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Eating before surgery



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Okay... I have an internal struggle that I just want to throw on the table and see if I'm alone in this or if others have been down this road... If you have any thoughts or comments, feel free to share.

So I'm scheduled for my surgery on the 26th. I am 5 lbs BELOW my surgery goal weight that was set by my surgeon. I do not have a pre-op diet due to that fact. The day before surgery I am to have liquids only, and that's about the extent of my "pre-op diet".

Anywho... I have been so strict on my diet and exercise routine for the past couple of months to meet my surgery criteria, however, as surgery approaches and the days are going by quicker... I'm finding myself in a bit of a panic mode. Not because of the surgery itself, but because I have there bursts of realization that this is THE last week of my life that I will EVER have the chance to eat like a FAT GIRL!!! I KNOW that I will be able to have bites of the food I love down the road (way down the road) but I am not going to let myself go there. Those small bites are how I got to where I am today. I once was a healthy, slim, physically active girl. So I know how it's possible to flip that switch in a seconds time.

My delema is... To pig out or not to pig out. I have about 5 lbs "play room" in my weight with a week to go.

Now... I have part of my brain SCREAMING at me "ARE YOU F'N SERIOUS!?!?" Because I've put so much work into this already, and it IS about making a FOREVER life style change! Then I have the other side of my brain, saying "Do it, it's your last shot at it, and your having surgery anyway..." I guess I feel guilty for even having this discussion an these thoughts...

Feed back... Please.

Side note, please don't be too harsh on me. I haven't commuted a crime.... Yet. :)

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I don't think you're alone. A girl I work with said she ate at every place she loved before her surgery, she called it her farewell tour haha. Good luck with your surgery!

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follow drs orders B)

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follow drs orders <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />

My doctor didn't really give me any "orders" so to day. Just told me that I was doing great, told me liquids only for the day before my surgery.

Do you mean, I should do what I think my doctor would suggest??? Or I should do only what I think my doctor would approve of???

I would have to say that is part of my struggle...

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If you are going to have a farewell to your favorite foods party, I'd recommend doing it sooner rather than later. It does take your body a couple of days to process out all the fatty foods and you don't want that in your system for surgery. As long as your doctor doesn't object, eat all your favorite foods and enjoy!

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you have to ask your self if it is worth it.. can you just take a small bite and let it go... or u planing on putting the 5 pounds back on or are you planning to have just one meal???

remember why you are doing this.. ..

i know a week before my surgery i did have one meal i should not have.. but then i work my butt off and stayed to the program.. and it wasn't even worth it..

you and you only can make the decision.. no one can make it for you..

good luck on your surgery... keep your head up

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You worked very hard to get where you are. I would pick one or two absolute favs and go right back to the pre op diet. Five pounds could come back very easily. No sense throwing all your hard work away.

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Okay... I have an internal struggle that I just want to throw on the table and see if I'm alone in this or if others have been down this road... If you have any thoughts or comments' date=' feel free to share.

So I'm scheduled for my surgery on the 26th. I am 5 lbs BELOW my surgery goal weight that was set by my surgeon. I do not have a pre-op diet due to that fact. The day before surgery I am to have liquids only, and that's about the extent of my "pre-op diet".

Anywho... I have been so strict on my diet and exercise routine for the past couple of months to meet my surgery criteria, however, as surgery approaches and the days are going by quicker... I'm finding myself in a bit of a panic mode. Not because of the surgery itself, but because I have there bursts of realization that this is THE last week of my life that I will EVER have the chance to eat like a FAT GIRL!!! I KNOW that I will be able to have bites of the food I love down the road (way down the road) but I am not going to let myself go there. Those small bites are how I got to where I am today. I once was a healthy, slim, physically active girl. So I know how it's possible to flip that switch in a seconds time.

My delema is... To pig out or not to pig out. I have about 5 lbs "play room" in my weight with a week to go.

Now... I have part of my brain SCREAMING at me "ARE YOU F'N SERIOUS!?!?" Because I've put so much work into this already, and it IS about making a FOREVER life style change! Then I have the other side of my brain, saying "Do it, it's your last shot at it, and your having surgery anyway..." I guess I feel guilty for even having this discussion an these thoughts...

Feed back... Please.

Side note, please don't be too harsh on me. I haven't commuted a crime.... Yet. <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />[/quote']

I want to thank you for your honesty!!! Finally someone with the same thoughts as I am having! I have been approved by my insurance as I found out yesterday but my surgeon hasn't told me yet, they are closed on Fridays... So I got impatient this week and put myself on the clear liquid diet in hopes to be ahead of the game. I am sooo wanting the Breakfast burrito that my co-workers brought to work this am!!!! So bad!!! I have list 4 pounds since Tuesday but starving & my head is killing me! Not even sure what kind is diet my surgeon will put me on yet so can I actually survive on just Water and Popsicles????? What a delima??? HELP!!!

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I felt the same way. The only thing to keep me in check is my surgeon told me if I gained weight before surgery they would cancel it. That kept me on the straight and narrow. I've definitely been mourning food though....

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All I can give you is what happened in my situation. My friend asked me if I wanted to go out for one last big buffet blow out. I didn't go. Not because I wouldn't have loved to, but because I was tired of giving food so much power over my life. It's really a personal choice. Do you know that you can have one last feast and it won't trigger an eating binge and ruin your pre-op diet? I didn't want to take the chance.

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Thank you all for the feedback. Like I said in my original post, I struggle with the thought of it even bring worth it.

I honestly think that it's a mind game. I KNOW that IF I let myself gorge (even on one or two of my favorite meals), I would feel like crap afterwards. I can only imagine I would be filled with regret.

I guess I just needed to hear other people's opinions to my thoughts.

I HAVE worked hard to get to where I am. I went from being 222 on Dec 24th to 208 today. Not to mention I'm in the process of making a life long change, not just a change for surgery right? ;)

Okay... Well... I guess I'll write this one down in the book if mind games and let it go... ;)

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You are not eating well JUST for weight loss. You have been strict and avoided high carb foods to have the best chance at a problem free surgery. You will get to eat all those loved foods again if you want so dont look at it like they are disappearing from your life. And finally, part of the preop diet is to break away from old habits and start thinking like a normal person. Good luck with your decision.

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Before my liquid pre-op diet started - I ENJOYED all my faves, in great big portions!!! I said good bye to them all too. It was like a mourning period kinda. Then once the liquid diet part started, I was very strict. You should try to avoid the fatty foods atleast 2 to 3 days before your surgery so your liver is not enlarged.

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I am going to be honest here- I was also not required to do a pre-op diet. I lost 23 lbs before surgery without much effort- we were on a tight budget and stopped eating out. I also quit eating late at night (I work 3rd shift). That seemed to do it. I still pretty much ate what I wanted. I didn't have a "last meal", either. BUT, I don't see what harm there is in picking one food you really like that will either be off-limits or in very limited quanities post-op and eating what you want of it. Or going out for ONE dinner at let's say, Olive Garden. Just my two cents.

-Kendra

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You are not eating well JUST for weight loss. You have been strict and avoided high carb foods to have the best chance at a problem free surgery. You will get to eat all those loved foods again if you want so dont look at it like they are disappearing from your life. And finally' date=' part of the preop diet is to break away from old habits and start thinking like a normal person. Good luck with your decision.[/quote']

Thank you for your feedback. I completely agree with you when you state that this change is a lifelong change not just for surgery. I couldn't agree with you more. That is why I have been pretty strict on myself for the past couple of months.

Also, you mentioned that my favorite foods aren't going away forever, just the big portions are. I personally (and I do mean PERSONALLY) plan on not taking in my current favorite foods after my sleeve. I grew up a very healthy, physically fit and skinny child. It was not until my adult life that I began to eat my current favorite foods, and that is when my lifestyle changed. Granted, I let my food overtake my life and big portions grew over time. None of it happened over night. I just know my mind (better than anyone), and I don't think I want to even tempt myself with these foods again.

I almost feel like an alcoholic or drug addict... Like I have to let these foods go completely due to the risk. Perhaps I'm being dramatic... Idk... I'm just speaking for myself...

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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