What do you wish you had done BEFORE your gastric bypass surgery to get ready?

[Lilia_90 382]

I wish I ate more of the things I loved pre-op LOL!!!

Nah jokes aside, WLS is a tool that we utilize towards - hopefully - permanent life changes, if you see it as a means that'll all it'll ever be, if you see it as an effective tool, it will get you where you want to be.

I would say, clean up your act, get moving, change your daily habits and get into the fat loss mindset. This doesn't mean going completely cold turkey on everything, but whatever bad habits that led you to needing the surgery in the first place need to be thought of and turned around.

I didn't need a liquid diet, my BMI was on the lower side and I worked out consistently my entire life so I didn't much change anything and boy I wished I changed some things because dealing with the discomfort of the surgery, the huge changes in your diet and all the restrictions afterwards is no fun all together. I wish I cut back on caffeine (I had caffeine a week post surgery because I had terrible headaches), I wish I cut out diet soda prior to WLS because I love diet soda so very much and it was tough to think that I can never have this without any mental preparation beforehand.

I wouldn't change much else because fortunately for me, I had a good experience post op, the weight dropped off very quick, I never threw up or had severe food aversions and have very effective restriction. But I also had a very balanced diet and workout regimen before WLS and that helped me tremendously and I know that might not be the case for everyone. Also, prepare yourself for a new life and new you, it's cliché but it's very true.

[ShoppGirl 4,728]

1 hour ago, Lilia_90 said:

I wish I ate more of the things I loved pre-op LOL!!!

Nah jokes aside, WLS is a tool that we utilize towards - hopefully - permanent life changes, if you see it as a means that'll all it'll ever be, if you see it as an effective tool, it will get you where you want to be.

I would say, clean up your act, get moving, change your daily habits and get into the fat loss mindset. This doesn't mean going completely cold turkey on everything, but whatever bad habits that led you to needing the surgery in the first place need to be thought of and turned around.

I didn't need a liquid diet, my BMI was on the lower side and I worked out consistently my entire life so I didn't much change anything and boy I wished I changed some things because dealing with the discomfort of the surgery, the huge changes in your diet and all the restrictions afterwards is no fun all together. I wish I cut back on caffeine (I had caffeine a week post surgery because I had terrible headaches), I wish I cut out diet soda prior to WLS because I love diet soda so very much and it was tough to think that I can never have this without any mental preparation beforehand.

I wouldn't change much else because fortunately for me, I had a good experience post op, the weight dropped off very quick, I never threw up or had severe food aversions and have very effective restriction. But I also had a very balanced diet and workout regimen before WLS and that helped me tremendously and I know that might not be the case for everyone. Also, prepare yourself for a new life and new you, it's cliché but it's very true.

Wow. I’m surprised you made it a week with the caffeine withdrawal headaches. I’m glad you didn’t have any issues from drinking it so soon post surgery. I am weaning myself off it now and I tried cutting back too fast the first day and woke up with a massive headache at 2am so bad that I downed some. I am down to my last day actually. I should be caffeine free tomorrow. 😁 and I start my preop diet the next day I THOUGHT I had more time between the two and I was going to do lower carb to sorta detox from those before preop but the office messed up and I got alot less warning. Oh well stuff happens I guess. Just trying to keep going forward. Anyways, I guess my point is that I definitely second the cutting caffeine. I did it further in advance with the sleeve and really wish I hadn’t cut it so close this time. It has been stressful thinking what if it’s too fast and I can’t get there. Especially for me being post sleeve because I can’t just take an Alieve and Tylenol doesn’t do anything for me. I can’t even imagine dealing with everything post op and having a withdrawal headache on top of it all.

[Lilia_90 382]

15 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Wow. I’m surprised you made it a week with the caffeine withdrawal headaches. I’m glad you didn’t have any issues from drinking it so soon post surgery.

My surgeon cleared me for a little caffeine and I switched to Decaf from week 2-6. Six weeks on I restricted myself to one cup of coffee a day only, occasionally 2 (second one decaf always) and that's huge progress from 4 cups of coffee a day.

You can incorporate caffeine in your post op diet (6 weeks on), but make sure to check with your team first.

[DianeF 16]

8 hours ago, Lilia_90 said:

My surgeon cleared me for a little caffeine and I switched to Decaf from week 2-6. Six weeks on I restricted myself to one cup of coffee a day only, occasionally 2 (second one Decaf always) and that's huge progress from 4 cups of coffee a day.

You can incorporate caffeine in your post op diet (6 weeks on), but make sure to check with your team first.

I'm so glad this came up. There's one reference to caffeine in my prep book, but the doctor and dietician have said nothing else about it. And I wrote coffee on my diet plans, but nothing about decaf. I'm going to ask them about it, but I'm now realizing that I will have to cut out caffeine. I'll have to start a weaning process. This might be the toughest pre-op process for me.

[Lilia_90 382]

37 minutes ago, DianeF said:

I'm so glad this came up. There's one reference to caffeine in my prep book, but the doctor and dietician have said nothing else about it. And I wrote coffee on my diet plans, but nothing about Decaf. I'm going to ask them about it, but I'm now realizing that I will have to cut out caffeine. I'll have to start a weaning process. This might be the toughest pre-op process for me.

Caffeine can trigger GERD in some VSG patients, so it’s better to approach it cautiously. Test the waters first, it doesn’t cause me any problems so I can have a cup a day (never black, always with oat milk!). Black coffee would give me acidity, so see how you feel on it and take it slow. Good luck!

[ShoppGirl 4,728]

9 hours ago, Lilia_90 said:

My surgeon cleared me for a little caffeine and I switched to Decaf from week 2-6. Six weeks on I restricted myself to one cup of coffee a day only, occasionally 2 (second one Decaf always) and that's huge progress from 4 cups of coffee a day.

You can incorporate caffeine in your post op diet (6 weeks on), but make sure to check with your team first.

Thanks. I am actually looking at my book now and it lists regular caffeinated or decaf beverages on the clear liquid diet which is days one and two post op. I knew I was offered coffee in the hospital for my sleeve but wasn’t sure if it was decaf or regular because I don’t drink it unless its loaded with other stuff. I was allowed when I asked pretty early out to have caffeinated Protein Shakes but didn’t remember exactly when that was. I know that a lot of doctors disagree on this toplc but apparently I am allowed to have it from day one. Ironically it is NOT listed as a drink option on the liver shrink diet. Not sure why but I have an appointment with him today so I will be asking. I am totally weaned and didn’t have any this morning but I am dragging a bit. No headaches though knock on wood. I know that it’s always tough for me for any procedure to go without it even for the nothing after midnight that’s always required. If the procedure goes too late I wake up with a headache begging to drink the caffeine that I bring with me so I guess it’s better to just stay off of it or keep it to like one a day anyways at this point.

Edited July 22 by ShoppGirl

[ShoppGirl 4,728]

1 hour ago, DianeF said:

I'm so glad this came up. There's one reference to caffeine in my prep book, but the doctor and dietician have said nothing else about it. And I wrote coffee on my diet plans, but nothing about Decaf. I'm going to ask them about it, but I'm now realizing that I will have to cut out caffeine. I'll have to start a weaning process. This might be the toughest pre-op process for me.

It takes a while to do it without headaches so start sooner than later. I had to rush the process a bit (long story) and it was pretty stressful knowing that my body may not cooperate with my timeline. Thankfully I had my last caffeine yesterday. 😮‍💨

[lily06 46]

I did 2 things preop that helped immensely:

1) this may sound weird but i guessed i’d be in a little pain from the incisions so a couple of days before going into the clinic i move everything i figured i’d need in the first week post up to middle shelves in my kitchen/fridge : cups, scales, Protein Shakes and powders etc. And thank god i did because i had abdominal muscle pain (like i’d done 10000 crunches) and was told not to bend down for a while.

2) i wrote out « meal » plans from what my dietician provided in order to clearly see what time of day i’d eat (protein shakes) and drink (water). I’m the kind of person who needs a set plan that’s clear and that i can follow because i was lost the first few days.

I wrote out 4 weeks of meal plans and i varied the shakes and purées and Soups so i didn’t get sick of one specific one (never ate the same one 2 meals in a row and alternated with the next day).

Not sure it actually helped my experience but it did help me see clearly mentally 🤣

[MrsFitz 440]

14 minutes ago, lily06 said:

I did 2 things preop that helped immensely:

1) this may sound weird but i guessed i’d be in a little pain from the incisions so a couple of days before going into the clinic i move everything i figured i’d need in the first week post up to middle shelves in my kitchen/fridge : cups, scales, Protein Shakes and powders etc. And thank god i did because i had abdominal muscle pain (like i’d done 10000 crunches) and was told not to bend down for a while.

2) i wrote out « meal » plans from what my dietician provided in order to clearly see what time of day i’d eat (protein shakes) and drink (water). I’m the kind of person who needs a set plan that’s clear and that i can follow because i was lost the first few days.

I wrote out 4 weeks of meal plans and i varied the shakes and purées and Soups so i didn’t get sick of one specific one (never ate the same one 2 meals in a row and alternated with the next day).

Not sure it actually helped my experience but it did help me see clearly mentally 🤣

This sounds really sensible to me, especially the meal plans as I also need some sort of plan too, especially if it’s something I’m not 100% confident about.

[tomoshi 3]

I would have focused more on my therapy sessions. I would have taken it all more seriously.

My approach to the whole thing was "yeah yeah, I'll just go along and do what you shrink-folks tell me, let's just get this over with as quickly as possible, just sign me your 'ok' so that I can move on to surgery".

At the moment I'm not very much inspired to go into more details and write some more... currently struggling with a serious weight re-gain (almost 20 kilos regain) ... and I don't know... some (almost) 3 years after my surgery, still struggling, just like before the surgery.

[Jools.s 3]

I wish I had run down my freezer contents or given stuff away. I eat such small quantities and only cook for myself these days so I find my freezer intimidating and try not to look into it 🤣

I also wish I’d stocked up with a variety of small portion frozen homemade Soups, stews, chilis etc instead as I don’t fancy cooking much and also don’t like eating the same thing twice in a row.

[Arabesque 7,184]

11 hours ago, Jools.s said:

I wish I had run down my freezer contents or given stuff away. I eat such small quantities and only cook for myself these days so I find my freezer intimidating and try not to look into it 🤣

I also wish I’d stocked up with a variety of small portion frozen homemade Soups, stews, chilis etc instead as I don’t fancy cooking much and also don’t like eating the same thing twice in a row.

Never too late to give away or donate from your freezer. Then you’ll have plenty of room to freeze single portions of anything you cook. In a short time you’ll have a variety of meals you can simply defrost & heat. I usually only cook twice a week from scratch, freeze several portions then I ‘shop’ dinner from my freezer. Tonight I’m having pork schnitzel from the batch I cooked last week. Once defrosted it will reheat in 30/40 seconds & I only have to prep vegetables.

I use zip lock bags for my single serves: any meat cuts (steak, lamb cutlets, etc.) plus Soups, meat balls, bolognese, anything really. I even cook a mini roast, slice it up & freeze individual portions in the bags with gravy. Easy to write on the bag what it is & add a date so you remember when you cooked & froze it.

[NickelChip 1,195]

On 7/23/2024 at 11:17 AM, Jools.s said:

I wish I had run down my freezer contents or given stuff away. I eat such small quantities and only cook for myself these days so I find my freezer intimidating and try not to look into it 🤣

I also wish I’d stocked up with a variety of small portion frozen homemade Soups, stews, chilis etc instead as I don’t fancy cooking much and also don’t like eating the same thing twice in a row.

This is me right now, too. I am looking at vast quantities of things like family packs of chicken breast and feeling like any one thing could feed me for a year. What I'm planning to do soon is come up with meals I can make with as much of the raw ingredients I have on hand as possible, including various dinners, Soups, stews, etc. I'll set aside a day or two to do all my prep and cooking, and then freeze everything in single serving portions. Once it's sorted into meals I can heat and eat instead of 3lb flats of plastic wrapped poultry, I'm hoping it won't be so intimidating!

[JennyBeez 287]

On 7/23/2024 at 11:13 PM, Arabesque said:

I use zip lock bags for my single serves: any meat cuts (steak, lamb cutlets, etc.) plus Soups, meat balls, bolognese, anything really. I even cook a mini roast, slice it up & freeze individual portions in the bags with gravy. Easy to write on the bag what it is & add a date so you remember when you cooked & froze it.

I bought some extra large silicone ice cube trays (with measurements!) Anything like Soups, casseroles and mashes I freeze in the tray then pop them out and put them in a large freezer bag for easier organization -- with dates and portion size scribbled on. My food tracker app also has a section for custom foods / recipes, so I can save the exact nutrition info there and add a portion whenever I eat it.

But reading this, damn am I ever craving bolognese now. XD

[ShoppGirl 4,728]

7 minutes ago, JennyBeez said:

I bought some extra large silicone ice cube trays (with measurements!) Anything like Soups, casseroles and mashes I freeze in the tray then pop them out and put them in a large freezer bag for easier organization -- with dates and portion size scribbled on. My food tracker app also has a section for custom foods / recipes, so I can save the exact nutrition info there and add a portion whenever I eat it.

But reading this, damn am I ever craving bolognese now. XD

Are you talking about them souper cubes or a generic version of them? I have the larger ones from before surgery for freezing chili. They are so handy. I know they have smaller sizes. Even ice cube sized ones would probably be good for our serving sizes. Then you can pop out how ever many cubes depending on how much you can eat through the stages. It works probably thaw faster too.

Edited July 25 by ShoppGirl