I Am Enough!

Yes, I did a full liquid before attempting the clear liquid. Clear liquids aren't as satisfying, but you can also use some of your creamy soups and add more water to qualify as a liquid. My go-to proteins were several different types to keep me from being bored: 1) Keto Chow shakes made with 8 oz unsweetened coconut almond milk 2) Premiere protein shakes 3) Unflavored AGN Roots Grass-fed whey (to put in soups or smoothies) 4) Liquid protein to put into water and my SF jello 5) Power Life High Impact Whey Protein (kinda sweet, so I mix it into coffee or a SF carnation drink mix)

How are you feeling now? Did the gas subside?

Congrats and welcome! What kind of pre-op diet are you working on? Any challenges?

I wanted to update everyone on my mock trial of the liquid pre-op diet. I had been doing full liquids for a couple of weeks and eating solids on the weekends. I discovered a couple of things. 1) Adding protein to everything you put in your mouth helps with hunger. Water, soups, shakes, smoothies, etc. 2) After not eating solids and then eating solids, I would feel uncomfortable in my stomach, especially if I ate a large portion. I do believe the tummy shrinks a bit. 3) Once I started the clear-fluids-only diet, more weight started coming off faster. I started the clear-only yesterday, and last night was the very first time I was hungry before bed. I actually had to get up at 10 pm to drink another protein shake because I could not get to sleep. 4) Liquid protein is my friend Overall I'm so very glad I did this mock trial because I tried a bunch of different recipes and combinations of things and learned what I liked and what I didn't. Taking the time to do this has calmed my mind so I don't have to worry about going into these next few weeks before surgery. I'm down 10 pounds already in July, and I hit my goal weight I wanted prior to surgery. Now I actually have more time to get lower. So now, I'm going to set it for 10 more pounds before surgery since I'm going into the clear-liquids-only stage.

That's awesome! My husband decided to jump on board as well. He is doing the keto diet and he has lost almost 10 pounds. I think it is so incredible when your partner supports and helps you. Makes it so much easier. I have been making keto freezer meals for my family to have them ready while I'm recovering. I didn't want to have them bringing home stuff I couldn't eat

WOW - that's so awesome! Yes, they definitely take a lot of training, but they're love is sooo worth it. My furbabies have really helped me along this WLS journey. I'm so blessed to have them ❤️

Which ones did you choose? I tried making chicken bone broth and it turned out good, but I might try others too.

It's kinda funny now, since I have been doing this for a couple weeks. I've lost 6 pounds so far and I feel great! I'm really surprised at how much my tummy is already shrinking. When I do eat a solid food, I'm finding that I definitely do not need as much as I used to. Starting to take the new supplements and creating the new habits are seriously helpful for me so I don't have to try and figure it all out after post-op when I'm feeling not so great and just trying to focus on healing.

What does your plan allow you to have during your liver-shrinking diet?

That's fantastic that your brain is already making those switches for you. I know personally, I need time to make adjustments from old habits. I have been using the "Fabulous" App to help me make those changes gradually. My prep diet is seriously helping me focus and take the brain work out of it. I don't even want to think about what I'm going to do/eat after surgery - I just want it all planned out with various choices of what I can have already made. I vape about three puffs of cannabis at night to help me sleep. My surgeon didn't want me on NSAIDS any longer and he was totally and completely supportive of the cannabis. It really helps without any sleepy hangover in the morning.

Congrats! That's so exciting for you What kinds of things are you doing to prepare for the big day?

I have found that the actual preparation is helping me to relax, like I've got more control of the situation. It's helping to reduce the anxiety considerably

Howdy! My prop goal weight was 230 and that was set by me. I wanted to maximize the weight loss of the surgery as much as possible since I wanted to lose over 100 lbs. My doctor only requires 2 weeks liquid diet prior to my surgery date on Aug 18 the. I wanted to get a headstart, play with recipes, and establish new habits so there wouldn't be a ton of changes at once. This way I can monitor how we'll the fiber is working too. I suffer from constipation and I want to ensure I can do everything to avoid any complications. The Organic Plum Stage 1 baby food is a total WIN because they have yummy prunes plus protein and fiber!!

You bet! The only thing I am doing for the Jello is adding the Liquid Protein to it after I combined the cold water into the hot melted gelation. Hope that helps 😊

Hey August Buddies! I wanted to share my results so far in starting my mock trial liquid diet to see how well it goes for me. Basically, to test to make sure I can hit all my macros and protein, I don't put it in my mouth if it does not have some version of protein in it. So far I have felt very satisfied and not felt too hungry. If I do get hungry, then I drink more water with the Liquid Protein and it satisfies me. What my days are consisting of: Breakfast 1 cup of coffee with 1 Tbsp of cream and 1 teaspoon of Skinny mix and 1 scoop of college protein Take all my supplements and vitamins Water with Electrolytes Oikos triple zero yogurt watered down Organic Plum Stage 1 Babyfood (OMG - soooo good!) Lunch 2-ounce puck of strained Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli soup with 2 TBSP of grass-fed Whey protein ( I also made chicken noodle soup and potato soup pucks so I have a variety) 1 Keto Chow protein shake with 1 cup Almond Milk Water with Liquid Protein and Electrolytes Snack 1 Premiere Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake Water with Liquid Protein and Electrolytes Dinner 1 complete SF Jello box with Liquid Protein Water with Liquid Protein and Electrolytes My program may be completely different from yours, but I wanted to share what is so far working for me. I'm down 4 pounds since Sunday and have not been hungry and very satisfied. Average daily calories 850, Avg protein 120 grams, average net carbs 58 (primarily from yogurt and fiber carbs) I feel really good that my protein levels increased to over 50% when I implemented the liquid protein. So easy to consume with your water! Lots of Love to My August Buddies!! ❤️

Welcome to August Surgery Buddies! My surgery is the 18th so we'll all be biting our fingernails that week

That's Awesome! Getting your date moved up like that Congrats and welcome to the August Buddies Club!! What kinds of things are you doing to prepare for your surgery?

I don't think it is a matter of cheating, but truly a state of mind and understanding moderation. Having a bite or two is very different than having the whole thing. I have been actively working on changing my eating habits for months to get out of that cheating mindset. It has helped me tremendously. You know you aren't consuming sugar when your chewable multi-vitamin is too sweet! LOL But I am sooo determined to not undermine all my progress that I can't even allow myself to even THINK about cheating. I guess it is easier for me to be an all or nothing type of point of view, but I also know that is not sustainable and that is where I'm learning to "allow" myself that flexibility for moderation. You can fail at this if you don't change your eating habits. Get close with your nutritionist and look inside yourself as to what are your emotional eating triggers. I used to make everything about food. If we were happy and celebrating, if I was stressed or upset, if I was bored... whole vacations were planned around food. Now it is becoming less and less to me and more of a necessity and it frees me up to do so many more fun things.

So the PreDigested Liquid Protein came in today and it is awesome! 2Tbsp gives you 20 grams of protein that will be fully absorbed! I got the grape to try out and now I'm gonna order the cherry. On the days where getting all that water down might not be possible, at least I know I can get 20 grams of protein down from 8 ounces of water!!

Welcome to the group! We've got some great folks here 😊 Mine is Aug 18th

Right?! I try to follow only positive people who are real and helpful. The people who are scary and hate that they had the surgery, I just stat away from them. I want this to be such a positive change in my life, that I only want positive constructive people who offer encouragement and support 😊 I love watching Dr.A he is a surgeon and he hosts a fantastic series of Q&As. Great, reliable information!

So today I learned something pretty interesting that I wanted to share. All of us have a high protein intake that we have to have post-op so I was sure the collagen that I've been adding to my water would count toward that protein intake level. I checked with my nutritionist and she said that collagen is fantastic to take for hair, skin, and nails but it is not a complete protein to count towards my total daily protein intake. So I got to researching and there is a product here on Bariatric Pal for liquid predigested protein. So I sent the link for my nutritionist to review and she came back that since this collagen has tryptophan in it that it completes the protein and can be applied to the daily count. So get this... 2 TBSP of this liquid protein equals 20 grams of protein! https://store.bariatricpal.com/products/pre-protein-20-liquid-predigested-protein-16oz-bottle-grape You can add this to your water easily. So in essence, if I'm struggling to get water down, I can also use this to ensure I'm getting the protein needed. So I'm kinda excited about this Has anyone else found any tips or tricks they are going to try?

Welcome to the August Buddies group! Super bunch of folks here sharing lots of great information. Are you excited, nervous, or anything else? So glad you are here

Me too - except I'm taking a fluffy bathrobe. I hear that you get really cold. A heating pad has been super helpful to some folks too.

WOW! I like your pre-op diet! That's incredible