Hi Everyone-

Has anyone else had to do a liquid test diet? I start a 7 day trial liquid diet before I even am scheduled for surgury. My surgeon wants to make sure that all of his patients are able to do the 7 day liquid diet that he requires before he schedules you for surgery. So, in reality I'll be doing it TWICE- this is just the trial run.

I am all set and as ready as I will ever be but am very nervous and anxious. Any tips or suggestions?

I know that one big motivator is that I have an appt on 3:30pm a week from tomorrow and should be down a few pounds from my last appt on October 29th of last year.

Thanks for any help/suggestions......

This really annoys me, what like you're being assessed as to whether you're some kind of glutton or not before he'll deign to see you?

There's one or two surgeons in Australia I've heard about that have this kind of pre-op requirement, one guy who expects his patients to be on Optifast for a month pre surgery and if they dont lose enough weight to satisfy him, he wont operate.

Is it just me or would anyone else tell him to bang his preop requirements where the sun dont shine? Rude Rude Rude, it is a sure sign of a surgeon who has no empathy with what it is like to be obese and ruled by food and eating issues. If you could stick to a month of Optifast, you probably wouldnt need the surgery and to turn it into some kind of moral judgement on you is just wrong.

At least it's only 7 days, you will be able to do that but the principle annoys me. I wouldnt want any kind of judgement from my surgeon - to me its as important a relationship as the one you develop with your ob/gyn.

Sorry for the rant, its a pet peeve of mine.

I agree with Jacqui that it seems awfully judgmental. If we were able to do it on our own, we wouldn't need the surgery. And to make you do it twice seems sadistic! I'm sure it's hard enough to get through when it's the real thing.

My surgeon wants me to try to lose a few pounds...even 5...before surgery and I understand why with the liver shrinkage thing, but a friend who also had him didn't lose a pound and he still did the surgery. I know every surgeon is different, but he doesn't seem so rigid, at least.

Good luck!!

Emily

Thanks for your replies Jacqui and Emily-

Jacqui: It's funny but I didn't think of it that way at all. I really like my surgeon in fact and he has a lap band himself. He told me that he has had too many people show up for surgery with a weight gain and has had to turn them away so this is a way for him to see who is serious about real lifestyle changes and not an easy fix. He is of the mindset that it's VERY important to have the liver shrink before surgery. It makes sense to me on some levels.

Emily: I also think it's sadistic. LOL My DH just reminded me though that while it will be tough it means less weight that I have to lose later. I am just trying to think of it that way.

Anyone else have any suggestions about things they have done to make it through the pre-op liquid diet?

I had to do the liquid thing for 7 days prior to surgery. The thing was, I was on "clear" liquids, not "full" liquids. That makes the biggest difference.

You will want to quit on day 3 or 4, I promise. Hang in there. Just surrender to the liquids and you will find by day 6 you are okay. Knowing that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train but a skinny person helps your head.

You can do it! I believe in you!

Julie as long as you're happy with him then that's all that matters.

Spydr, I too have chosen Dr Jay, no surgery date yet, but my main worry right now (I know this shouldn't be may main concern) is getting thru the clear liquids for a whole week, then liquids after that as well. Any suggestions on how to get thru it?

My surgeon said to do a liquid diet for one week pre-op but that if I couldn't stand it and had to eat (which is NORMAL to feel that way!!!) that I should just have one small meal per day and I was able to do that. I think it's ridiculous to set people up to fail by demanding that they can't eat - I think my doc did it best by allowing for a sensible "cheat" so that I didn't go cheat by spurlging on everything in sight which is how fat people get when we try to starve ourselves (hence the fact that we always re-gain MORE weight after a diet).

Spydr: Thanks for the feedback. So far today feels pretty good but I'm sure it's going to be rough. I am trying to think of it as a cleanse and that helps.

Laura: I don't really think that my doctor is setting me up to fail. These are his guidelines and the goal is for me to lose weight this week. I could probably still do that with one small meal a day and the dietician told me to call if I'm having trouble. I am also able to eat crunchy vegetables and and that helped at lunchtime today.

Like I said earlier, I don't have a problem with this requirement at all- I just was hoping for some tips to make it easier. :-)

Thanks again.

Hang in there Julie. It's hell and it sucks but you will make it. I always hate when people tell me it's not that bad. It is that bad but you will survive.

Didi - I did not cheat once on the clear liquids. It was only 7 days out of a life where I ate everything in sight. I knew I could do it. Like I said, you want to quit and kill everyone around day 3 or 4. Day 5 I surrendered and felt much better. It's tough to deny yourself after giving in for so many years.

Best advice, drink all day long. Change from cold liquids to hot liquids often. Eat all the sugar free popcicles you want. Have Jell-O every day. There will come a point where you may not want anything. That's okay. I was there. I did ask everyone I met what they had to eat that day and lost myself in the memory of food. Ahhhhh, food!

It was worth it for me. I'm sure you will find the same true for yourself!

do it any you will love the results!

Do it anyway you will love the results!

Think of it as a sort of rebirth, huh? An infant goes from breast milk or formula to strained peas and pureed carrots to mushy foods to solids. Same as someone getting their band.

That's another thing that popped in my head, anyone try baby food?

Diane, we haven't tried them, but I'm sure that is one way to eat around your band. And some of those fruits that we fed the kids (they're 23 and 25 now) were pretty darn good.

Is it a specific liquid that he has you on, or you get to choose? I'm guessing something like Optifast. (some preset balance of protein/carbs/fat and ~800-1000 cals per day?)

It's the first couple days that are the hardest; after that for some reason it's a bit easier. Body gets used to not having as much in your stomach, probably.

Hot liquids helped me: hot herbal tea, hot coffee, etc. for times when I felt like munching on something. And I kept raw veggies around -- cukes, radishes, carrots, celery -- stuff that I don't mind eating without dressing and they add negligible calories.

Good luck! Just less weight to lose later!