kaydo

Oh that's right, I forgot. The fact that some surgeons don't require the liquid diet really makes me suspicious of the whole thing. (Especially because I know that I used to have fatty liver but I lost weight earlier this year and my gastroenterologist said it was no longer fatty at my last testing.) Certainly in some ways this diet is prepping me for post-op eating but in a lot of ways it's just torturous (because I won't be so freaking HUNGRY post-op). I think the "liquids all day + lean meat and veggies for dinner" would make me far less insane right now but my surgeon is all liquid so I'm doing my best to stick with it. Sure does stink, though.

How much weight has everyone lost in the first week on the liquid diet? I'm down 8 lbs. My hope is to lose another 4 lbs before surgery, which will mean I lost an even 20 lbs between my first appointment with my surgeon and my day of surgery.

Yup!! Eek. I had a tough night last night, with the liquid diet. I was super hungry and could not stomach the idea of another protein shake or broth, so I had 2 scrambled eggs. I decided they were soft, high protein, low calorie, and low carb so they should be ok? I felt SO much better after eating them, I suspect they will be a go-to for the next week.

Hanging on by a thread! I had to go to a holiday party for work last night at a fancy pizza place (and watch everyone around me drink beer and eat really good pizza for 2 hours) and this afternoon we had a 2 hour Yankee Swap at work where they brought burritos in. BRUTAL. But I haven't cheated so I'm proud of myself, at least? How about you??

I'm only a few days ahead of you @md73 (I'm on day 5) but I found day 3 the worst so far. I was exhausted and cranky, but felt much better on day 4 and better again today. Don't get me wrong, I'm still hungry as hell but I'm not as exhausted and I don't want to punch people quite so badly. Good luck! (My surgery is 12/28 as well.)

Congrats! I had my pre-admission appointment this morning as well so it's starting to feel very real (and a little nerve-wracking). My period started today which has made the liquid diet particularly tough (oh god, I want chocolate) but I'm hanging in...

I'm on day 3 of my liquid diet and so exhausted I just want to sleep all day. Which would be fine except I actually have to write a final exam tonight. Just sent my husband out for some diet soda. I know I'm not supposed to have caffeine but if I don't have some, there is no way I will be able to write this exam. Were others exhausted on the liquid diet? What did you do to manage it? (Besides sleep?!) I also have to work this week...!

Wow, I wish that had been my side effect (at least for a couple of days)! I think I did okay on my exam. It was challenging, and I needed almost the entire time allotted but I got through it, at least. I won't have the grade for a few days but at least it's OVER. Phew!!

I don't like fish but maybe I could eat a couple ounces of chicken? I'll see how I feel later. It's 2pm now, the exam is at 7:00... thanks!

Thanks. The timing really does suck, but it was unavoidable. I just had a diet soda, which seems to be helping me study. I'll have another before the exam tonight and hopefully that will get me through it. (I'm working on my Master's in Business Management and the exam is Financial Accounting which is the WORST class I have taken of the entire degree. I can't wait for it to be over!!)

I'll look into that, thanks!

I'm so jealous of people whose surgeons don't require a liquid diet (or ones that let you have a small evening meal). I'm on total liquids (plus Greek yogurt) and I'm so exhausted and cranky I can barely think straight.

My surgery is 12/28 as well, and I'm a few days into my liquid diet. Below is the diet my surgeon's nutritionist gave me. Basically Premier Protein Shakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with a mix of vanilla greek yogurt, broth, jello, apple juice, and milk for additional snacks, which shakes out to around 1000 calories/day. I'm not loving it but I'm managing, and I'm following it pretty well except that I don't like popsicles so (with my surgeon's approval) I'm swapping those out for one Yasso Greek Yogurt Vanilla Frozen Bar per day (WAY better).

What do people eat/snack on if you hate popsicles? Just more jello, I guess?

I'm 12/28 as well! Just got my insurance approval today, and liquid diet starts tomorrow.

@sandra305, it's worked well for me. I've been down at least a half pound every day this week and the protein shakes are keeping me pretty full. I do still have 3 cups of popcorn most nights (when I'm hungriest) but the days have been pretty manageable. Good luck! (My surgery is the day after yours.)

Interesting. I'm feeling grateful that my surgeon doesn't require this (at least, not that I know of) because I hate fish! It's also fascinating to me how every surgeon/center does things a little differently. Good luck with your 5 day countdown!

Wow @Creekimp13this is all great to read and know about. What is the reason behind switching out your protein drinks for the nasty anchovy stuff? I've never heard of that. In other news, I've lost a half pound every day this week, doing my "modified" liquid diet, which means I'm officially 10 lbs down since my initial consult and puts me safely in the "lose 1-2 lbs/week" range that my surgeon wanted. My pre-op appointment with him is next Wednesday so I'm feeling good about what I've accomplished. Now let's just keep our fingers crossed for my damn insurance approval...

My surgeon just called. Apparently my health insurance (Harvard Pilgrim) changed their approval form earlier this year, and I'm at risk of being denied because my BMI isn't high enough and don't have diabetes, sleep apnea, etc. He says there used to be a checkbox for "other" where they would put the weight-related conditions I have (asthma, reflux, and high cholesterol) but that checkbox is gone on the new form. He's going to submit my paperwork anyway, but says I may be denied at first, and then he'll have to call them and make my case to a medical reviewer. He said not to get too nervous, and that they had to do this for another patient (with a different insurance company though) and they did get the approval, but ugh. Just UGH. Has anyone been through something like this? (With Harvard Pilgrim, especially?) Thanks.

I definitely expect it to be harder once I don't have any fruit, but I still think it's valuable to do this for a while first, to "ease" into it. Previously, the most weight I ever lost was on the South Beach Diet (no sugar/carbs at the beginning, and very few later); I don't remember brain fog as much as HUNGER at the beginning, but I know it subsides as you wean off the cravings.

My liquid diet doesn't start until 12/14 (surgery is 12/28) but I put myself on a modified version this week (liquids + some fruit) to see how it feels and get my body use to it. It's only day 2 but I'm not minding it so far. I'm sure once I don't have fruit, it'll be a different story but for anyone who hasn't started their liquid diet, I might recommend easing yourself into it like this. I think it would be a lot harder to go from regular eating to the liquid diet with no in-between.

My surgery is on December 28. Since I first met with my surgeon on 9/22, I was supposed to lose 1-2 lbs a week and I haven't quite been able to do it. I'm down about 7 lbs total (in those 9 weeks) and hoping to lose another 3 before my pre-op appointment one week from today, but I'm hungry all the damn time, struggling to lose, and nervous my surgeon is going to think I haven't lost enough weight to keep my 12/28 surgery date. Even though I'm completely dreading the liquid diet, I'm toying with the idea of doing it this week, just to give me a boost. I'm curious how much weight people lost BEFORE going on their liquid diet. If you didn't lose much, how did your surgeon react?

That makes sense (my mother lives in Eastern Canada and told me the wait there can be 4-5 years for surgery; she was AMAZED I met with my surgeon in September and had a December surgery date here in Massachusetts). I keep track of my food in the Weight Watchers app. It's good for accountability but doesn't help me from feeling hungry all the time, though...

Wow, no diet at all? Why do you think that was? My pre-op appointment is this Friday and I'm basically putting myself on a modified version of the liquid diet for the next 4 days, in the hopes of being 10 lbs down (since my initial consultation with my surgeon). I'm nervous I'm going to get my knuckles wrapped for not losing enough so far...

I felt the same way about the appointment itself (pretty straightforward, nice person, good chat) but when I received my report, I felt completely blindsided by what the psychologist wrote (she made some pretty big assumptions about me based on what felt like a pretty limited conversation and the questionnaires). I'll be curious to hear whether you receive your report and what you think of it.