I'm researching as much as possible. I'm trying to chew my food into mush. I'm trying not to drink with meals, but boy is that hard for me! Hot foods especially. And of course I'm low carb, high Protein.

Is there anything else I should be "practicing" now?

Walking/increasing exercise. It will make post-op recovery easier.

Pre-op, I found it helpful to gradually wean myself off of caffeine and carbonation, increase my Water to at least 64 oz a day, try to exercise 60 minutes a day, and practice mindful eating (eating slowly/chewing thoroughly).

I also sampled Protein shakes and tried to focus on eating more cleanly.

Sounds like you are off to a really good start.

Great advice from BLERDgirl and InnerSurferGirl. I'd listen to everything they have to say now and in the future as you move along through the stages. They are clearly successful and making awesome progress. Every bit of advice I've received from them has been spot on and helpful.

Not much I can add other than a couple "don't do's" :

Don't worry with "last meals" of your favorite foods. You'll see posts where folks get all wrapped up with having pizza, cake and whatever for the last time before surgery. All this does is lead to one garbage meal after another....days and weeks of continued poor eating. You are having sleeve surgery. You have to say goodbye to nothing. You can still eat the favorite treat foods later once you reach your goal weight. Stay the course with your low carb, high Protein plan and go ahead and start losing now. You'll thank yourself later. Losing weight is the goal....no matter if it's before or after surgery.....it's all about the losing.

Don't let yourself get stress out about this thing. Keep with your plan you've established.....add/delete/modify as needed when your NUT gives you further guidance. Keep on working at it every day.....let it be natural and have fun adding flavors to your eats.......Mrs Dash has a dozen flavors now, hot sauces, Italian herbs and other non calorie flavors. Have fun and enjoy the variety.

Don't get burned out on Protein shakes right now. Do find some that you like....at least 2-3 different ones and then put 'em up until your pre-op & immediate post-op diets come into play. You'll have some you enjoy that you can transition to.

You are going to do great !!!!!

Great advice from @Dub.

I also suggest starting to track your food if you aren't doing so already. I was already using Weight Watchers Online pre-op so I continued using it but since it doesn't track Protein I switched to MyFitnessPal for post-op. Plus, MyFitnessPal is free.

I didn't really have major Food Funerals but I did make sure to choose quality over junk whenever possible. I made a point of going out for Mediterranean food before surgery and had Mexican the night before my pre-op diet started but that was it. I didn't binge, just chose my favorite foods.

Adding to the chorus. Everything @@Dub and @InnerSurferGirl has said good, sound advice. One thing else I would add; don't get too caught up in the debbie downers or complication tales. While they are indeed legit concerns, they do not happen to everyone. I had an uneventful and nearly pain free surgical and recuperative process.

I wish you well!

My surgery will be in Jan/Feb 2016, and I'm doing the same things. I second the exercise suggestion. The mythical "They" say it takes about 6 weeks to make something into a habit, so may as well start now with that!

I purchased a bunch of Protein powder samples to try so I know which ones I will like and which I won't when the time comes. Someone said she wrote to the shake company and they sent her samples. Wish I'd thought of that! I've also been relearning my food and practicing with substitutes (e.g., how to make Greek yogurt taste like mayo to me). I've also been tracking both food and exercise in one of the free online fitness apps (fitday, myfitnesspal, etc.).

Thanks everybody.

I've never even given a thought to food funerals. I was just going to have a good tasting at Thanksgiving and so far have avoided any kind of temptation. My boyfriend always gets irritated with me that I don't eat enough at a buffet to make it worth the cost and I've even avoided those so far. After the sleeve is when I'll have to worry about that.

I'm fortunate to live where I have an indoor pool and like to exercise there the best. I'm usually getting 10000 steps a day on my FitBit. Once upon a time, many pounds ago, I used to love doing Taebo. Maybe I'll bring out those DVDs again.

I love swimming and one of my happiest moments post-op was when I was cleared to get back in the pool. It is good for the body, mind, and soul!

I love swimming and one of my happiest moments post-op was when I was cleared to get back in the pool. It is good for the body, mind, and soul!

Me too! I'm a mermaid at heart. Love, love, love the Water. I already asked about getting in the pool and was told two weeks if I healed well. At least its in the coldest part of winter that I'll be missing out.

Thanks everybody.

I've never even given a thought to food funerals. I was just going to have a good tasting at Thanksgiving and so far have avoided any kind of temptation. My boyfriend always gets irritated with me that I don't eat enough at a buffet to make it worth the cost and I've even avoided those so far. After the sleeve is when I'll have to worry about that.

I'm fortunate to live where I have an indoor pool and like to exercise there the best. I'm usually getting 10000 steps a day on my FitBit. Once upon a time, many pounds ago, I used to love doing Taebo. Maybe I'll bring out those DVDs again.

I'm trying to work my way up to 10,000 steps on the fitbit. Dang knees are just not cooperating this weekend......still working at it.

Between your walking and the pool you are really setting yourself up nicely. Great job.

Your boyfriend is really going to scratch his head when he sees you at future buffet restaurants.....you'll walk around a lot and look at the variety and return to the table with some wide ranging samples....just not much of any of it. It's going to be funny.

I agree with all the advice about exercise- the fitter you are going into surgery, the easier the recovery.

I was advised, by someone on here, to practice deep breathing prior to surgery. One of the biggest problems after surgery is developing pneumonia. My nurse was blown away the first time I used the incentive respirator. I met my first goal the first time, so she upped it. I met that one too! I really think it was mostly due to having practiced those deep breaths prior to surgery!