I started my diet today and did well with the Breakfast one, the lunch one went down and a small cup of fruit. I even declined the invitation from my co-workers to go to Denny's for lunch. But by mid-afternoon I felt like a cartoon characters with visions of sugar plums, french fries, chips, hamburgers, Soup, Pasta, dancing in my head. By the time I left work I would no longer type with proper spelling or focus. When I finally arrived home it was no holding back I ate, and ate and ate. Then if that weren't tragic enough as I sat watching tv my friends Snacks called to me and I listened. I tell myself being as i caved so badly and ate so much that I can start again tomorrow without the cravings. I know I can't do this everyday but how to I keep from starving before dinner. Is there a snack I can have?

:smile:

I was instructed to do the southbeach supercharged - it was filling and sufficient. I cheated a couple times, but if you do - there is a good chance they will open you up to install the band and the will not be able to because your liver will be stiff and they will not be able to move it. Follow the directions if you want the band! It is hard I will not lie - after you get the band - HARDER.. liquids and your head wants to eat - but YOU CAN DO IT.... YOU CAN DO IT.. be sure your are eating enough protein that is the ONLY thing that will prevent you from becoming hungry - fruit will make you hungry - sugar ups and downs. Fruit is not even allowed in stage 1 of south beach super charged.. Just start again tomorrow and you CAN do it!

Drink ALOT!

I have taken the time to re-read this here diet and found that I could have a snack in the afternoon. Ahhhh, yogurt. It's almost 5 and I am a bit hungry but I think my tires will be safe today. No visions....

Hi just figured i would throw my .02 in here. Im 2 days away from getting banded and almost ending my 2 weeks pre op diet. Every dr is different. Ive been reading this forum for a while and seen probably a hundred different pre op diets. Im on a high Protein, low to no carb, as little fat and sugar as possible diet. It sucks. But really the first three days were the hardest. Yes i was hungry, yes i probably wouldve done anything to be able to have some "real food." But by the middle of day 3 or 4 i was no longer hungry. i was drinking 3 Protein shakes a day and by day 4 i literally had to force my self to drink them because i was always full.

Its really hard, but you gotta stick with it. My biggest motivation was exactly what someone above me said, and thats that my liver wont be small enough to safely do the surgery thus postponing it and having to continue. You gotta remember this is your dr saying to do this to make it safe for you.

On the plus side, i had a dr appt 7 days into the diet and had lost 13lbs. not a bad start on a long journey.

Good Luck, and keep yourself busy, if you get really hungry drink a big glass of Water and go for a walk. do something to keep your mind off of food.

Hope this helps

May 3rd..........

I second Laura777's support of the South Beach Supercharged as a pre-op diet. It has worked great for me and I find the meals you can make and the allowed food groups are very satisfying. Thanks to these types of diets the whole grain options at the store have gotten much better. I've hit my surgery goal weight dropping 21 pounds.

I drifted a couple of times during the last 6 weeks on the plan but nothing serious enough you can't recover quickly.

The big thing is first not to call it cheating... that sounds negative. I called it drifting for a reason, because its easy to correct and get back on course.

We are all human and there are going to be times when a beer sounds overwhelmingly good, or a perhaps a warm cookie causes you feel depresed and deprived. But the point is to remember perfection is not required to loose weight just the ability not to throw it all under the bus and go haywire because you have a slight drift off course once in a while.

I found with that approach, accepting an occasional drift but controlling how wide I drift and not beating myself up as a result, the course corrections come easier AND ironically they are needed with lesser frequency as you become better at piloting the ship.

The first two days of my 10 day preop diet I thought I was going to DIE! food is my life and now I was so limited. I had a specific craving every single day but I never cheated. I figured that if I couldn't do this 10 day diet I had no business getting the band. Now I'll admit..I'm an all or nothing girl....but I took that 10 days and watched what I needed to change to succeed.

I'm two days post banding and I am SO THANkFUL for that pre op diet. First of all, I lost 14 pounds on it. Nice jumpstart. Second, I learned that I would survive. I am at peace knowing that although not easy, I can do this! That pre op diet gave me the encouragement I needed.

YOU CAN DO IT!!! I believe in you! It's just food. Eat to live..not live to eat. That was never the purpose of food. Jump back on the wagon!