Anybody Cheat While On Pre Op Diet???

[hopingtobebandedsoon 89]

Has anyone cheated and ate solid food while on pre op diet? I am so hungry and these shakes are horrible, the pre op diet is much harder than i thought it would be please help

[SageTracey 608]

Yes, some people have posted here about cheating on the pre-op. It is understandable but not advisable. Your Dr makes you do the pre-op for a reason.

hang in there and you will get thru this.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Some do, but I'd seriously advise against it. The entire purpose of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. Obese people have very enlarged fatty livers, and the surgeon has to be able to move your liver to put the band on your stomach. If your liver is too big, it considerably increases the risk of injury to it during the surgery.

Many doctors will even close you right back up, without putting in the band, if the liver is too big. They don't want the risk.

So... I wouldn't cheat if I were you. It's not worth it.

[honk 780]

Yes there are people who cheat as mentioned above I don't recommend it! Not sure if these are urban legand but some claim to have known people that the doctor stopped the surgery because the liver was not small enough! If one were to "cheat" plain (and I mean plain) chicken breast no skin would be a good option since it is solid Protein.

The point is not the liquid the point is the Protein. The doctor is trying to force your body to burn protein and fat. Your body tries to avoid buring fat. It will starts out with carbs then moves protein and then fat. If you don't eat carbs you are forcing your body to burn the protein you are consuming and then body fat.

[TKW 501]

I didn't have to do a liquid diet at all before my surgery. My surgeon wanted me to lose weight. Said he wouldn't do surgery if I didn't lose "some" weight. I lost 20 pounds but didn't have to do the liquid thing. My surgeon said that losing weight seriously shrinks the liver which is the organ in the way for this surgery. You can do it!!!! I'm sure plenty of people have "cheated" but I think if you cheat it makes it so much easier to cheat some more!

Good Luck to you!

[Sojourner 2,446]

As others have mentioned, yes you can "cheat" on the pre op diet, but you need to consider what message this sends to you...that you are giving yourself permission to not follow the rules for your diet compliance post op. The mindset of giving yourself that permission places you on a "slippery slope" to maintain some of the negative eating patterns which caused your weight gain. I relate it back to a classic affirmation which AA members use to help with maintaining their sobriety: "One drink is one too many, and a hundred is not enough."

Flawed thinking gets many of us into trouble! For our purposes, the first time you give yourself permission to "cheat", the next thought likely will be, oh, it's only a small food item...I'll only have one bite"...And then the automatic thoughts take over...and more permission is granted to "cheat".

There will not likely be anyone to constantly watch over your shoulder every day to motivate you to comply with the diet, so that motivation needs to come from within. If you want to be successful with this weight loss journey, than your thinking needs to change. Establish some rules to encourage diet compliance, and enforce them with yourself.

There are very specific reasons why your surgeon advises you to follow their recommended diet. I think everyone who participates on this forum has experienced hunger, and have shared their "best practices" to manage it. For me, it is to drink the free fluids I am supposed to have every day, and to distract myself with a project. There are many closets and drawers in my house, and everyone of them is in order!

The more determined you are to be successful with your weight loss, you will increase the probability that you will be successful!

Best wishes as you continue on your journey!

[hopingtobebandedsoon 89]

Thanks everyone i dont plan to cheat cause im dedicated but this i MUST say is harder that i thought, even though ive been temped to cheat ive made up my mind to abide by all the rules, thanks for your responses it really makes it better for me....June 18th is my surgery date, keep me in you all prayers!!

[yvonne74 73]

You can do it! You are almost there!!

[ElizabethAnne 40]

I'm ashamed to admit that I cheated. I was supposed to eat 1400 calories or less daily for the two week time period before surgery. I struggled terribly for a few days and went over my calorie limit with healthy foods. I did a lot of extra exercise then and with that considered, I was likely under my calorie limit, but I still felt guilty.

I ended up telling the nurse who called me a few days before surgery. She told me not to mention it unless it came up. However, I felt the need to be honest, so I told my surgeon the day of surgery. I could tell by his body language that he was not pleased. Prior to this, during our small group pre-op meeting, his NP had warned us about gaining weight before surgery, saying that our surgeon had cancelled surgeries that week due to weight gain. According to my scales, I had lost 40+ pounds since I last saw my surgeon in January, so I pointed out to him that I had been working really hard to lose weight since I last saw him and explained that I didn't know what had happened to me on those days of the pre-op diet. He listened to everything I said, then asked how much weight I had lost. (The nurse who prepared me for surgery that morning had told me that my weight was not required on the day of surgery, so he truly didn't know.) I answered him while he wrote notes in my file. He is a man of few words, so that was the extent of our conversation. The next thing I knew, he told me we would be headed to surgery as soon as they had me ready. Right then, I felt like a horrible failure; he didn't say or do anything to make me feel that way but rather I chose not to follow his instructions and felt ashamed.

Try your hardest not to cheat so that you can be proud of your pre-op diet efforts.

[MemphisFan 18]

I'm going to go against the grain here... I didn't have to do a pre op diet, and although it was suggested I lose 8 lbs before my surgery, my surgeon said he would do the surgery regardless. I lost two pounds pre-op, didn't diet at all except 24 hours before the surgery, and it all went great!

[AlleyKat 26]

My pre-op diet is not liquids only so I guess it really depends on your surgery!

I was supposed to have a Protein Bar today for my snack and it was disgusting. I didn't eat it and now I'm freaking starving. Oh well.

You can do it! I say don't cheat for your yourself, I'm sure surgery wise one tiny tidbit of something wouldn't be the end of the world but make yourself proud!!

[honk 780]

One thing I must say is that when you get to post op you can't cheat. PERIOD. You can do serious damage to your body. The sugeon is going to SEW

the band into place. Your stomach Can NOT twist and grind while those stiches are healing.

[daisychains7 427]

No, I never cheated on the pre op diet. Don't even allow yourself to think it is an option. Call your bariatric nurse or doctor when you have a weak moment. They understand how tough this is on patients and are a good support. Hang in there.

[Krussell19 217]

Dont do it!! If your liver is swollen the doc will either cut you fully open instead of laproscopic or stop the surgery all together! Plus you might as well get used to it because post op diet is liquids to

[difa 114]

I had a liver reduction diet....No Fat, Lean Lean Proteins. Zero Sugar...

I combined that with liquids.