want this surgical tool to help you control impulse-eating and binge-eating. Find what works for you and what motivates you, and start tracking your food and Water intake. Come out on the forums when and if you have a hard day and talk to us. We're all here to help and support you.

You can do this!

[momof3_angels 465]

Request to see a bariatric nurtitionist. Mine gave me handouts that layed out exactly what my diet should be during each phase of my diet (both pre-op and post-op). I followed it almost all the time, and I had great success.

[Mello1 227]

On 2/29/2020 at 2:02 PM, BigSue said:

I'm at the beginning stages of getting weight loss surgery, and one of the requirements from my insurance is a 3-month medically-supervised diet with my PCP. My surgeon also wants me to lose at least 20 pounds prior to surgery, but the more, the better.

I went to my PCP last week and told her about my decision to have weight loss surgery (which she supported) and the requirement for a 3-month medically-supervised diet, and she basically just gave me some pamphlets on healthy eating, which are, frankly, no help at all. I mean, I already know that kale is healthier than pizza.

I've done a lot of fad/crash diets in my life, and as you can probably guess, they did not work in the long term, so I'm hesitant to go in that direction again. My surgery will probably be in July and I don't want to start regaining before I even have the surgery. I started intermittent fasting (16 hours fasting, 8 hours when I can eat) a few weeks ago, and that's going ok. I haven't had much trouble sticking with it, and I actually like skipping Breakfast because it's one fewer thing to do in the morning. I also think it's helping me to get out of the habit of snacking, and sometimes I even stretch the 16 hours of fasting to 18 or more. However, I still have unhealthy eating habits during the times when I eat, and I'm not sure if I can lose enough weight through intermittent fasting alone.

For those of you who had to lose at least 20 pounds before surgery (not counting the pre-op liquid diet), how did you do it?

Hi BigSue and congrats on your journey! My insurance requires a 3 month program of supervised diet (but no set weight loss; I do hope to be close to 20 pounds down by surgery time). My bariatric center actually had a pre-op nutrition class and basically we were told to concentrate on getting your Proteins in and lowering carbs. Just based on my experience so far, upping the Protein and lowering the carbs is most successful, along with getting the Water in. You should ask if your program includes meeting with a nutritionist to discuss specifics with you.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Mello1

[BigSue 1,373]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! My insurance requires my medically supervised diet to be outside of the bariatric group. I do have to meet with a nutritionist in the bariatric group, but that's a few weeks from now and I get the impression that it's a one-time thing. I also have to take an online nutrition class and a pre-op surgery prep class.

I switched from regular soda to diet several years ago, and I was kind of proud of that because it was hard (I loved regular soda and hated the taste of diet, but I gradually made myself switch and now I prefer the taste of diet, and even unsweetened flavored seltzer). I have a personal rule of no snacking at work, but that's not so easy at home, although the intermittent fasting has helped. I've been entering my food in MyFitnessPal, which is required in my bariatric program for the week before meeting with the nutritionist, but I went ahead and started early, so that is helping me to choose lower-calorie foods, but I am having scary flashbacks to my years of yo-yo dieting because I always do well at the beginning but I can never keep it up for the long term.

[NovaLuna 710]

I would suggest working on cutting the soda out since you can't have carbonated drinks after your surgery for a few months (though my surgeon said it's not wise to ever drink it again as it'll re-stretch your stomach, which leads to weight re-gain). My surgeon didn't require me to lose any weight before my surgery but I lost 64 pounds in the 8 months leading up to my surgery (21 in the first 3 months). I did an elimination diet thing since I had to wait a minimum of 6 months before they could even seek approval for a surgery date because I wanted to prepare myself for how I would be eating for the rest of my life. I don't want to get back into bad habits. I never want to get back to being almost 400 pounds (at my heaviest I was 389 pounds). I cut back on my portion sizes with no seconds. Of course cut out fast food (other than salads). I cut out soda, then rice, Pasta, bread, potatoes, and Beans in that order. And then just maintained.

Cauliflower rice is a good rice replacement and G Hughes makes a sugar free terriyaki sauce that makes for good stir fry (also makes an awesome BBQ Sauce which is also sugar free and great for chicken). Cauliflower pizza is surprisingly good and really the only difference I notice is that it doesn't crisp like bread. Whisps are a brand of cheese crisps they sell at Walmart which make for good croutons or chips and are low carb and delicious (Asiago and pepper jack cheese ones are my person faves followed by parm and then cheddar, though the cheddar are best dipped in salsa). And if ice cream is hard to give up they sell a low carb brand called CarbSmart which is made by Breyers. I also had 1/4 cup of peanuts 2-3x a week for snack.

These are just what I did. Everyone's bodies work differently so I don't know what will work for you. I wish you the best though!

[Chefanie1976 0]

On 2/29/2020 at 3:02 PM, BigSue said:

I'm at the beginning stages of getting weight loss surgery, and one of the requirements from my insurance is a 3-month medically-supervised diet with my PCP. My surgeon also wants me to lose at least 20 pounds prior to surgery, but the more, the better.

I went to my PCP last week and told her about my decision to have weight loss surgery (which she supported) and the requirement for a 3-month medically-supervised diet, and she basically just gave me some pamphlets on healthy eating, which are, frankly, no help at all. I mean, I already know that kale is healthier than pizza.

I've done a lot of fad/crash diets in my life, and as you can probably guess, they did not work in the long term, so I'm hesitant to go in that direction again. My surgery will probably be in July and I don't want to start regaining before I even have the surgery. I started intermittent fasting (16 hours fasting, 8 hours when I can eat) a few weeks ago, and that's going ok. I haven't had much trouble sticking with it, and I actually like skipping Breakfast because it's one fewer thing to do in the morning. I also think it's helping me to get out of the habit of snacking, and sometimes I even stretch the 16 hours of fasting to 18 or more. However, I still have unhealthy eating habits during the times when I eat, and I'm not sure if I can lose enough weight through intermittent fasting alone.

For those of you who had to lose at least 20 pounds before surgery (not counting the pre-op liquid diet), how did you do

I lost 30 pounds on weight watchers a few years ago. And last year I lost 40 pounds listening to a podcast called "losing 100 pounds with phit and phat". I binge listened from episode 1 and followed her advice. Good luck to you with whatever Avenue you decide to try!

[over65 133]

Easiest way to lose is low carb diet with good Portion Control. Limit calories to 1200 a day.

Sent from my SM-T580 using BariatricPal mobile app

[CammyC 291]

I lost 28 pounds pre-op most of that like 24 pounds was before the 14 day liquid diet which I only made it about 9 days with full liquids.
I feared that liquid diet like the devil. So I started eating less about 3 months prior to surgery. I started having Protein Shakes for breakfast and lunch (ensure max protein) and I would only eat dinner. Now when I got hungry at times during the day I would have a banana or cottage cheese. Once you put your mind to it, you can do it! Good luck on your journey!

[New&Improved 1,780]

I got onto shakes early and they really helped kick start my weight loss.. in the 2 months prior to surgery I lost like 60lbs I'm now nearly 7 months since pre-op and I've lost 148lbs

You need to dramatically lower your carbs and sugar and overall calories intake