I just started my preop diet today and this is day 1 of a total of 14 days and I swear you would think I'm going through withdrawls from a serious drug. One minute I'm crying and flipping out about wanting some bread, pizza or a hamburger and the next minute i am perfectly logical in explaining to my husband that what I am experiencing is the psychological ramifications of no longer being on solid food. This has definitely been a trip and do you know who I blame? I blame all the post WLS'ers who never described how much of an emotional roller coaster it is on the first day. Or how many times you would have to talk yourself down from eatting just one more last meal of whatever new billboard or commercial you have seen. But on top of all of this is the utter despair at being such a sloth that you would have to do something as extreme as weight loss surgery in the first place. Or the voices in the back of your head telling you to face reality -- you are 6'2 410 pounds and only 25 years old what made you think you could possibly do this? And that the only thing that makes you feel even a semblance of sanity is drinking some broth because it tastes like meat. I am SOOOOO happy that my coordinator told me to drink as much of any of the items on the list as I want because I think just the act of denying myself liquids after denying myself all day would put me over the edge.

And this feeling of emptiness I never noticed before because anytime I would begin to feel the slightest bit of space in my stomach I would cram something into it in order to get that safe full feeling again.

There have been some triumphs with all of this though...

I have successfully walked away from turkey, creamed spinach, pizza, hamburgers, candy and everything else I have been encountering all day today. And even my triumphs make me feel pathetic. Someone please write and let me know that this isn't just me that has gone through this feeling. And if you haven't experienced this then please do not write back I quite frankly do not have the emotional thick skin typical of my solid- eatting- full- self to handle it right now.

So today is day one after surgery?

I am on day 3 of the liquid diet. My roller coaster is not as grand as your but I am dealing with the withdrawals. I have not had a soda or bread in 3 days. It is hard for me as I still need to cook for my husband and as a person who also licked the spoon....oh my god....I have resisted but it was not easy. From other posters just take it one day at a time and if that is too much-take it in smaller doses. I am eating (or should I say drinking) about every 2 hours which seems to help. I notice it is worse if I let myself get to hungry. We can do this!!!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is not an oncoming train but the platform to a new beginning for us.

What are you eatting? I have to potty every 5 minutes due to all of the liquid I am consuming and I am already bored with all of the different things I have to eat.(sf Jello, beef and chicken broth and sugar free popsicles) I even have some Protein shakes ( havent tried them yet) but my body is acting liek no you idiot I didn't tell you I wanted all this crap I said, " Hamburger" emphasized by a growl of the stomach. But I originally typed the post at like 9 something and it's 11:40 and I have still stayed strong. So who knows...

I am on day 3 of the liquid diet. My roller coaster is not as grand as your but I am dealing with the withdrawals. I have not had a soda or bread in 3 days. It is hard for me as I still need to cook for my husband and as a person who also licked the spoon....oh my god....I have resisted but it was not easy. From other posters just take it one day at a time and if that is too much-take it in smaller doses. I am eating (or should I say drinking) about every 2 hours which seems to help. I notice it is worse if I let myself get to hungry. We can do this!!!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is not an oncoming train but the platform to a new beginning for us.

I only had to do liquid the three days before surgery. I did 2 protein shakes, all the other liquids you want, and one high protein dinner the rest of the time pre- op. I added other soups like miso soup from the Japanese restaurant and tortilla soup from the Mexican place. They brought the tortilla soup with the chips, chicken and avocado in a bowl and the soup in a pitcher. I gave the stuff in the bowl to my family and just ate the soup. It was a wonderful change from broth and protein drinks.

I just started my preop diet today and this is day 1 of a total of 14 days and I swear you would think I'm going through withdrawls from a serious drug. One minute I'm crying and flipping out about wanting some bread, pizza or a hamburger and the next minute i am perfectly logical in explaining to my husband that what I am experiencing is the psychological ramifications of no longer being on solid food. This has definitely been a trip and do you know who I blame? I blame all the post WLS'ers who never described how much of an emotional roller coaster it is on the first day. Or how many times you would have to talk yourself down from eatting just one more last meal of whatever new billboard or commercial you have seen. But on top of all of this is the utter despair at being such a sloth that you would have to do something as extreme as weight loss surgery in the first place. Or the voices in the back of your head telling you to face reality -- you are 6'2 410 pounds and only 25 years old what made you think you could possibly do this? And that the only thing that makes you feel even a semblance of sanity is drinking some broth because it tastes like meat. I am SOOOOO happy that my coordinator told me to drink as much of any of the items on the list as I want because I think just the act of denying myself liquids after denying myself all day would put me over the edge.

And this feeling of emptiness I never noticed before because anytime I would begin to feel the slightest bit of space in my stomach I would cram something into it in order to get that safe full feeling again.

There have been some triumphs with all of this though...

I have successfully walked away from turkey, creamed spinach, pizza, hamburgers, candy and everything else I have been encountering all day today. And even my triumphs make me feel pathetic. Someone please write and let me know that this isn't just me that has gone through this feeling. And if you haven't experienced this then please do not write back I quite frankly do not have the emotional thick skin typical of my solid- eatting- full- self to handle it right now.

You're not the only one who has gone through this. I did not have to go through 14 days. However, I did have to do liquid diet for two days before. It was absolute hell. I was a complete biotch to my poor husband and anyone else who dared cross my path. I went through shakes, shivers, obsessive running to the kitchen and almost eating something... and I did cheat. I ate a brownie on the Saturday before. And I ate four Cookies the morning right before surgery. I wanted to order pizza, mexican, chinese... all I could think about was food and how unfair it all was that I couldn't eat. But you've got to remind yourself of the reason you're doing this. If your reason is strong enough, it will get you through. For me, my reason for all this has been my son's smiling face and how I want to be a good mother to him. But in any case, stay strong. You will get through this. This too shall pass. And before you know it, you'll be sleeved.

What are you eatting? I have to potty every 5 minutes due to all of the liquid I am consuming and I am already bored with all of the different things I have to eat.(sf Jello, beef and chicken broth and sugar free popsicles) I even have some Protein shakes ( havent tried them yet) but my body is acting liek no you idiot I didn't tell you I wanted all this crap I said, " Hamburger" emphasized by a growl of the stomach. But I originally typed the post at like 9 something and it's 11:40 and I have still stayed strong. So who knows...

I can do low fat yogurts and low fat cream soups (cream of chicken soup and tomato soup) along with sugar free jello/puddings/broths. Currently for my protein I am using the sugar free carnation instant Breakfast. To me this taste better than the Protein Shakes but still has a good amount of protein. Each time I eat I vary it so I dont get overly bored with it.

Hey there,

Thanks for replying to me with your words of wisdom, Iduring this time I really needed the support. I made it successfully through day 1 and now I'm on day 2 and today I started seasoning my borth with like garlic powder, onion powder and pepper. This has made a major difference to my taste buds and the blandness of the liquid diet. And I'm starting the day alot calmer.

I am on day 3 of the liquid diet. My roller coaster is not as grand as your but I am dealing with the withdrawals. I have not had a soda or bread in 3 days. It is hard for me as I still need to cook for my husband and as a person who also licked the spoon....oh my god....I have resisted but it was not easy. From other posters just take it one day at a time and if that is too much-take it in smaller doses. I am eating (or should I say drinking) about every 2 hours which seems to help. I notice it is worse if I let myself get to hungry. We can do this!!!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is not an oncoming train but the platform to a new beginning for us.

Eureka,

I will definitely try this! Miso soup and tortilla soup sounds wonderful right now. Anybody know if I'm allowed to eat vegetable broth? Cuz I can just make some soup and make my own broth and it will be yummy. Thanks for the idea. I am feeling alot calmer today.

I only had to do liquid the three days before surgery. I did 2 Protein shakes, all the other liquids you want, and one high protein dinner the rest of the time pre- op. I added other soups like miso soup from the Japanese restaurant and tortilla soup from the Mexican place. They brought the tortilla soup with the chips, chicken and avocado in a bowl and the soup in a pitcher. I gave the stuff in the bowl to my family and just ate the soup. It was a wonderful change from broth and protein drinks.

Jane,

I needed to hear that. Thank you so much! I felt such disgust with myself until I read your post. I didn't realize how much I would need the support of others during this time, I thought all of the support I would need would be more physical then anything. I think this is the first time in my life I have exerted willpower with food and it is scary and empowering all at the same time.

My reason for going through all of this is that if I do not have surgery any children my husband and I conceive will be high risk pregnancies. At this time I do not have any morbidities, however, at my weight I would be on bedrest my entire pregnancy, pre-disposed to gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and a plethora of other issues that would significantly decrease the likelihood of carrying any child of ours to full term. In addition to all of that, weight gain and body shapes are hereditary, however having healthy eating habits is something that is learned through your family. I do not want any children of ours to learn horrific eating habits because I eat the way I do. My husband is a slim man, very healthy, but his eating habits are worse then mine. I quit smoking 2 years ago for this exact same reason, I do not want my bad habits to be passed on to my children, which in term caused my husband to jump on the bandwagon of no longer smoking. He and I both feel that once my eating habits change his will to by default.

Thank you again for helping me keep my eye on the prize.

You're not the only one who has gone through this. I did not have to go through 14 days. However, I did have to do liquid diet for two days before. It was absolute hell. I was a complete biotch to my poor husband and anyone else who dared cross my path. I went through shakes, shivers, obsessive running to the kitchen and almost eating something... and I did cheat. I ate a brownie on the Saturday before. And I ate four Cookies the morning right before surgery. I wanted to order pizza, mexican, chinese... all I could think about was food and how unfair it all was that I couldn't eat. But you've got to remind yourself of the reason you're doing this. If your reason is strong enough, it will get you through. For me, my reason for all this has been my son's smiling face and how I want to be a good mother to him. But in any case, stay strong. You will get through this. This too shall pass. And before you know it, you'll be sleeved.

Eureka,

I will definitely try this! Miso Soup and tortilla soup sounds wonderful right now. Anybody know if I'm allowed to eat vegetable broth? Cuz I can just make some soup and make my own broth and it will be yummy. Thanks for the idea. I am feeling alot calmer today.

I am sure veggie broth is fine, you might try to Protein it up with tofu, or powdered milk, or unflavored Protein powder. A good time to experiment.

If you find something you like, you might want to freeze some for after surgery. I have heard ice trays make nice 2oz portions, and I think tupperware has an ice tray with a lid.

I am cheering for you.

I would think that you're also going through some detox in addition to food withdrawals. When you cut the sugar and carbs and all that other stuff it's not uncommon to feel like total crap and get headaches and other discomfort. I did a 21 day juice cleanse once and I remember that it was supposed to take ten days for most of the toxins to be cleaned out. It was tough. I don't know how I did it because I had a fiboid tumor removed in Aug and I had to do a bowel prep and one day on Clear liquids about killed me!! Just stay strong and from what I've read - after surgery it doesn't even matter because you're not hungry at all. It's much easier to do the liquids only after surgery.

Have you ever heard of EFT? It stands for 'Emotional Freedom Technique" and it's a form of self acupressure. You make a statement and tap on different areas of your face, neck and chest and after a few cycles the craving or the anger or whatever negative emotion you are feeling is just GONE. In minutes.... It's amazing! It really does work. I know there will be someone ripping me for giving out information without scientific proof that it works but I don't give a crap. I have a holistic background and I'm open to anything that WORKS whether there is scientific proof or not. I was taught EFT by a therapist in a professional setting and it WORKS. Gary Craig has a ton of free informtion on the web and there are many videos on Youtube that show you how to do the tapping.

TStew,

You know I hadn't even thought about that. I was a total carb nut I liked to eat bread with everything! And sugar, dont even get me started. i haven't had any headaches just felt like I was not getting enough of what I wanted. Day 2 is like a complete 180 degrees. I have been more in control of myself in regards to food than anything. That might be due to the Subway sandwich I have promised my stomach if we can go 7 full days of this liquid diet and then go immediately back into the next 7 days. I don't know for sure if I will go through with the prize in this deal I have made with myself, but the idea of it definitely allows me to go toe for toe with the cravings. But, I have been so good today, calm and even sated with the liquid I have been allowed to eat.

As far as the technique you are talking about, my mother practices it and has been trying to get me to try it along with some other holistic approaches for decades. I too am a strong believer in whatever works ( including making deals with one's stomach LOL), so it can't hurt to at least try it. It's all about psyching yourself out. So, I'll definitely look into it and thanks again for sharing!

I would think that you're also going through some detox in addition to food withdrawals. When you cut the sugar and carbs and all that other stuff it's not uncommon to feel like total crap and get headaches and other discomfort. I did a 21 day juice cleanse once and I remember that it was supposed to take ten days for most of the toxins to be cleaned out. It was tough. I don't know how I did it because I had a fiboid tumor removed in Aug and I had to do a bowel prep and one day on clear liquids about killed me!! Just stay strong and from what I've read - after surgery it doesn't even matter because you're not hungry at all. It's much easier to do the liquids only after surgery.

Have you ever heard of EFT? It stands for 'Emotional Freedom Technique" and it's a form of self acupressure. You make a statement and tap on different areas of your face, neck and chest and after a few cycles the craving or the anger or whatever negative emotion you are feeling is just GONE. In minutes.... It's amazing! It really does work. I know there will be someone ripping me for giving out information without scientific proof that it works but I don't give a crap. I have a holistic background and I'm open to anything that WORKS whether there is scientific proof or not. I was taught EFT by a therapist in a professional setting and it WORKS. Gary Craig has a ton of free informtion on the web and there are many videos on Youtube that show you how to do the tapping.

Successfully began Day 3 today with a great shake! However tomorrow I go back to work, as a teacher this scares the crap outta me! My classroom is literally 2 doors down from the cafeteria where the serve great things like pizza, hamburger, lasagna, etc. I do not know that I will be able to hold out!!

Successfully began Day 3 today with a great shake! However tomorrow I go back to work, as a teacher this scares the crap outta me! My classroom is literally 2 doors down from the cafeteria where the serve great things like pizza, hamburger, lasagna, etc. I do not know that I will be able to hold out!!

The best thing is to be prepared. Have your food with you if you can snack. I have been traveling with a little lunch bag with yogurt, a Protein drink while out shopping or hiking this past weekend. If you can have a thermos, keep it with hot chicken broth, Sip it like coffee. For me it gives me a full feeling plus the smell feels like you are eating something.

I have preop testing tomorrow with a visit to the surgeon so I know that I will be gone for a while so I am packing my lunch and Snacks to go with me. It has definately helped.

Today is my day one for my 7 day liquid diet. I have to cook for my husband and 4 kids and I did good tonight but I am starving! I can have the normal popsicles, broth, jello, protein shakes, decaf tea, diet snapple....

Does it get better/easier? I only have to do 7 days, I couldn't imagine doing 14. Those that only have to do 2 days, you are blessed!