how to survive liquid diet

[Shakti 55]

I started 10 day Optifast yesterday, which will be followed by 2 days of Clear Liquids only. Sleeve surgery is 8/24. I am hungry, cranky, a bit nauseous. Can anyone tell me if this gets better as the week goes on? Thanks!

[samiro23 13]

Im right there with you sister! My surgery is Aug 18 and I am 5 days shakes only.... My girlfriend who was in our boat last year said it will get easier day 4,,, i;m still hungry !!!! lol but less miserable actually had a energy spurt this am .. Hope it gets better!! i think my mind is more hugry then my belly --mind over matter

[JamieLogical 8,684]

It will get a *little* better 3-4 days in, but it will definitely suck pretty hard core the whole way through.

[Tomlam 7]

I agree, I am set on the 20th and so far it has sucked the entire time (my Doc has 2 weeks liquid, last 2 days clear only)

[emma4884 81]

Deleted as in wrong forum

Edited August 13, 2015 by emma4884

[ITGeekGirl 32]

Day 10 of my 2 week liquid diet. I've pretty much resigned myself at this point. I wake up, prep myself some Protein shakes for work. Make sugar free pudding and Jello for Snacks, look forward to my bowl of Soup at night for dinner, and relish my greek yogurt with PB2 powder (it's like a creamy Peanut Butter cup).

Smelling other people's food has become daily torture, but I'm not as depressed as I was the first week.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

I am one week post-op today and I can tell you that adhering faithfully to the pre-op liquid diet will do wonders for you overall satiety and mood during both your clear and full liquid stages. I was not given a pre-op liquid diet, but rather just a ceiling of 1,000 calories for two weeks, so I ate the toughest-textured foods I could find that would keep me under 1,000 to keep satisfied. Then, when I made the personal choice to go to liquids for my final three days before surgery, it was extremely hard, albeit easier because I was staring surgery day right in the face. I had hunger by day 3 post-op, but liquids (even clear liquids) were and still are very satisfying, and I credit that to having done a few days of liquid before surgery. It got my body desensitized to the lack of chewing sensation.

I know pre-op is totally brutal, and there is no way around that, but my only regret so far is that I did not do liquids for the entire two weeks. I think things would've been even easier for me right now had that happened. In addition, the surgeon said my liver was still quite a bit fatty, despite having adhered to 1,000 calories during pre-op, and liquid certainly keeps that risk down even better than solid food of the same calorie content, for a bit of extra encouragement. I would stay the course, and part of what helped me during pre-op was watching the scale drop precipitously...I lost 20 lbs (some glycogen/water obviously) during the two weeks and it got me very enthusiastic about following everything to the letter.

Good luck! Try Isopure whey isolate Protein drinks. 40 g Protein per 20 oz bottle, totally satisfying meal both before and after surgery.

[samiro23 13]

Thanks for all the encouragement. ..I almost fell off the liquid wagon tonight when I was cooking my husband dinner..I literaly licked a piece of bbq chicken.and it actually did the job of satisfied me lol..very sad.. few more days till my surgery and 3 more days of clear liquid. .nervous but excited. .

[MaryPh 78]

Each time I was tempted to eat solids during the liquid phase I reminded myself how good it would feel to not cave. It was tough, but it was so worth it!

[tcon 305]

Hang in there, you can do it! It's difficult but well worth it. When I was tempted/discouraged (tempted all the time watching hubby, 2 teenaged boys and 1 pre-teen eat non-stop), I would remind myself that the pre-op helps shrink my liver and makes the surgery and recovery much easier. I'm two weeks post-op today and feeling good. I do feel fatigue in the morning and around 2 but once I get my Protein and take a B-Complex I'm fine.

Good luck!!!

[ylluz 151]

Is it clear liquid or just liquid I will have to call my NUT tomorrow I am confused and my surgeons nurse she couldnt answer that question:(

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Is it clear liquid or just liquid I will have to call my NUT tomorrow I am confused and my surgeons nurse she couldnt answer that question:(

It depends on how far out from surgery your are. Usually it has to be Clear liquids the last 1-2 days pre-op and nothing at all 12 hours pre-op. Then it's usually clear liquids the first few days post-op.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

Every surgeon is different with regard to pre-op requirements. They run the gamut from:

- no pre-op diet requirement at all

- no pre-op diet except clear liquids the day before

- three days of clear liquids

- two weeks of clear liquids (sometimes full liquids)

- two weeks of very low calorie diet

- one month of any of the above

- two months of any of the above

...and any combination of the above and anything in between. Your insurance may have different requirements than the surgeon, so you will be following a plan that is consistent with both sets of instructions. Nobody here can tell you what those would be, so be persistent and get through to the surgeon and your insurance to get an exact answer. It seems like the two most prevalent instructions would be two weeks of pre-op, with about half of those asked to do clear liquid, and another half asked to simply stay below 1,000 calories (this number doesn't see quite as much variation...it is always within the 800-1200 calorie range).

[tinkerrbell1 24]

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