Hi everyone, I am being sleeved in a little over 2 months. I will start my pre op diet 2 weeks before surgery but I'm not sure what I should be eating now. I see that some people start calorie counting and protein shakes months before surgery..should I do that as well? I met with the fitness instructor today and they suggest that you watch what you eat up until the strict pre op diet is started. But to what degree should I watch what I eat? Should I get more strict with portion control as well? Thanks in advance

At Kaiser they recommend you follow a balanced diet of 3 meals and 2 snacks totalling 1500 calories a day. We logged our food and simply followed it, and it worked wonderfully. We were required to do this for 6 months prior to surgery and lose 10% of our body weight. I see many patients on here who don't prepare enough with how to eat before surgery, and it's quite a shock for them to change and they struggle. My advice is to use this valuable time to diet now. Get your mind into it and get serious. You are starting the journey of your life, so be excited and go for it the best you can. The more you can lose now, the healthier your liver will be for surgery too. Also, try out the protein shakes and find one you like. They will be your best friend after surgery. Good luck to you! (of course it's ok to go out for a final bad meal or 2 before you start!)

What I am doing is having a protein shake each day and trying to eat healthier the rest of the time. When I met with the dietician, she told me to cut out caffeine and any soda, to stop eating fast food, and to try to eat smaller meals 5 times a day. I was eating 3 times a day - but all fast food, so this is a MAJOR change in my routine. I decided to do the protein shakes so I could figure out which I like. I had ordered a bunch of samples and am working my way through those. But, I can tell you after having 3 protein shakes for 3 days in a row, I can tell that my appetite/eating habits are starting to change already. I can't eat the same amount of food that I would have before. I had ordered a "last meal" of one of my favorite take-outs. Well, after eating it, I was not feeling too well - if I could have, I would have had it all come back up (but it wouldn't come). I've never had that happen before when eating that stuff. I'm not wanting to experience that again, so I really don't think I'll be ordering that again. I contribute it to having the protein shakes - I may be wrong about it and it may just be "all in my head".

I agree with MBMOM. I too have Kaiser, I followed their pre-op diet and lost 55lbs. I started it as soon as it was given to me. I was told I only had to lose 20lbs, but lost way more than that. I did that diet for 5 months faithfully until the day of my surgery.

I believe that is what made my surgery so successful and my recovery time such a breeze. Be kind to yourself and do what you can to lose as much as you can before surgery, it will only benefit you!

Best of luck!

Kelly

I am on six months of medically supervised WL - For me just starting (5'3, 317 start weight) I have been prescribed to eat 5-7 times a day - 1540 calories, 100-120G Protein, 50-100G carbs, 50-60G fats. A minimimum of 64 oz. Water. And first meal of the day - consumed an hour within waking should be 300 cals or under, and 30g of protein - this one can be challenging so I have been having nectar shakes with skim milk. I really do not like the sweet taste, especially in the morning but I figure I will have to get used to it. I am tracking all of my food and exercize in a journal.

My doctors and nutritionists have said at every visit that there are no essential carbohydrates - that our bodies easily can fuel our brain with the energy that comes from Proteins and fat stores burning - I too felt foggy at the start from dropping the carbs but I am starting to feel quite a bit sharper. I think I have quite an addiction to those pesky carbs - my body reacts to them like a narcotic!

I'm with Kaiser NorCal and went through Fremont kaiser for my VSG. At Kaiser Fremont, we follow a balanced diet of 1200 calories a day from Orientation till the day before surgery. We also start taking a Vitamin regimen, give up caffeinated drinks and sodas, and begin an exercise program. I cheated on my diet about once a week. For example, one week I had homemade popcorn and two shots of tequila. I lost steadily because I exercise 5 days a week (that wasn't new for me, that was left over from my previous weight loss attempts-one habit that stuck).

I think it's very helpful to have this restricted, healthful diet because:

• You get used to eating less before you are REALLY eating less.
• You give up caffeine before you are forced to. I have to admit I was several weeks into the program before I gave up my coffee, but I'm so glad I did because right after surgery it is hard enough to get the basic items down so you won't have coffee and it would totally suck to have caffeine withdrawals at the same time that everything else is hitting you.
• You can test out Protein drinks, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and other healthy foods, looking for brands/flavors you like better.
• Your body has more than a couple of weeks to build up a good nutritional base and shrink your liver.

I just had my sleeve on the 17th and I'm feeling good. Today is my first day spending all day in stretchy pants and without any pain medication. I enjoyed 1/2 c. greek yogurt for Breakfast, a choco-Protein shake with lactaid milk mid-morning, and 1/2 cup cottage cheese for lunch.

Best wishes on your journey! Keep us posted -- we are all rooting for you!

Lynda

Thanks so much for the helpful info! You guys are great. Headed to the grocery store tomorrow and cleaning out the pantry and fridge. I need to surround myself w the right kind of foods. Thanks again