Ok, right up front I am going to admit I skipped Breakfast. Its still something I struggle with everyday and in my defense for today I slept in and ate within an hour of waking so its not like I starved myself today. I said all that to explain why I have only had 1 meal thus far, I will be eating dinner shortly- A chicken Cesar salad.

So I am giving a go at this pre-op diet and HOLY CRAP! I use whole wheat bread so to be perfectly honest (since I try to low carb it anyway because of my PCOS and because I planned a very low carb dinner) I didn't even check the label for the carb content. This morning I changed all my daily limits on my online calorie counter, before today I had not a huge amount but a decent amount of carbs allowed daily. So I ate lunch trying to get my protien in I ate some leftover grilled hot dogs from dinner last night (2 dogs- all beef... I don't do the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink dogs). I was really proud of myself for choosing the high protien option over what I was craving which I don't think would have had a lick of Protein and alot more carbs than I knew I am now allowed. So I go to put everything in that I ate- 2 dogs + whole wheat buns w/ ketchup, mustard and a bit of relish (for the bit of sweet I was craving). I was all grins when I saw that my meal totaled over 20 grams of protein but my expression changed very quickly when my eyes moved over to carbs... holy ****! I have already eaten more than TWICE my max allotment!! :cry_smile: And my dinner will add an additional 7 g of carbs ( and only 11 grams protein, so I won't even hit my protein goal unless I have a Protein shake for a snack later which even further increase my carb load) :thumbs_down::Cry:

This is gonna be ALOT harder than I thought... *gulp*:doh: :faint: I usually allow myself a couple slices of bread or a small amount of Pasta each day but I obviously need to work on cutting them out completely... at least until I get a grasp of this super low carb regimen!

I am pre op too. The carbs are so hard to stay away from, they are in everything. I have been on a protein shake for breakfast, one for lunch and a lean cuisine meal for dinner. If I need a snack, I eat an apple. I don't eat bread, pasta or rice. I average 1000 to 1200 calories a day. Lots of water with crystal light and I have been walking for 30 minutes every night after dinner. I have been doing this for 17 days and I have dropped 12 pounds. It's not easy, but I have to lose 29 pounds before surgery.

I am pre op too. The carbs are so hard to stay away from, they are in everything. I have been on a Protein shake for breakfast, one for lunch and a lean cuisine meal for dinner. If I need a snack, I eat an apple. I don't eat bread, Pasta or rice. I average 1000 to 1200 calories a day. Lots of Water with crystal light and I have been walking for 30 minutes every night after dinner. I have been doing this for 17 days and I have dropped 12 pounds. It's not easy, but I have to lose 29 pounds before surgery.

Congrats on your 12 pound loss! I am trying to figure this all out with real food so I have a head start post op. If I end up having to incorporate 1 shake per day thats ok but I want to try to do as much as humanly possible with just plain old food. I have to figure this out, if I can't get enough protien in now I am in REAL trouble when my tummy is 1/10th its current size . Don't get discouraged 12 pounds in 17 days is nothing to sneeze at, that is awesome! It taken me since March to lose that much!! You will lose that weight just keep at it and dont give up!

Just keep your eye on the prize! It will be much easier post surgery, I promise. Good luck to you!

My surgery date is 9/6 so I technically don't have to start my pre-op diet until the 23rd of this month. However, I was hoping for an earlier date so I went ahead and started it. With the exception of two "cheat" meals when I found out my surgery date was so far off, I've been keeping my carbs below 15-20 grams per day. I've lost 18.6 pounds so far (in three weeks). It can get boring, but make friends with eggs and microwave bacon (drains most of the fat) for breakfast, tuna packed in Water with sparing amounts of regular (not low fat, has extra carbs) mayo, salad with cheese and carb free meats, boiled eggs and cucumbers (no carrots or tomatoes, again, carbs) and lean meats and fish. If you need something to eat your tuna "salad" on/with, get some pork rinds. ZERO carbs. Be sparing with even green veggies (green Beans, asparagus, etc) - just because they're not starchy veggies, everyone thinks they're low carb. They are lowER carb, but just watch them closely. One that snuck up on me was Brussels sprouts - 1 gram of carbs per sprout! My favorite veggie off the list for now. Like salmon? I have a recipe for a teriyaki glaze that's almost completely carb-free. PM me and I'll give it to you. It would be great on pork or chicken too!

Is pre-op easy? No. Is it fun? No Is it boring? Can be unless you get creative and think out of the box. The most important thing is to get those carbs out of your system and drop some weight to shrink your liver to make for a smoother surgery.

A protein shake (which made me sick) and a protein rich dinner later and I am STARVING! HELP!! HTH am I gonna do this if I can't even get through day 1??? PLEASE tell me this is just my stomach throwing a fit and in a few days it will be better??? I am seriously ready to throw down a dozen eggs (eeeks, consider the cholesterol) I HAVE to get a better grasp on this or there is NO way I can do this for 8 months! I am going to the store tomorrow and I am gonna clean them out of tuna if that's what it takes to stay satisfied without completely blowing my carb limit I thought I had a pretty good grasp on my carbs but I have never had to keep my carbs THIS low...

Your body is still craving the carbs . . . give it a few days and you'll be surprised at how it subsides. I have done Atkins in the past and the first few days of induction are tough, but once you get your body into ketosis you'll feel 100% different.