Hi everyone,

I've got a surgery date of 30th April which is very exciting. I'm on Day 5 of the Pre-Op Diet and I'm not coping well at all. My doctor said to do Optifast. I've done shakes and bars (even though I think he only wanted me to do shakes) and I've had a few sandwiches and a can of baked Beans and a salad. I'm very hungry, angry, had uncontrollable diarrohea and I'm just basically so bloody starving. If I could do Optifast I would have done it to lose weight in the first place. I'm not looking for people to enable me, I'd just like to know if others have cheated (in healthy ways) and still had their surgeon willing to go through with the surgery? I know my liver is in bad shape and I also know that my head is telling me that I am ravenously hungry. I"ve done liquid diets in the past and the hunger DOES NOT go away after a few days. It might for some, but it doesn't for me unfortunately. Am I the only one that isn't sticking to this even though it's very important to me and I'm also self pay? Thanks everyone for reading, sorry for the downer of a message. xoxoxo

Many people cheat. Most feel hungry and deprived. Most seem to accept that hunger is to be expected, though. It seems as though you've got the mistaken impression that others miraculously aren't hungry, and you are the sole sufferer. This makes you mad. But you couldn't possibly be more wrong.

The hunger doesn't go away for anyone during the preop diet. The emotional lability and the intense cravings might, once you start drawing on your glycogen stores (which will NOT happen if you're eating sandwiches and beans). But hunger stays. EVERYONE IS HUNGRY.

You are approaching this as though you are special, and need special handling. But you're not. You're one of probably hundreds of patients in your doctor's practice, alone. And all of them ---and almost all of US---have had to follow this diet or something similarly restrictive, and survived.

YOU WILL BE HUNGRY. Chances are, you will be hungry for several months after you are banded. Hunger does NOT absolve you of the responsibility to follow the rules laid out for you---now, and postoperatively.

If you want to be in the best possible condition for surgery, use this opportunity to get your head on straight. The preop diet is great practice for what is to come.

If you cannot manage shakes only, call your doctor to ask for ways to SAFELY modify the preop diet. S/he may allow you to do 2 shakes a day, plus a meal of lean Protein and nonstarchy veggies, for example. Or, s/he may have another regimen to suggest.

Instead of looking at this as ungodly torture, it's time to shift your thinking: you are about to be given an amazing gift that will enable you to lose weight you'd given up hope on losing.

The things you have been asked to do are difficult, but they are emininently doable. DO THEM.

Edited April 20, 201016 yr by BetsyB

Many people cheat. Most feel hungry and deprived. Most seem to accept that hunger is to be expected, though. It seems as though you've got the mistaken impression that others miraculously aren't hungry, and you are the sole sufferer. This makes you mad. But you couldn't possibly be more wrong.

The hunger doesn't go away for anyone during the preop diet. The emotional lability and the intense cravings might, once you start drawing on your glycogen stores (which will NOT happen if you're eating sandwiches and beans). But hunger stays. EVERYONE IS HUNGRY.

You are approaching this as though you are special, and need special handling. But you're not. You're one of probably hundreds of patients in your doctor's practice, alone. And all of them ---and almost all of US---have had to follow this diet or something similarly restrictive, and survived.

YOU WILL BE HUNGRY. Chances are, you will be hungry for several months after you are banded. Hunger does NOT absolve you of the responsibility to follow the rules laid out for you---now, and postoperatively.

If you want to be in the best possible condition for surgery, use this opportunity to get your head on straight. The preop diet is great practice for what is to come.

If you cannot manage shakes only, call your doctor to ask for ways to SAFELY modify the preop diet. S/he may allow you to do 2 shakes a day, plus a meal of lean Protein and nonstarchy veggies, for example. Or, s/he may have another regimen to suggest.

Instead of looking at this as ungodly torture, it's time to shift your thinking: you are about to be given an amazing gift that will enable you to lose weight you'd given up hope on losing.

The things you have been asked to do are difficult, but they are emininently doable. DO THEM.

Betsy - thanks for posting this - I start my 2 week pre op soon and I am doing 2 weeks liquid only - this just gave me what I need to do my best!!!

Good luck kookaburra - you can do it!!!!! Some people had to do it for 24 days - could you imagine:scared2:

I start this morning. Surgery is 5/4. Great answer.

Many people cheat. Most feel hungry and deprived. Most seem to accept that hunger is to be expected, though. It seems as though you've got the mistaken impression that others miraculously aren't hungry, and you are the sole sufferer. This makes you mad. But you couldn't possibly be more wrong.

The hunger doesn't go away for anyone during the preop diet. The emotional lability and the intense cravings might, once you start drawing on your glycogen stores (which will NOT happen if you're eating sandwiches and beans). But hunger stays. EVERYONE IS HUNGRY.

You are approaching this as though you are special, and need special handling. But you're not. You're one of probably hundreds of patients in your doctor's practice, alone. And all of them ---and almost all of US---have had to follow this diet or something similarly restrictive, and survived.

YOU WILL BE HUNGRY. Chances are, you will be hungry for several months after you are banded. Hunger does NOT absolve you of the responsibility to follow the rules laid out for you---now, and postoperatively.

If you want to be in the best possible condition for surgery, use this opportunity to get your head on straight. The preop diet is great practice for what is to come.

If you cannot manage shakes only, call your doctor to ask for ways to SAFELY modify the preop diet. S/he may allow you to do 2 shakes a day, plus a meal of lean Protein and nonstarchy veggies, for example. Or, s/he may have another regimen to suggest.

Instead of looking at this as ungodly torture, it's time to shift your thinking: you are about to be given an amazing gift that will enable you to lose weight you'd given up hope on losing.

The things you have been asked to do are difficult, but they are emininently doable. DO THEM.

Your posts never cease to impress me, Besty! :ohmy:

That is exactly how I approached my pre-op diet. I was only told I had to done one week and I did a self-imposed 2 week liquid only diet. If I was hungry I would have one extra shake or I would have some egg drop Soup or a fat free chobani greek yogurt. That seemed to help some but yes, I was pretty much always hungry, too. I accepted that I would be especially after the way I was used to eating. If you really want this surgery and want to be healthy for it and lower your possible risks during surgery you will want to do this right. "Cheating" is what got us here. You have to work to get the band and you will have to work with the band after you have it. The band will not do all the work so you either need to buck up and get the pre-op diet done or maybe think really hard about having the surgery. It's never going to be easy and "cheating" after you have the band could have some serious implications, also.

Dont mean to be hard on you but if anyone says they cheated and still had the surgery and came out the other side ok it doesn't mean you will. Everyone is different. The person who cheated and was ok may not have had to shrink their liver much, if at all. Don't go by what other people's experience was with their pre-op diet because not everyone's will be the same as yours. And if you're looking for someone to tell you it's ok to cheat some of the time then yes you are looking for someone to enable you.

My surgery is on 4/29 and I am on day 6 of my liquid diet. I know exactly what you are saying about the hunger, it is still very real, but I am trying my darndest to stick with it.

For me the actual hunger isnt as bad as the "head" hunger. I can satisfy the real hunger with another shake or cup of broth, but the head hunger haunts me all day. I feel that I NEED to eat because of my unhealthy realtionship with food, but so far I am not dead because I didnt eat that KFC double stack or chinese I wanted. :ohmy:

Its hard, really hard, but just think of the outcome. We will be getting the tool that we need to help us get ourselves into a more healthy body. Then have the added perks of a more shapely body, better self esteem, and more engery!

You can do this... the support on this board is super. I am a big lurker on here but I wanted to extend you my support. We can get through it, 2 weeks of hunger or a lifetime of obesity....

I "cheated" on my 2 week liquid pre op diet. Our diet consisted of a wide variety of high protien liquids (soups/shakes/mochas) and one "meal" which was 3/4 cup of some kind of casserole microwavable thing-y. We were also alowed to have one of their bars each day.

Yes, this diet was very challenging! I was starving for the first few days and had very little energy. I learned really quickly how often I wanted to turn to food at the office to soothe my stress. It was murder when I couldn't do that and I was honest to goodness hungry to boot. During the whole 2 weeks I was desparate to just chew something -- all those liquids you know. So I started adding 1 cup of raw veggies everyday eaten in 2 half cup increments at Breakfast and dinner with my dietian's permission. Then I added lettuce and made a 1 cup of salad to eat with my micro dinner. It made things a lot more bareable. It helped a lot, and it was a safe modification of the diet.

Eating veggies sure beats a trip to McDonald's. Try talking to the dietian and explain what's going on. He/she might be able to let you do something like this. Good luck!

I believe that the pre-op diet serves a dual purpose. It not only cleanses one's system and shrinks the liver, but also gets you ready for what it will be like post-op. A lot of hunger is in the head and the only way to deal with it is staying strong mentally and busy. Feeding the hunger is what we've always done and has gotten us to the point we're at now. Only you know what's best for you, but the pre-op diet is engineered to keep you safe during surgery and I wouldn't mess around with that.

I started my pro-op diet yesterday that is scheduled for May 3, 2010. No one has mentioned the one thing that I found to satisfy the chewing sensation and somewhat the hunger "pains" that are unbearable. Does not make them go away, but helps live somewhat with the hunger. One day I was watching the biggest looser for the first time in all of these years (which I am NOT a big advocate of) but they mentioned Extra Gum. Back in January when I started the program to get insurance to pay for surgery, I picked up a pack to see if it made a difference. For me it has helped alot. During my thirty mile ride home from work, I dont stop at fast food place to get lunch on the way home like I used to. You would not believe how many times it has crossed my mind though. I have packs of gum in the car, work and home. So when the urge to eat food on the go, I chew on a piece of gum and gives me enough time to think before I decide to eat. Enabling me to make better choices. I hope this might help others. I am not fond of strawberry/banana but I am finding a new love for flavors. :ohmy:

Cindy

This whole post FREAKS ME OUT. I'm terrified of starving to death during my pre-op diet. I won't start until 8/9/10 but it's all I can think about. I'm going to try a mediation technique that was recommend to me. I'm going to need all the help I can get

Stay strong..the pre-op diet means your close to seeing a whole new you!

I would recommend that you stick to the diet your dietitian has outlined for you. I agree to call him/her and tell them that you are having problems with what they are having you consume. Do not try to substitute other things on your own. The baked Beans and sandwiches contain A LOT of sugar carbs that are not recommended for a liver-shrink diet.

My diet was 3 Protein shakes a day for two weeks. I am not going to lie to you...I was HUNGRY. Heck...I am still hungry at 4 weeks post-op! I had to get creative about finding things to take my mind off of food. That is hard for me to do since I am at home right now with two little boys (1 & 4) and a husband who need to eat 3 times a day.

If I got too hungry I would drink flavored Water, chew gum, clean house (whoo my house was clean those two weeks!), take a walk with the boys, or call a friend.

After a week I realized that most of my hunger could be attributed to "head" hunger and the feelings of being left out and deprived. I never ate with the kids and hubby. I would get on the computer and log onto this site during their meal times or drink a Protein shake while they were dining.

I hate to scare you, but you have to realize that you need to replace your 'hunger' with other activities. You will more than likely be on a restrictive diet after the banding and be hungry then too. The danger of progressing too fast after banding is doing damage to the band and your stomach.

It will get easier if you just say to yourself that this is what I have to do to be successful. Good luck to you and I hope that all goes well!

I am on day 6 myself. What a pain in the butt this liquid business is. I did have a chicken breast 2 days ago. Boy does food taste good after you don't have it a while. I will survive and I imagine will have a few other cheats that are really good diet choices.

Sure are a lot of people that are preachy on here.

Don't beat yourself up. Just get back on the horse. Get some excercise with the diet and all will be good.

Sure are a lot of people that are preachy on here.

How different perceptions can be! I find the firmer posts to be tough love- I know I don't like it always, but I do appreciate them, and find them more helpful than the posts that collude with unworkable behavior.

If I'm cheating, I'm only hurting myself, and I think it's good for me to be responsible about that.

To each their own journey!

First of all, Betsy, did an awesome job with laying it out!

If I can make it through the 2 week Optifast diet, anyone can! Drinking A LOT of Water helps with the hunger. I liked chewing gum also. That helped with the chewing sensation also just something to keep in my mouth. I didn't try sugar free candies, but maybe that might be a good suggestion.

My surgery is April 29. I was supposed to start pre-op diet 5 days ago. I just started today. I did'nt know the diet was so important. I learned on this fourm about liver shrinking and other reasons why it is necasary. I was supposed to do 2 shakes and one high protien low carb meal. I have chosen to due liquid diet for the rest of the 9 days. Hoping to make up for lost time. Any thoughts on this? I am really worried about not being able to get surgery.

I started my pre-op diet last friday, it's 2 weeks of 2-3 Protein shakes and a lean protein meal with green leafy veggies for lunch OR dinner.

It has been difficult, I assure you as I am starting this at almost 400#'s. But this is the beggining of a change. From now on there will be foods that you can't or shouldn't have. I agree the "head" hunger is the worst. But since I know that has been a huge problem for me all along this is helping me say....Am I really hungry? or am I just thinking of food?

The only thing I have done that could be called a "cheat" is 1 or 2 sugar free jello's a day. And I talked with the nutritionist at my doctor's office and her only concern was not to encourage snacking behavior.

I got weighed at my pre-op appt yesterday, 5 days after starting this diet....I lost 14 pounds!!!! Let me assure that was motivation enough to keep me going. I am sure some was Water weight....but any time the number on that scale goes down I am a happy woman.

Remember that we are all here to support one another, I don't think any of these post have been preachy....they are all realistic. And I for one need to make sure I stay realistic and motivated.