Hi everyone! I am starting my liver shrinking diet today and just wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom or suggestions to make meals less boring so I can be prepared?

Thanks!!

I'm on day 10...I wish mine could be less boring but I'm doing optifast and there isn't much room for improvement! I have found sugar free gum and candies very helpful though! Good Luck!

Hi everyone! I am starting my liver shrinking diet today and just wondering if anyone has any words of wisdom or suggestions to make meals less boring so I can be prepared?

Thanks!!

no tricks...the only tip i have is to not cheat. this is to help you shrink the liver for surgery. you can do this. if you are hungry, drink something (a Protein shake will feed your body). sf popsicles saved me during the pre and post op liquid diet.

hang in there.

each day you get closer to being done with the liquid

It sucks but its a good time to start having conversations with yourself and relearning to enjoy life without it revolving around food. I dont know how your diet is but I did one week with 2 liquid meals and 1 regular then 1 week of all liquid. Just switch it up a lot and and dont be afraid of spices. You'll figure out flavor over quantity will be your friend.

Good luck your almost there!!

I agree with the above posts. I am on day 10 of my liquid diet an it has been kind of a roller coaster.

I have twin 5 1/2 yr old twin boys and so I have to remember to feed them and my husband. I find my self having a hard time drinking all my shakes because they don't taste the best. I have been loving my SF Jello and SF Popsicles. I found an off brand at Wal Mart that has banana and coconut flavored sf popsicles. They were good!

I am proud to say I have not "cheated" at all, I have found I am stronger than I thought I was!

Good Luck to you!

You can do this! It's hard! It was the longest 2 weeks of my life, but if I was able to do it, so can you. My dietician told me to use Slimfast-high Protein powder and to be honest, it was pretty good. Four shakes a day and all the non-caloric clear liquid I could drink. I found that if I blended the shakes with some ice in my Magic Bullet blender, they tasted like a milkshake and were pretty good! I also kept my Water bottle filled all the time and bought a bunch of those little mix-in Crystal Lite type of things that are individual servings. Lipton makes them too and they're pretty good.

I was fortunate that my 14-year-old son decided that if I couldn't eat, it wouldn't be fair that I'd have to do the cooking, so he took it over. I was surprised with how well he did! The worst part of the day was dinner time and everyone would sit around the table and I'd sit on the couch with my Protein shake.

It's only 2 weeks, though! Just go day by day and it will be over before you know it! I found that if I did my shakes right away in the morning, at lunch, dinner and then one before bed, it did a pretty good job of keeping me full and satisfied. If I got tired of the sweet, I would have a coffee mug of broth which helped to having something more savory tasting.

I'm now on the post-op Clear liquids and am amazed with how little I'm eating! I need to get more liquid down, but I just can't do it because i get filled upso quickly!

It's worth it! You can do this! I just told myself that 2 weeks out of my entire life was nothing!

I agree with the above posts. I am on day 10 of my liquid diet an it has been kind of a roller coaster.

I have twin 5 1/2 yr old twin boys and so I have to remember to feed them and my husband. I find my self having a hard time drinking all my shakes because they don't taste the best. I have been loving my SF Jello and SF Popsicles. I found an off brand at Wal Mart that has banana and coconut flavored sf popsicles. They were good!

I am proud to say I have not "cheated" at all, I have found I am stronger than I thought I was!

Good Luck to you!

I am going to have to look for those popsicles! I haven't been able to find anything except for cherry, orange and grape. I know what you mean about having to feed the rest of the family. For me it is a little easier though as my kids are a little older and it has been "make your own dinner night" since I began my pre op diet. I do have to give it to my Husband though who has ate cream Soups for dinner ever since I started. I'm on Optifast and my last meal at night is Soup. He's such a sweetheart! :wub: Good luck on your journey, our day will be here before you know it!

just make sure the popsicles do not contain sorbitol. found out the hard way, it will give you the runs if ate (alot)

Thank you all so much for the advice! It's only been 2 days and I feel like I've been hungry the entire time... BUT I did pass up cake at a work party and haven't cheated.

Luckily, I am not on all-liquids. I have 2 shakes and 4 oz meat and can have all the vegetables I want plus liquids. I've already found that beef broth with diced tomatoes is not bad (weird, huh?) and I think stir-fry veggies and some chicken will be my go-to dinner.

It's so nice hearing all your stories - thank you SO much for the help!!

I started my pre-op diet yesterday as well. I can have 2 protein shakes, 2 cups of fruit, 2 cups of veggies, 2 protiens 2 pieces (size of a deck of cards) or 4 eggs. all the water, tea sf jello sf icecream diet soda and broth i want. Yesterday wasnt that bad now today is horrible. I work nights and all we do is eat to keep ourselves awake so its hard to watch them and drink my water! But just remember we can do it! Plus i have to be on mine for 25 days im on day 24! 23 more to go!

my pre-op diet was very strict. I was on optifast, having 5 shakes & 4 bars a day. There really wasn't much I could do with that - but I made it. I was on mine for 3 weeks, took lots of will power. But I am so happy with the results in the end, now I currently have one week left on my full liquid post-op, but it isn't so bad as I had to do the pre-op one for so long.

Are any of you diabetics? How did you manage you diabetic medication while on the preop diet?

Are any of you diabetics? How did you manage your diabetic medication while on the preop diet?

My pre-op diet is only one day. I have to have only clear liquids and take a laxative.

Dean, I am diabetic, and on a 2 week liquid diet. I have continued to take my metformin, a mild, low dose, and have simply checked my blood sugar periodically. I remain in the low abnormal range of about 110-160mg/dl...If it gets below 70mg/dl, consistently, I'll call my MD and hold my meds until I hear back from him.

Interestingly, no one mentioned what to do about my diabetic meds with me either, but I am a nurse, and this is the kind of stuff I am used to dealing with.

Thanks for the answer. I am also a nurse but was wondering if there were any other recommendations that are made in this process.