WanderingHeart

Terrible headaches doing pre-op diet. I noticed before pre-op that I’d get headaches from hunger (or at least that eating would make it go away). For the people on this thread, did they go away after surgery?

2 hours ago, Blueslily said:

Oh no. Last night I went to bed with some nervousness. Today I woke up with doubt. Saying stuff to myself like 'do you really have to do this' and 'can't I fix this without having a surgery's?

I meet with the surgeon today for my pre-op appointment with him. This is the final pre-op appointment. I met with the hospital last week and had the pre-op class last week. Maybe after I talk with the surgeon, my doubts will reduce. Although worry thoughts are creeping in about him as well. Feeling very nervous now. Stomach is getting upset. Im not feeling excited lately. I'm second-guessing the necessity of having WLS. Surgery is April 6 - just over one week away. I don't like feeling this way. 🙁

I think it’s important to listen to your body. So the doubt you are experiencing, does it feel like it’s coming from your head? Good techniques to check. Close your eyes and make a statement like “surgery is the best choice for me.” When you say it, notice how your body feels. Does the statement settle down your body ? Ie imagine it moving from your head down to your chest, to your belly, to your hips. If it moves easily and your body stays calm and sure, then your body’s wisdom can help push those doubts away. If you can’t get the statement to settle, if you imagine it up by your head/shoulders, it might be a sign you need more time.
If this practice is too wuwu for you, try muscle testing! It’s an awesome, easy approach to get some clarity. Google it or I can type out a technique for you.

i noticed I was thinking a lot about side effects and I needed to reset so I did these practices last night. It helped remind me that my body knows this is right for me and I was getting too caught up in my head and quite honestly, in what everyone on here was saying.

13 hours ago, Creekimp13 said:

Nothing is impossible to eat after sleeve. I have tried literally everything I ate before surgery....but my daily diet has changed significantly.

Things I've eliminated from my diet: white sugar and white flour. I do eat a small piece of birthday cake on a very rare occasion....but I keep treats like this super rare, and try to limit the serving to about 200 calories. Over about 200 calories of refined carbs at a time makes me a little nauseated, so I avoid it. It's also a poor food choice. I don't do it often. Special occasions only. (and NOT during loss phase....in maintenance phase)

I love sugary things, but a little goes a long way. Once in a blue moon I'll really want something enough to have it....and I have an incredibly small amount and I'm done. A little one inch piece of donut. A Tablespoon or two of ice cream. As a rare treat...it's great, but it takes very little of these to feel satisfied now. And again, it's not a regular part of my diet. For sweet stuff, I love fruit. I eat a lot of frozen banana smoothies when I have a sweet tooth craving.

My surgeon's diet had potatoes and Beans on the post surgical diet in the first month. In fact, thin mashed potatoes were one of my first foods after surgery. I eat a ton of carbs, but they are not processed carbs. Whole grains, oatmeal, regular and sweet potatoes, Beans, legumes. I get half of my protien from plant sources, and these unrefined carbs are a big part of that. Beans and potatoes and whole grains have quite a bit of protien and Fiber. (I know a lot of surgeons do Keto based diets...I'm thankful mine is NOT one of them)

I do eat 60+ grams of protien a day. Tons of fruits and veggies.

If I eat rice, it's brown rice for the extra protien and Fiber.

I do eat 25g of fiber a day, which is tougher than it sounds!

There are plent of things you shouldn't eat. You shouldn't eat very fatty foods, or highly refined carbs, white flour, sugar, etc. You know what you shouldn't eat.

You shouldn't eat too many calories. Figure out a good calorie target with your nutritionist and balance your day.

There will be a million opinions about what you should and shouldn't eat. Talk to your dietician. Eat foods you enjoy. Balance your diet for good nutition and energy.

But yep...I can sneak a little of anything in that I really want to try again.....I just don't really have the need to do it.

You just need to stay aware of what you're eating...balance it...get the nutrition you need...and keep your calories reasonable. (I eat 1600 a day in maintenance)

Sounds similar to Garth Davis, who my primary care provider mentioned. She’s not convinced that we need as much Protein as most bariatric surgeons push. I’ve been trying to find a post op plan that is more whole-food plant-based. Do you have a copy of your post op plan still?

16 hours ago, Lizp5 said:

How did my your surgery go? I’m preop 11 days and I cheated bad these last 2 days and now I’m scared my surgery will be canceled.

Hey I am also struggling with pre-op. Today was my first day. I’m allowed liquids, Protein Shakes, 2 lean solid Proteins like eggs, chicken, Greek yogurt, and vegetables. No fat/carbs. I feel like I’m starving, my head hurts, and I have a short fuse with my twins.
Considering that all these docs have different pre-op diets, it feels somewhat arbitrary and I hate doing things that don’t feel meaningful. So I just re-frame it in my mind “this is a challenge I can overcome and I’ll feel good knowing I did if.” Other diets felt pointless after awhile bc I knew I couldn’t sustain it forever. I’m like - 10 days - I can do this! I’m just hoping it gets easier!!

8 hours ago, ngmancini said:

We are all human and what im learning which sounds crazy but i talk to my body now instead of ignoring it or hating it. Be gentle with yourself and congrats on your progress.

Not at all crazy. Listening to your body is the most natural thing to do. It’s this crazy world that cuts us off from our body by teaching us not to trust it from infancy on! As a parent, it’s a struggle to watch other kids people interact with my kids and say things that contribute to this - “don’t cry, it’s not a big deal.” “Take 3 more bites” etc

51 minutes ago, TheMoxieMama said:

I realized why I've been so emotional (cranky/sad) lately. While I have not reverted back to disordered eating, I've been dealing with the loss of food as a way to calm myself, numb out, or otherwise cover up uncomfortable emotions. I read helpful blogs, follow Dr. Duc Vuong, and while I want to see a therapist, I just can't afford the extra co-pays right now. (I am saving $ for this,)

Have any of you experienced this?

How do you handle it?

Check out Rachel Goodman. I’m doing her program while waiting for surgery. She’s awesome, so much better than the nutritionists I was required to see. She teaches you how to have a better relationship with food.

My sleeve surgery is on 4/6, I have not talked to the surgeon about this specifically. I typically don’t have digestive probs - only laying down shortly after eating certain foods. I don’t know if I have a hiatal hernia, is this something we can discuss and plan for on the day of?

My surgeon said to use surgery weight

What are you eating?

43 minutes ago, Blueslily said:

Hi there, we have the same date! I started my pre-op prep 3/24.

Woohoo! How’s it going ? I’m wrapping up my little food funerals.

5 hours ago, Kimberly1983@@ said:

Let me know how the shakes are I’ve only tried premier But. I like having options

I tried Orgain, iconic, and pirq. Orgain offers plant based and grass fed; iconic are grass fed dairy shakes and pirq is all plant based (pea Protein + almond). The pirq also has maca and turmeric so I ordered it for the nutritional boost. Honestly they mostly taste the same! There are some varieties in flavor but they all have the same protein aftertaste. But I got them because I try to eat clean/organic when I can.

@rklingsmithjr I bought iconic Protein Shakes and pirq Protein shakes from their siteS (20% off each when you join their mailing lists). I also got some collagen powder & Miralax from Amazon even though it pains me to support them. I’m cooking some homemade broth now! Picking up fresh veggies and eggs tomorrow, starting pre-op diet on Saturday

It seems like you know what you can do but you’re not doing it, which tells me that you’re experiencing a mental block.
This could be caused by a lot of things- maybe you really needed a break from what you were doing. Maybe you feel resistance or anger and you’re fighting your own plan. Maybe you need an outlet for emotions and you picked up food as a coping mechanism.
It seems like you’re hard on yourself and you cannot change anything from a place of disapproval. Find something in your behavior to approve of - whether it’s like “wow I did a really good job testing my boundaries with food here!” Or “my resistance is adorable/sexy/fun” or whatever applies to you.
I like to do a question practice where I write questions in my journal to discover what I want. Do not write questions that are down on yourself like “why did I mess up?” because there’s no way to authentically answer that. Questions like “how does my body feel? What does it crave? How can I support my body in this process? What foods feel nourishing and satisfying?”
Just focus on questions, do not answer them. The act of writing questions and letting them go allows them to be answered at the right time, sometimes just by noticing cues from your body or from the universe/god. Whatever you believe in.

if all else fails, therapy is awesome for unlocking resistance!

3 hours ago, Fine country said:

My surgery is 4/10 and I am really scared. Apart from two friends of mine, i have no other suppose system except this forum. I decided not to tell my friends because they will surely discourage me and my health is failing. This is a life saving decision for me but I feel my friends will not understand.

This forum made me book my surgery date. Very supportive group here. I just want to say thank you to everyone for their contribution and advice. I have been here for months reading stories and different advices. Today i decided to make a profile and join. Very happy to be here. I will be asking a lot of questions before my surgery and after, please remain kind.

I have my surgery 4/6. It is important in my life to make decisions driven by inner knowing. I do not feel fear when I check in with my body and that’s how I know it’s right. Sometimes I get in my head and read a bunch of negative stories, but my body does not feel fear. It feels a sense of calm and resolve. It was essential that my body could validate my decision so I do a lot of practices to check in. I’ve honed these skills over time.

The easiest thing is called muscle testing. It is the act of asking your body a question and seeing how your muscles respond. You can google this, but I’ll briefly describe one technique. Stand with your knees slightly bent (not locked) and close your eyes. Ask yourself a fairly easy yes/no question that you know the answer to, like- “do I love my dog?” Most likely, you’ll lean forward. Most people lean forward for their yes, backward for their no. Some people might lean to the right side for yes, left side for no. Once you’ve tested your yes/no muscle responses, ask yourself questions about the surgery - “is the surgery right for me? Will I become healthier? Is the surgery safe for me?” Etc. Focus on the question, not the answer. Your body will naturally answer.

Another practice is to sit still in a quiet place. I’ll say a statement in my head, and visualize the statement sort of moving down my body. If it easily settles in my waist/hips, then it’s true for me. If it gets stuck at chest/shoulders, then it’s not true for me.

The last thing is a bit wild but very effective. It’s a practice from mama Gena (look her up!) where I literally ask my p***y a question. If I feel a sense of turn on as a response, it’s a yes.

This is not to convince you in any way that because you’re scared, it’s not right. I just wanted to share tools that might help look past the fear, that might give you reassurance.

good luck! 🍀

Does anyone have a copy of post op plan from dr Davis? I’m curious to compare. Tried internet search and could not find a plan or sample menu

@Lizp5

same surgery date!

Yeah everything does revolve around food - my mom definitely uses food/cooking to show love. Fortunately, my partner is a pretty fit guy who does not have the same relationship with food - he would rather do less food-centric activities. He’s looking forward to doing other things with me! I tend to focus all our date nights on food

My naturopath recommended Garth Davis as a resource, but I’m struggling with the idea of being 100% plant-based. We buy organic/grass fed meat from small farms and I’m okay with it - we are not huge meat eaters anyways. Anyone strive for a balance? I’m starting my pre-op diet in a week and I ordered Pirq and Iconic, one is plant based Protein Drink and the other is grass fed.

Nice! My mom makes my fave meal for Easter (ham and scalloped potatoes) but I’ll be on my pre-op diet so we moved Easter to this weekend. We are not particularly religious, it’s more of a spring family day. So my parents were fine moving it.
I plan on giving up coke forever so I’ve started to phase it out (down to 2 a week) but trying to enjoy that while I can. Also will get Mexican

are you planning on giving up certain things forever or phasing things back in moderation?

Oh you said 3/23. What (food)funerals have you been attending ?

Sleeve. Starting diet on 3/27.
I am definitely making the rounds and getting in my fave foods in this last week!
What about you?

I’m on 4/6 too!

Wow! How rude of this person. It can be hard to respond in the moment, you probably felt kind of frozen, unsure of what to say!
if you want to keep your relationship with your friend, I would set some boundaries! She doesn’t have to agree with your decision, but she should respect you as a person, which means listening and honoring your decisions without judgment or shame!

Mine is 4/6. Starting pre-op diet on March 27. Not on fb or insta so looking to connect here!