Hi all,

I am working on getting my 401k withdrawn for surgery with Dr. Ortiz in TJ, and hoping I can make that life changing appt. for mid-April. One of my biggest concerns is I am diabetic and if I don't eat right or enough, depending on hunger and the right foods, I get very weak and tired. I am worried about getting enough Protein and nourishment to keep me going on the pre-op diet.

I don't have a big income to buy all the special meals and supplements to get me through alot of the liquid stages and so on, but am willing to get them when and if necessary. I read alot about protein, protein, protein to keep your body and your stomach running smoothly, but it sounds really complex to me. I may by thinking to hard on this, but would like some advice and suggestions anyway.

Thanks so much in advance.

Judy

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Thanks BB! I am only on one med for my diabetes. Someone told me on the other board also that too much protein could cause kidney failure. BUT...I just got Dr. O's book Lap BAnd for Life in the mail today. OMG! It is a must have for all bandsters whether you have surgery with him or not. SO full of information, diets, phases, care, surgery, and troubleshooting after banding. Awesome reading so far and I just started.

Judy, I'm going to go against the grain here, but I eat a totally normal everyday diet same as I did before, just in lesser quantities. I avoid a lot of the bad foods, but I eat the same types of things I did before.

Protein first is a big one. I dont follow it, never have and I'm just fine. I have all my hair, I've lost nearly all of my weight and I've been a carb eater all along (good carbs only though!). Its just not true that low carb diets are the only way to lose. Yes, it works, anything works when you cut out an entire food group but from a health point of view, know that it is a fashion in America, but they dont do it in Australia, its an everything in moderation approach here and the band works very well here!

A healthy diet with all foods in moderation will work for you if that's the way you want to do it. A protein first diet will too if you prefer to do it that way. As a diabetic, I imagine you're going to lean towards a higher protein lower carb diet.

All I take is a Multivitamin supplment, because when you're not cutting out entire foodgroups, you dont need to take a million supplements. I've never drunk a Protein Shake in my life. And I prefer to exercise and maintain a relatively high calorie intake, so of course, I'm not going short on things because I eat enough food in enough quantity to provide good nourishment.

Please dont think I'm rubbishing the way others do things. Eating 800 calories a day on a protein first, low carb diet is a perfectly valid way to lose weight and can improve your health. Its just that it does bring with it a different set of problems in terms of having to supplement etc and if you wish to avoid those problems, then you can lose weight perfectly easily and reliably on a higher calorie, more varied diet - if you choose to add some decent exercise into the picture.

Good luck and good choice in doctors!

I had trouble with the clear liquids after surgery. I was getting really weak and shaky, so the nutritionist put me on yogurt on day #6. It helped tremendously. As soon as I moved to "full liquids," things got much easier.

Hi Judy, can you do protein shakes? I'm not sure how much sugar are in them but they are a life saver for me. I eat one a day then a small lunch and dinner. I think the life saver for you will be to eat a ton of small meals a day. Like a cheese stick, some protein, maybe even a protein bar. That way your insulin will stay okay.

Well, the Protein Shakes would be a start for sure, but it's the clear liquid diet I am concerned mostly about for before and after. I know I will get weak and shaky and nauseous on that, so was worried about something else that might qualify for the clear liquid part that would keep me going.

Thanks all,

Judy

I only had to do a day of clear liquids before moving onto full liquids. If you have to do longer, I'd suggest talking to your surgeon about it.

With regard to full liquids, there's no reason to get weak and shaky and not eat properly. My doc told me that liquids were anything that would go up a straw, so as long as it was liquid consistency I could eat it.

Neverthless I did what most people seem to do and tried to live on juice, V8, Optifast, yogurt and the like, within 3 days I was having fainting spells.

I made some REAL Soup with Pasta and meat and vegetables in it and blended that up. I blended up spaghetti bolognaise with a can of tomatoes to a liquid consistency, I did the same with tomatoes or stock for several casseroles I made for the family. By the time Christmas came around I was just about ready for mushies, so I even had my roast turkey and vegetables blended up with gravy at the Christmas table.

I pretty much ate totally normal food just blended to liquid in one way or another. Lost tons of weight, felt fine.

It'll take a week or so for your body to adjust, but without the sugars from carbs or sweets, you level out and stop becoming shaky. I only use the whey protein powders for shakes that have 0-4 grams of sugar max. Mix that with a little peanut butter and soy milk and it's good for you and filling. Lots of great combos. Eating whole foods when able are ideal, and I lived for soup- especially the thick ones with lentils. Good luck!