Ok, I need some help with my pre-op diet :help:

I go on Thursday for my first consult with the doctor and according to my insurance, before I can submit everything for evaluation, I have to lose 5% of my body weight. I am panicking :faint: . Obviously if I could lose weight on my own I wouldn't be in this position. I have yo yoed like everyone else and am really just confused at this point. I don't know how many calories I should be eating, carbs, Protein etc. I have to drop about 15 lbs before I can have the surgery and want to do it in a healthy yet quick way. I have done Weight Watchers in the past, but it took me almost 4 months to drop 25lbs.....I know this sounds terrible, but that isn't good enough for me...plus I was starving all the time on it. I think I need to eat more protein but am just not sure how much.

I currently weigh about 280 and need your help! If anyone can help point me in the right direction with some guidelines, I would really appreciate it.

Hi LeeAnn, if you want to start eating like a bandster drop your calories to 800-1k a day. You will drop the weight fast. I bet you could lose that 15 lbs in 4-6 weeks easily. Good luck. Julie

I can do that.....I am worried about being hungry. Does eating more protein help with that?

It does, and STAY AWAY from sugars and refined flours AND artificial sweeteners of ANY kind. NO, NO Splenda, NO Nutrasweet! I tried it (I also have to lose 5%, I didn't because of a med I was on, and I WAS DENIED, despite a letter from two doctors that it wasn't my fault, so they are absolutely hard-nosed about that 5%) and it made all the difference in the world. It is fine to eat whole grains and complex carbs, those fill you up and keep your hunger satisfied longer like Protein does. Nothing can help head hunger. Nothing. That is a battle you have to fight and win yourself. But I will tell you that dropping the artificial sweeteners and using Stevia (can find it at health food stores and some larger supermarkets) or Blue Agave juice (which does have calories and carbs, but is a low-GI food so it takes longer for your body to absorb it, thus no spikes in blood sugar) has killed almost all my cravings for sweets or carbs of any sort. You see, Splenda is made from sugar, so your body still processes it the same way, and though you don't get the spike in glucose (cause it is so low-carb), you still get the dip because it is processed as sugar is. The dips in glucose are what makes you crave more and more, a vicious cycle.

The weight loss of 5% is required because the insurance company wants to make sure that you can follow a MD program. It really isn't that much weight, and it shows "good faith" to them that you can do what the doctor tells you to do. It yanks my crank, yes, but I do understand their reasoning.

Alos, double check with your insurance (and get it in writing) if you have to lose 5 % of your TOTAL weight, or your EXCESS weight. That makes a HUGE difference. I have to lose 5% of my EXCESS weight (using the MetLife tables to say what my ideal weight is). My ideal weight is (according to MetLife) 167lbs, my starting weight was 344, so you subtract 167 from 344 and that is my excess weight. Then I take 5% of that and it's about 9 lbs. A whole lot better than 17.2 lbs if you went by 5% of my TOTAL weight.

Thanks faithmd, I appreciate all the help I can get! I will also call and find out about the weight loss thing to see how much I truly have to lose.