I am in my first week of the Meal Replacement stuff and am having a horribly hard time getting through this. The 2nd day into it I was soo Hungary and took my migraine medicine which has a lot of caffeine and I basically started to pass out, and had horrible cold sweats and felt like I was going to throw up. I feel like im craving everything. This is much harder than I anticipated and I have 3 weeks to go. I've lost 6 pounds so far though and started this is Wednesday or this week and today is Sunday. So the progress is pretty good but I am miserable. I feel weak all the time and light headed. I just wanna get through this so I succeed with this surgery afterwards but im having such a hard time I am starting to doubt myself :( help!! I need some advice?!

*Jess*

Just stick with it and fight the good fight. Things will get better with time.

If you continue to get dizzy and near fainting I would call the Doc and alert him about it and see if he has any advice. Otherwise you're doing great. You can do this!

Make a list of all the reasons why you want (need??) to have surgery, and post it on the front of your fridge (or multiple places, if needed). Keep a journal of how you're feeling...good, bad, and ugly. And know that those cravings will pass....if you're strong enough to work through them without giving in!

Also...get a copy of the book "The End of Overeating". It will give you a clear understanding of exactly why you're having those cravings. You're craving sugar, fat, and salt...for the exact same reasons drug addicts crave their drugs of choice...literally. Reading that book made me angry enough to avoid eating the bad things I was craving...and has made my post-surgical journey MUCH easier to manage!!

I wish you great success

Laura

The pre op diet was very difficult for me. I sought the help of my family and tots. I felt horrible and wanted to eat everything in sight. Did I cheat, yes. Did I have remorse, yes. Yet, I did my best, lost weight and have been healthier every day since. Today I am 33 days post surgery and want a salty, crunchy experience and can't for 3 more weeks. You can do it.

Thank you everyone so much for the encouraging words and advice. I will definitely try some of the things recommended. I feel sad....its weird...like today was family dinner at my parents house and my sis was home from college and everyone was eating at the table and I just sat in the living room because it was hard being around the food. Does that sound crazy to be sad about this? Like normally on fridays my mom and I always go to dinner then go grocery shopping together and to me that was hard to not do that. At the grocery store it was very hard too. I almost wanted to buy a milky way candy bar and just eat it without anyone knowing and I was able to get out of there before doing it. I was very happy. Now last night I was very shaky and light headed and needed something so yes I did cheat and I got a half of sub from subway on whole wheat bread, turkey, am. cheese, lettuce and light mayo. It made me feel normal again after eating it. I felt horribly guilty though, but I was to the point where I just needed some meat or cheese. Like im not getting enough Protein or something, idk. Hopefully it gets better as time goes on thru these next few weeks. I just need to keep reminding myself why im doing this.

*Jess*

My surgery date is sept 14 and i cheated yesterday (labor day),i did the protien shake for 3 days(started Friday aug 31st) nd ate on labor day,i had 2sandwhiches nd watermelon with water...My head wasnt hurting anymore!! im back to my liquid diet today,its not as easy as ppl around you(me) think...I wanted to put my finger in my mouth and throw it up,then i thought ill just swim for an hour or so and walk abit more tomorrow...Hope i dont gain.. "/ i dont wanna step on the scale rite now...good luck to you!

The reason you feel so crappy is bc you are going through sugar withdrawal. It is better to do it now than after when u r healing. Stick with it.

I had horrible headaches for 2 days straight too. Normal with the detox. If u cheat, then you have to detox again.

The reason you feel so crappy is bc you are going through sugar withdrawal. It is better to do it now than after when u r healing. Stick with it.

Before surgery I went through the same thing everytime I tried to go on a diet. I didn't realize it at the time but I was going through withdrawal because all I ate were starches and sweets....and once they go into your body there is not much difference between the two.

It takes a few days but it does get better. If you absolutely must cheat eat ONLY Protein, no carbs especially starches.

FYI...I'm not encouraging anyone to cheat, but things happen.

For me it was only hard for the first 4 days or so and then it got easier everyday. My preop was 2 weeks. Giving up Diet Coke was the killer for me and now I don't even want it. Hang in there, it's all worth it.

I feel your pain! I am on day two of my two week pre-op diet. As a former meth user I can tell you that kicking the drug habbit was less taxing mentally. As the others have posted, stay the course and it will get better. If it was easy everyone would do it right?

Listen, You can DO this! Yes, it's hard. Your body is trying to detox all the crappy stuff. Hang in there, and stick to your pre-op diet. Repeat after me, I can do this!

I'm saying the same as everyone else. Yes, the pre op diet was awful for me. I actually did faint, a couple of times. It was worth every moment of torture. Trust me. Try to hang in there, try not to cheat. Take it a minute at a time. If that is too long, take it a second at a time. You will get there. It's only food.

Thanks soo much everyone for the kind words and advice. Just reading this stuff makes me feel so much better about all this. I got weighed in today and lost 4 pounds the first week. So I guess that's okay? They said 4 to 6 pounds is average for the first week. Im ready to get back on track and lose more though. I have to get thru the mental part of it mostly. Im not as Hungary as I think I am ....its more the wanting to do something I know I can't do....I guess...if that makes sense. I hate that about myself...that is a weakness with me...something I need to work on in many aspects of my life. I feel like its going to get better though. Im starting week two tomorrow. New week...hopefully it'll be better than the last. 19 days till surgery!!

*Jess*