Hi, I am scheduled to start the pre op diet around the last two weeks of April. I am trying to figure out how this works. As I understand it, for two weeks I am only having shakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a cup of either vegetables or fresh fruit. No carbs or starchy veggies. The written instructions say "if you need it" I can have a snack of a piece of fruit. Now, after surgery, there will be no fills for at least 6 weeks. During that time I am mostly going to be on liquids and towards the end soft 'mushies". So that is two months of starvation with no assistance or restriction. If I can not lose weight on my own, how am I supposed to get through this? I was recently following a normal carb counting diet for diabetics and every night I went to bed with sharp hunger pains in my chest area. I kept thinking that the pre op diet is going to hurt worse. Herbal tea helps but really, I just dont understand how this works. Does the smaller pouch cause less hunger pangs??? I really need an answer because I am wavering and do not want to change my mind about surgery.

Hi, I am scheduled to start the pre op diet around the last two weeks of April. I am trying to figure out how this works. As I understand it, for two weeks I am only having shakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a cup of either vegetables or fresh fruit. No carbs or starchy veggies. The written instructions say "if you need it" I can have a snack of a piece of fruit. Now, after surgery, there will be no fills for at least 6 weeks. During that time I am mostly going to be on liquids and towards the end soft 'mushies". So that is two months of starvation with no assistance or restriction. If I can not lose weight on my own, how am I supposed to get through this? I was recently following a normal carb counting diet for diabetics and every night I went to bed with sharp hunger pains in my chest area. I kept thinking that the pre op diet is going to hurt worse. Herbal tea helps but really, I just dont understand how this works. Does the smaller pouch cause less hunger pangs??? I really need an answer because I am wavering and do not want to change my mind about surgery.

Right this moment I am smack dab in the middle of my third day of pre-op diet. I, too, was a little freaked. But I basically approached it with a resolute, "Now I will do this" attitude. I can report I am really surprised. It's not easy breezy but it is totally doable and much easier than I thought. I get five or six shakes a day, depending on the brand, and having one every three or so hours keeps hunger anxiety pretty much at bay.

I feel awesome, too. There is a kind of high that comes as ketosis sets in, a process which I believe is caused by your body not having any carbs/sugar to burn as energy so it starts burning its next favorite fuel, fat. There is a greater sense of visual clarity and I keep noticing the beauty of how light falls on different surfaces. Its a sort of bonus treat for sticking to plan.

It also helps me to look a little less further ahead. Think about getting through to the next cup of veggies & broth when you can chew and swallow something whole again. Think about getting through the two weeks. Worry about the next steps when they each come individually. That's my focus and so far its working.

Hope this helps.

Hi, I am scheduled to start the pre op diet around the last two weeks of April. I am trying to figure out how this works. As I understand it, for two weeks I am only having shakes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a cup of either vegetables or fresh fruit. No carbs or starchy veggies. The written instructions say "if you need it" I can have a snack of a piece of fruit. Now, after surgery, there will be no fills for at least 6 weeks. During that time I am mostly going to be on liquids and towards the end soft 'mushies". So that is two months of starvation with no assistance or restriction. If I can not lose weight on my own, how am I supposed to get through this? I was recently following a normal carb counting diet for diabetics and every night I went to bed with sharp hunger pains in my chest area. I kept thinking that the pre op diet is going to hurt worse. Herbal tea helps but really, I just dont understand how this works. Does the smaller pouch cause less hunger pangs??? I really need an answer because I am wavering and do not want to change my mind about surgery.

Hi There, I completely understand what you're feeling right now! I am one week post-op and had to do a two week liquid diet and had the same fears you do. It wasn't easy but it wasn't torture either. For me the key was constantly drinking. I never went anywhere without my Water bottle and I also drank a lot of decaff tea/coffee to help me through. The first few days were hard to get used to but eventually the hunger pains weren't too bad. You're going to be hungry but trust me, after that first week when you step on the scale and see you've lost weight you'll be motivated to continue...at least I was! Also if you can, try to get all your tempting food out of the house before you start the pre-op diet!! I didn't have anything in the house so it made it easier for me not to cheat.

Post op hasn't been to bad either. Because of the swelling I've just started to get my hunger back. I'll move to mushies next week and I'm looking forward to it but honestly being on liquids this week hasn't been bad at all.

You can do this! Don't give up before you get started! There are a ton of people on here to support you! Good Luck!!