My surgery is July 15th. I start my two week liquid diet on July 1st. I am scared I will be hungry and frustrated during those weeks. Any advice?

I understand your fear, I had the same hesitation. I guess on some level I knew that the start of my pre-op was my farewell to my good friend food. Take it one day at a time, every day you finish is one day closer to your surgery! Miso soup was a lifesaver, you can buy instant at the grocery store. It'll be ok, you'll get through it! I lost 18 lbs on my pre op.

I only had to do one week of liquids pre-op and I thought I would starve the first 3 days. After that I wasn't "starving" anymore or maybe I just got used to the empty feeling. I had surgery on 6/21 and have been on clear liquids since. Now I'm actually looking forward to being allowed a protein shake and some thicker soups. I'm planning a healthy version of crab bisque (using puréed cauliflower instead of cream), butternut squash soup, split pea soup.... The yummy "full liquid" choices seem like an opportunity to me now instead of a dreaded punishment. Get creative in the kitchen and find some delicious things you can have on your liquid diet.

It's honestly not that bad after the first few days. Just keep your eyes on the goal and remind yourself why you're doing this. Keep yourself busy...that helps distract from food.

I have been on a liquid diet before (one of my attempts to lose weight). It was similar to MediFast but the products came from a different company, since I cannot tolerate MediFast's soy products. If you are on a similar high-Protein diet, the first few days are the hardest. You are tired, cranky and may have headaches. After the first few days, your body goes into ketosis and you begin to burn fat for energy. You feel a lot better at that point.

The stupid thing about it was I was actually mad during those first few days. I was mad at me because me was telling me I couldn't have what I wanted to eat. How silly is that? But I will say it forced me, for the first time, to realize my relationship with food was not where it should be. I realized I was eating when bored or for pretty much any intense emotion because the food was no longer there to comfort me. It was interesting, to say the least.

But I lost about 25 pounds doing this and it is totally doable. Good luck!

What great responses. I somehow ended up with two threads for my question. It was my first post. I am getting some good advice. But I have to tell you what HaddocksEyes responded hit home. This was a great response:

"The stupid thing about it was I was actually mad during those first few days. I was mad at me because me was telling me I couldn't have what I wanted to eat. How silly is that? But I will say it forced me, for the first time, to realize my relationship with food was not where it should be. I realized I was eating when bored or for pretty much any intense emotion because the food was no longer there to comfort me. It was interesting, to say the least."

Thank you all!

So what I need to do is think about the things I get to eat and not what I "don't" get to eat.

I can tell you one of the things I learned on my liquid pre-op ... homemade broth is so much better tasting, less salty, and more filling. If I had a family to cook for, they could have had some of the veggies, or rice/noodles ... because hubby and I were both doing broths, it was wonderful for us! Here is a recipe for the vegetable broth I made http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/basic-vegetable-stock-recipe.html I also used an ear of corn, tomatoes, and green peppers (don't roast the tomatoes and green peppers though, cook them in the soup pot about 10 minutes before adding the rest of the stuff). I also added some extra Water, the extra veggies more than made up for it.

Good luck and you'll be fine! Just keep your eyes on the prize!

i was terrified to start my 2 wk because i knew i had to sustain myself to work during that entire time.

i found that my Protein shakes made ALL the difference. As long as i started the day with one, had one at lunch time and dinner time, i was not very hungry in between.

the first few days were the worse, i had a few small cheats-nothing to derail surgery.

surprisingly, the two weeks went VERY fast because i was also busy getting ready to hand my job off for coverage, clean my house, get some social time with friends in, etc. I started my pre-op on a Monday and by that Thursday, my physical hunger was GONE (head hunger was still there). by Wednesday of the second week, it was all i could do to drink 4 Protein Shakes a day.

I was dreading it, knowing I had a month of liquids. At first I had headaches as the toxins started being depleted from my system. I learned quickly to keep hydrated all the time and make sure I was getting as much protein as I could with each meal staying within about 1000 calories. I would have started probiotics right away had I known what I know now. Thursday after surgery, I will be looking forward to a whole new routine. I found organics soups brand to be a great flavor savor and added unflavored proteins to it to beef it up and change things up. Good luck it's not that bad and once you get through the first day or two you are on your journey for sure!

Just started my pre op diet today. I had 2 shakes and light dinner. I'm really hungry but I know it will get better.

I'm having my Surgery on the 15th of July as well,,,and start my shakes tomorrow as well. Are your taking the Opti-fast Shakes? I'm worried about the taste of them since I have to mix with only water. We can get through this just need to keep focus!

Edited July 1, 201412 yr by ocrystal96

Good luck to you guys too! Today I start the liquids.... Today I am excited to start my new journey!