I'm flying to Mexico next week for my band, but I may explode before then. I'm trying to eat all my favorites in huge quantities while I have the chance, it's truly disgusting. Today is my last day of eating like this. Tomorrow I have to start my pre-op very low, low calorie diet to decrease the size of my fat liver. It's bad enough having a fat a$$, but it's pretty darn insulting when the docs call your internal organs obese. Can anybody explain how I'll be able to maintain this low, low calorie diet for an entire week? Holy smoke, Batman, where is the Diet Fairy when we need her? I started today at Starbucks, where I usually have a medium decaf something-or-other. Today I made it a large and had them add every type of goop and slop possible, then threw in a goop filled glob. Lunch was even worse, and then one of the ENABLERS (co-workers who love to feed me) decided to bring massive amounts of desserts so they can all support my weight loss efforts that are supposed to begin tomorrow. EESH!

My last supper will be in mexico. the night before I get banded. I dont think I'll gorge myself tho. (I hate being so FULL it hurts)

DeLarla, you crack me up! :mad:

Perhaps remembering that the week of shrinking your liver will be your last diet EVER will help you stay sane enough to maintain your commitment. Think of it as a spiritual journey - meditate, burn incense, feng shui everything, try some yoga... lol

Seriously (okay, I was semi-serious above), but seriously, deep down you want the very best outcome from your surgery, and the safest surgical journey possible, so when you start freaking out on your last week try and remember that you are doing this for YOU, and you are worth it!!

And really, it is the very last time you will have to "diet." And although I totally understand your current bingeing mode, you will see that it was not necessary... The band journey is almost always gradual enough that you're not cut off immediately from your old habits, once your healing phase is over. And you have the choice and control over how fast your journey is. You can wait to have fills until you are emotionally ready to eat less.

The miracle of the band is not so much that you HAVE to eat less, physically, but that the DRIVE to eat huge quantities of food gets tamed. At least, that was the miracle for me - that constant hunger went away.

You're going to do great!!

Big Dog, did your doctor send you pre-op instructions? I read them and it says not to eat the day before your surgery. Also, it says to maintain a low, low calorie diet for one week prior to the surgery. Otherwise I'd be looking forward to some real Mexican food next week. But maybe you'll be in Mexico longer than me?

I love my replies. Thanks for taking the time to read them. Funny thing about fung sei/fang shway/feing seua is that I can't say it or spell it, but I sorta live it in my own special way. I don't follow all the rules, but "cute" is very important to me, and I spent last weekend making my house as cute and clutter free as possible for this new journey. I might have to go to OA or AA or GA meetings every night of the week to stay on a low cal diet. In case you're not familiar, Overeaters Anonymous... and if there's no meeting scheduled I'll sit in the back of an AA meeting or Gambler's Addict meeting just to keep myself out of the kitchen! Maybe listening to other people's problems will get my head out of my own!

My only "real" instruction is not to eat or drink anything for the 12 hours prior to going under the knife. so I just dont eat or drink after 6 pm the night before.

Not to say it doesnt have a reason, but I havent heard of having to go on this week long thing you were told to do. :phanvan

Hmm... you may want to ask your doctor just in case. My instructions say: "Very low carlorie diet for one week; the purpose of this preoperative diet is to decrease the size of your liver, which can be markedly enlarged due to excess fat accumulation."

I'd hate to take a chance. But if your doc says okay, please have a tamale for me!

Ok, I did some research and found out why some people are told to do it and others are not.

If your BMI is 55 or higher, Yes, you are told to try for a liquid diet for at least 10 days. It decreases the intra abdominal fat and shrinks the liver size. It makes it easier for the doctors to do

If your BMI is under 55 its not as much of a concern. My BMI is 40.1 .

They do want you to have an emty stomach for surgery so they ask that your "last" meal be a lite one.

and eating like crazy before your surgery (the last few weeks) is not a good idea. The quick increase can build up fat in side your abdomen. It increases your chances of the doctor having to do and "open" procedure. (3-4 incision) wich means another day or two in the hospitol.

And there are those doctors that have ALL thier patients fast for ten or more days.

And there are docs that have NO pre-op instructions/requirements whatsoever.

I had no special diet prior to surgery, was told nothing but Water by mouth after 9PM the night before. I have not heard the BMI rationale in regards to pre-op diets before - I started at BMI 48.

The American docs seem to be the ones who like the pre-op diet of some sort.

DeLarla, it will not take you long to see that what your doc says may not be in the ballpark of what another doc says. The important thing is to follow YOUR doc's instructions, and if they go against your knowledge from what other docs request/require, you can always ask your doc "why?" You may not get a satisfactory answer, but you have the right to ask.

You guys rock! Thanks for researching & getting me all that info. And thanks for sharing your BMI's. Mine is 44. I can't imagine it being any higher since I can barely function now. But I'm going to try a no-fat diet till next Wednesday - can I even believe my surgery is next week? I'm allowing myself a serving of cream in my coffee and a little olive oil on my dinner salad and only fish, fowl, fruits & veggies. After my band, the only thing I really don't want to give up is my one little lonely cup of decaf with cream. Does that sound do-able? Hey, my LabDane just came in to say hi to you guys. When my dogs drag out of bed it's time to leave for work, my furry alarm clarks. Have an awesome day. Big Dog, I'm watching you cuz we are neck & neck with this thing and I'm excited to hear your stories. And Donali, I'm gonna being doing tht Zen thing really hard! Is that an oxymoron, hard Zen? Oh gag, I gotta tell u guys something. This weekend I'm seeing my sister, who is one of those impossible family members that I try to avoid. She's lost 60 pounds since I saw her and is really skinny (diet pills). Then my best friend from high school is coming in 2 weeks. She had Triple-H breasts and finally had them reduced to C cups then lost 35 pounds. They are both gloaters (if that's a word) and I'm at my heaviest of 309. I could just vomit at the thought of my bloat vs. their gloat, and hopefull this surgery will make that part of my life better. Oh, I could really gag at both of them who will ask me to go shopping at the mall AS IF that's a fun thing at 300 pounds. HURL!

Originally posted by donali

And there are docs that have NO pre-op instructions/requirements whatsoever.

I had no special diet prior to surgery, was told nothing but Water by mouth after 9PM the night before. I have not heard the BMI rationale in regards to pre-op diets before - I started at BMI 48.

The American docs seem to be the ones who like the pre-op diet of some sort.

American doctors are going to be very carefull about how they go about the lap band surgery. They make a good deal of money from it and alot of them can truely see the benifit of it. The FDA has a close eye on this and can pull the plug on it at anytime if the see to many things go wrong (death).

However,

I Got my info from Dr. Rumbaut's office. Who is considerd one of the "instructors". Hes traind a good deal of the american doctors on the lap band. Matter of fact hes getting a new trainee next month.

I am sitting in my office at work laughing out loud. I know my co-workers think I am crazy...they already thought that anyway:-) Good Luck on your one week diet. You can do it! I had 7 days of liquids before my surgery...that was not fun. My BMI was 36.8. It is now 28.2!!! These last 30 lbs are gonna be like waiting for Christmas... Take care and eat something low fat for me. Liquids is the only thing going down for me at this time:(

Kellymoos... my favorite quote, and the banana does a good job of conveying it! Guess what, I've been on my diet all day long!!! Well, it's only noon, but it's a start. I'm worried about you saying only liquids will go down your belly. Why? Did you recently have a fill? Is that normal? If so, 30 pounds should be gone very soon. Listen to me going on as if I know what the heck I'm talking about! Oh my gosh that I'll have a band next week. I'm gagging & freaking out cause my stomach just told me it's time to belly on up to the drive-through window... but then the ol' brain kicked in with "nut uh uhhhh" and reminded me of the can of water-packed tuna on my desk. I have this look on my face like a teenager who just found out she's not getting a car, ever!

It is my time of the month and I always get really tight about this time each month. My last fill was Jan 9th, and I don't think I will ever get another one. You sound like a very fun person to be around!!!!!! I am hoping when I weigh this weekend that I will be 3-4 lbs lighter.....crossing my fingers and saying a prayer:D

Delarla I had the same fear of not being able to do 2 weeks of clear liquids becasue I thought I would starve to death but all I can say is I was so totally not hungry for the first 2 weeks after my surgery. The liquid phase was a piece of cake. I'm into my 4th week post op and I'm starting on soft foods and to be honest I'm still not very hungry. Its truly amazing how it works! I have lost over 20 pounds since my surgery on April 6th 2004. I weighed 265 and am now under 245. Dont worry you will do just fine.

Best of Luck to you...

Michelle

Dr Ortiz

4/06/04

I wasn't really hungry for the few weeks after my banding either, I drank a lot of Water and thought I might float away but it did fill me up. I also drank a lot of Soups and did get a little depressed, but when the when I started losing the weight it helped. Just take it one day at a time. You will be fine and good luck.

:mad:

I'm on day 2 of my low cal pre-op diet. I didn't do good yesterday, but today I was better. I'm really pretty hungry now. Thanks for all your input. This time next week I should have my band so I can get on with it! I'm going away for the weekend, which is going to be hard to stick to any lo cal diet. I'm taking a 6 hr drive alone to California (from Vegas) to visit family. Then 6 hrs back home on Sunday. Wish me lo-cal luck!