Hi, my name's Ellen and I'm having surgery on April 18th. I am just about to start my 2 week optifast pre-op diet. Right now I can't imagine how I'm going to cope on this liquid diet for so long but the thought of losing weight is really keeping me going. I can't wait!!

Good Luck Ellen!! I am new to this too and hoping to be banded soon. :clap2:

Hi Ellen and welcome! Congratulations on your upcoming banding! I was banded on 1/30/07 and am doing well. I love my band. I also was required to do a "partial" liquid diet which consisted of 3 shakes/day with a small meal at night (3 oz. chicken or fish and some veggies). I was so ready to get the ball rolling at that point that I didn't find it too difficult. Best of luck to you! Keep us posted! Gigi

I am scheduled on 4/25 and my doctor is not requiring a pre-op diet. I hear everyone speaking of it. My nutritionist said the only restriction is the day prior. I read that the reason is to shrink the liver, but I dont know. Any thoughts?

Hmmmm, I know what you mean. I have read about all sorts of various pre-op diet things on here. I just assumed everyone would be doing the same but that seems far from right. In one post I read a patient was told not to bother because it would only be effective if the liquid diet was for 6 weeks pre-op!!!

All I know is what my surgeon is having me do... 2 weeks of Optifast shakes (3 per day) and in addition to that I am allowed 1 piece of fruit and 2 cups of vege. It is meant to shrink the liver and to kick start weight loss prior to surgery. I was told this can make the surgery easier and faster. But who knows, a lot of people seem to be able to skip this stage and they all seem to do just fine... Another reason I was given is that the pre-op weight loss is meant to give you more confidence and motivation so that it is easier to continue on the right track post-op.

I guess I'm just going to do what my surgeon has prescribed for me. Post-op I have to do another 4 weeks on just the opti-fast!! I'm going to be well sick of it by then!!

Hope that sheds some light. I would actually like to know more about it myself. I'm glad I found this site though, it's full of great info.

Ellen.

Hi there,

I am down to one month before and am going to start my pre-op now and start exercising hopefully to make things easier post-op.

Good luck.

Awesome! Good luck.

Hi Pinkybar, good for you! You will love being banded. Congrats.

Hi, I'm new to the posts. I am near the end of a required 12 week Optifast program to get my insurance to pay for the surgery. I hope to have surgery this summer. I liked the taste of Optifast - but you do get sick of the same thing day-in & day-out! I have to do Optifast for 4 weeks prior to surgery - AGAIN! UGH! I'll do it though. I've lost 25 pounds in 9 weeks.

Hey Lapitup,

25 pounds is fantastic!! I am officially starting on my 2 week opti-fast program today so will weigh in and take a 'before' photo. I am a bit nervous about the weighing in part as I have just been guessing my weight for a long time and I soooo hope I'm not miles out!

It's a bit of a pain it's Easter break too. I'm going to visit friends for a long weekend. I have told them I am on a special diet but I'm sure they will offer me wine and treats anyway. It's going to be hard!!!

Anyway, best of luck with your program Lapitup. You should be really proud of what you have achieved so far! I am really looking forward to that first pound coming off!!!

Ellen.

Welcome to LBT and congrats on the surgery date. There are lots of threads on here with tons of information just for taking the time to read them all!

Good Luck!