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August 23 Surgery -- Pre-op diet questions



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Hello all! This is my first post -- of many, I hope. My surgery is set for August 23rd and I'm having a horrible time with this pre-op diet. I've been cheating, but not terribly and no carbs. Anyone else? I'm absolutely starving!!!!!:cursing: I know it has to be easier to do the post-op liquid diet, but this is killing me. I've been eating provolone cheese slices a couple times of day. Last night I was so flippin' hungry, I ate a huge spoonful of spaghetti (for the rest of the family) sauce out of the pan. I'm supposed to be drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast drink (sugar-free) 5 times a day and can have Jello and other clear, no-sugar liquids, but I'm dying here. :) I'm sooooo hungry!

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Hey there! I hear you, I am hungry too! We have to remember that it is in our minds.. We have to "go through it to get to it". Think of it this way.. It is a short struggle for long term gratification! You can and will be successful!

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What kind of diet are you on? You know what's getting me is that I know other doctors have their patients do the Atkins diet, some have them to the liquid with some solids and some don't have any pre-op diet. So, in the back of my head is the thought that a little low-fat, no-carb food won't hurt. . .

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You have no Protein Shakes included in your diet?

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I would be concerned about the level of Protein. CIB is not very high in protein (even with the milk that's added in). I would guess that's why you are so hungry. My doctor wanted me to do a Medical Diet that was 500 calories a day; but the nut said that it was not acceptable after surgery because it was to low in Protein.??? If the protein is too low after why is it okay before? If it was a spoonful of Tomato spagetti sauce I would'nt be that worried. Alfredo is another matter.

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Bless your heart, no wonder you're starving. My doc requires 30-50 grams of Protein daily during the pre-op liquid diet. You need the protein to stay full, it digests slower than the other stuff. You might call your doc and ask if a higher Protein Shake would be okay during your diet.

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Thanks, Ladies. It's easier today, but I still ate some cheese. After reading so many posts about other people's diets, I decided that low-fat cheese or brilled chicken (just a bite two different times) are both probably ok and not surgery-ruining, if I'm dying of hunger. I'm eating sugar-free Jello like it's my job. I'll get through it and look forward to the day I can give pep talks to other newbies. :-) Thanks for being there for me. I'm gonna like this board.

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You guys are in for a rude awakening if you're already "cheating"! It is true that right after surgery your stomach will be swollen and you won't really feel like eating, but.........all Doctors are different when it comes to your first fill and as the swelling goes down, the opening between your little stomach and the rest of your stomach gets bigger.......and you can eat more food and worse - any type of food! Some of us even managed to gain some weight before our first fill. I saw one post where a woman says she's at 8cc on a 10cc band and she has only lost 1 pound.....in 6 months! That means she is eating all the wrong food - cheating!

My suggestion is to stick as closely to the diet as you can - and try a Protein drink with more protein!!! I still drink the Myoplex Lite (20 grams of protein) for breakfast since I can't really eat first think in the AM. I've lost 65 pounds in 9 months.

BTW - I was afraid that I couldn't stick to a liquid diet for 10 days before my surgery so I started the liquid diet for 2 meals per day 4 weeks before my surgery! Then the 10 days full liquid was an easy tranistion. Good Lucky!

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Ummm... pardon the pun, but here's some food for thought...

I stuck religiously to my pre-op diet - 3 Optifast shakes a day & 2litres of Water.

My surgeon tells me there was NO fat stored around my liver and my stomach was also very clear of surrounding fat.

I am 4 weeks post-op and still havent had hunger and have outstanding restriction.

Obviously I cant say if how I conducted myself pre-op had anything to do with this or if it was luck.... But I thought it was something to mention.

Good luck !

Rach.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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