Pre Op Liquid Diet - surprisingly doable

[ladygodiva 15]

Folks - I just want to send a small positive vibe out into the universe - I am on day 5 of my liquid pre op diet and I have to say, I feel decent and honestly this is not *that* bad. I swear!

I was massively dreading this. I was worried I would be nonstop hungry for two weeks and angry at the world. However, I got into a routine of shake - broth - jello/popsicle that seems to be working to manage the hunger. Am I hungry? Yes. Is it constant? No. (Could I eat any solid form of food right now? Yes. Will I? No.)

I "eat" 4 times a day: Breakfast, lunch, "happy hour" (oh the irony), and dinner. I have a shake at each meal and broth and/or Jello. I have tried many broths and I honestly prefer the old fashioned boullion cubes or ramen noodle broth packet over anything fancy like Bone Broth. I am having 800-900 calories a day and I am not face down in the bed like I thought I would be. I even adulted at work today. 😂

Just want to send this note because the two week liquid preop was looming so large in my mind before I actually started doing it. Like many things, the dread was worse than just doing the dreaded thing.

[Elidh 241]

Hello there Lady Godiva! I, too, was blessed to find my 2 week pre-op liquid diet not too difficult. In fact, I did it twice: the first time, on day 13, my surgery was cancelled due to the Covid surge. The second time around, I admit I had had a few more food funerals, but when the liquid diet started, it was actually a relief to not stress about food and to know that I was on my way to success!

[Sunnyway 345]

I also found a two-week Liquid Protein doable. The hard part was the withdrawal from sugar and carbs. Once the withdrawal faded away, the second week was fine.

[ShoppGirl 5,051]

My pre op was mea and veggies mostly and it was surprising to me that it wasn’t horrible as well. I am glad to hear that yours isn’t too bad either. For me, that was the start of a few phases you will go through that are equally as doable. Good luck.

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

19 hours ago, ladygodiva said:

Folks - I just want to send a small positive vibe out into the universe - I am on day 5 of my liquid pre op diet and I have to say, I feel decent and honestly this is not *that* bad. I swear!

I was massively dreading this. I was worried I would be nonstop hungry for two weeks and angry at the world. However, I got into a routine of shake - broth - jello/popsicle that seems to be working to manage the hunger. Am I hungry? Yes. Is it constant? No. (Could I eat any solid form of food right now? Yes. Will I? No.)

I "eat" 4 times a day: Breakfast, lunch, "happy hour" (oh the irony), and dinner. I have a shake at each meal and broth and/or Jello. I have tried many broths and I honestly prefer the old fashioned boullion cubes or ramen noodle broth packet over anything fancy like Bone Broth. I am having 800-900 calories a day and I am not face down in the bed like I thought I would be. I even adulted at work today. 😂

Just want to send this note because the two week liquid preop was looming so large in my mind before I actually started doing it. Like many things, the dread was worse than just doing the dreaded thing.

Thanks for this post...I am starting my pre op diet in about 2 weeks and I am worried about it. I can have shakes or small meals of Protein and veggies. I'm going to try 2 shakes and 2 meals to begin and for the last few days go with all shakes to make sure my liver has shrunk. Keeping my fingers crossed I have the same experience.

[AmandaMae80 4]

On 12/14/2021 at 12:13 PM, Flab-U-Less Forever said:

Thanks for this post...I am starting my pre op diet in about 2 weeks and I am worried about it. I can have shakes or small meals of Protein and veggies. I'm going to try 2 shakes and 2 meals to begin and for the last few days go with all shakes to make sure my liver has shrunk. Keeping my fingers crossed I have the same experience.

My pre op diet was similar- 2 meals of Protein Shakes, dinner 4oz of meat with a half cup o non-starch veggies....I know it's what the surgeon says to do but SOoo many others talk about going full clear liquid at least the last day or 2. My surgery is supposed to be Dec. 20th (1 more day of prep) and I'm a bit torn. Per the surgeon I'm just supposed to switch it around and ha e the meat and veggies for breakfast the day before surgery, then the protien shakes for lunch and dinner and nothing at all after midnight. Then post op. Im supposed to start pureed food on like day 3 after surgery. My own instincts here are to do only liquids tomorrow, only Clear Liquids after 5pm, then post surgery liquids up through at LEAST day 7....I don't know about going outside of what's recommended tho...

[Sunnyway 345]

13 hours ago, AmandaMae80 said:

My own instincts here are to do only liquids tomorrow, only Clear Liquids after 5pm, then post surgery liquids up through at LEAST day 7....I don't know about going outside of what's recommended tho...

My surgery is on December 21 and today (the 19th) I started the "clear-liquids only" prescribed. I can have clear-liquids only tomorrow and then nothing after midnight with surgery the following morning.

Fortunately, my clinic is pretty liberal about what is a clear liquid. I can have coffee and tea (no milk or cream), low-cal Fruit Drinks like Ocean Spray Diet 5, broth, sugar-free fruit-flavored drinks and sugar-free sports drinks, plus sugar-free Popsicles and sugar-free Jello. I made up three batches of the Jello to have on hand. I'm drinking a cup of one of these clear liquids every hour and so far am not hungry.

I will have one day of clear liquids in the hospital post-surgery, then start full liquids the second day in hospital, continuing at home through day 7. Full liquids will include strained cream Soup, milk, greek yogurt, vegetable juice, Cream of Wheat, broth. Mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and evening, I'm supposed to add 4 oz of high Protein Drink.

Good luck to you, Surgery Buddy. See you on the Losers' Side!

Edited December 19, 2021 by Sunnyway

[ladygodiva 15]

Good luck to you guys! I am scheduled for 12/23. Closing out day 11 of the preop liquid diet. I am still doing ok. Managing the hunger pretty well. I am starting to feel a little run down though. Ready to get to the next step. God luck with your surgeries on Tuesday!