Due to my weight and where I carry most of my fat (around the middle) my surgeon insists I go on a 4-week liquid diet. I can have some Optifast crunch bars and soup!

I've read a lot of how pre-op'ers are struggling with the two-week diet? I'm getting "shaky" anticipating four weeks on that stuff?!?! Also, I haven't read the first story yet of anyone else having to do 4 weeks before their surgery.

Any words of wisdom?

Bless your heart! I had two weeks and it really wasn't that bad. The crunch bars might help a lot. I found warm herby chicken broth really helped with hunger more than cold Protein drinks. I wasn't allowed any Soup, just broth.

4 week? wow

Edited January 11, 201412 yr by Susysleever

Welcome to the board!

You may find something useful in a post I made last year:

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/249104-the-pre-op-diet-is-not-a-punishment-its-an-opportunity/

I'll quote it below, but you may want to read some of the responses, for inspiration and ideas!

Keep in mind, after surgery you'll be on liquids for at least a couple of weeks while you're healing, then slowly reintroducing more solid foods. So an extra 2 weeks pre-op won't seem so long after surgery and you'll be a "pro" when it's post-op time. There's a lot to think about and deal with in the early post-op days, so if you're already in a "groove' with an all liquid diet, it will really help!

Good luck with the 4 week pre-op. Lots of great info and support here, and keep the questions coming....we're all happy to share our experiences.

Webchickadee, on 03 May 2013 - 12:59, said:

Hi guys. I see a lot of you are struggling and worried pre-op about the pre-op diet. It is a HUGE challenge, but for me, it was an important one.

Exactly 1 year ago, I was in the middle of a 2 week liquid pre-op diet because my BMI was 55+ and I was self-pay in Mexico. Traveling from Canada meant that a reschedule would be A LOT of extra expense if my surgeon had to stop due to an enlarged liver mid-surgery. I had NO CHOICE but to follow the diet.

It also meant that cheating would increase the chance of complications and a longer recovery (or worse), all because I could not follow a 2 WEEK diet. Really? Here I was, about to take a seriously radical, life-changing step and get 85% of my stomach cut out permanently. But I can't follow a 2 week diet? That's crazy.

Post-op was going to be difficult for MONTHS, not days. So if I couldn't get my head in the game for the pre-op diet, then maybe I wasn't ready for what was going to follow post-op. I was terrified!

So I started the liquid diet. And I was STARVING. I was dreaming of all the foods I thought were leaving my life forever. Suddenly I didn't care that I had spent my life morbidly obese, I wanted my comfort back. I wanted to fill myself to bursting at every meal, like it was my last meal forever.

But I didn't break my diet.

Because for once, I wasn't going to cheat myself. It was time to grow up (I'm 43....) and take responsibility for my health, my future and my choices. A lifetime of justification, gluttony and excuses brought me to that operating room. Now it was time to face the music and get on with owning my future.

The first 3 days were HELL. That is when your body is detoxing from the carbs. You are using up the glycogen in your liver (to help "shrink" it) and it's screaming for replacement carbs to fill it back up. You can get through it. After 3 days it gets MUCH better. After a week you start to feel normal and more healthy than you have felt in years. You may be hungry, but you don't have the carb cravings anymore.

Most importantly, you feel IN CONTROL; and mentally and emotionally strong for battling your demons and winning. This is the first tangible proof in an unsure future that you CAN get through the post-op recovery and that you CAN succeed in losing the weight this time, FOR LIFE.

Whatever weight you lose during your pre-op diet is really inconsequential. What is important is what you gain:

- Confidence
- Emotional and physical self-control
- The desire to succeed and overcome "impossible" obstacles
- The knowledge that you are a WINNER as long as you do your best

Please don't look at the pre-op diet as a "condition" that your surgeon imposes on you (and some surgeons don't require it!). It is an OPPORTUNITY for you to test yourself, to help build your will, character and emotional toughness BEFORE you have the surgery.

It's like training for a marathon.....you put the blood sweat and tears in before the race to help you finish the race on game day. Without training and preparation, you will likely fail and you can get hurt really badly along the way!

Use your pre-op diet to work through your demons, build up your confidence and prove to yourself you can do it. If you "fall off the wagon" one day, the next day is a fresh start.

Aim for excellence. You owe it to yourself.