I am new to this forum and so happy to have found it! My surgery is on Monday so anxiety is settling in. This is my first day on liquid diet and I have been trying to set a schedule for myself in order to get the nutritional needs in. I have gotten to the place I am today because I tend to skip meals all the time and eat one meal a day. I would be so hungry that I did not make the best food choices.

This is all about to change and it starts today! I know me and how I am easily absorbed into the daily tasks that I do not make the time to treat my body right. I'm thinking the easiest way for me to be successful in this is to set a schedule. (Please don't think I'm crazy!) My plan is to get my 64 ounces of liquids down and my Protein shakes (they said 3 replacements). Does the milk that goes into the shakes count towards that liquid count? I am planning to carry Water bottle with me all day and sip, sip, sip away.

What I am overwhelmed with right now is after surgery: They gave me a meal pattern that includes 6 small meals (yogurt, shake, Soup, shake, juice & broth, pudding and sip sip sip) then they say not to drink 30 min before/after meals (I'm sipping all day!) THEN they say to allow 2 hours between each supplement taken. How do I work all this in? Is it just the anxiety getting best of me?

Take it 1 step at a time. Work on getting the 1st meal in which when you have breakfast, as soon as you get up then go from there. It's not going to be perfect, but it will do. It's just changing the old dysfunctional behaviors of eating to new more effective ones. It will take approximately 28 days to ease into this change. But it is highly beneficial to feed and nourish your body in small increments to help speed up your sluggish metabolism. Take your day in small chunks and structure your day around your nourishing meals. It gets easier as you practice this. In fact, even the drinking gets easier. This is going to be for the rest of your life, so today is a great day to commit to this new way of life. Congrats! This journey is worth it!

Your liquids are the #1 priority at the beginning. You may not even be interested in eating at first, so don;t worry too much about it. Your body has enough nutrients stored to last some time, but it has no fluid reserves. Dehydration is probably the #1 problem and it can be miserable. If you have to make a decision between eating or drinking, then drink. Yes, milk and all fluids count, not just water. Milk is good, too, because it's high in protein. Best of luck!

Thank you!!