Questions about the liquid diet

[Cats315 7]

Hey everyone!

So, my surgery is February 22nd and I start my liquid diet on February 15th.

I have a few questions about the liquid diet:

• How many grams of sugar, Protein, and carbohydrates are we allowed to eat in a day? On the pre-op liquid diet sheet I was given, it said that we can have sugar free popsicles and sugar free fudgicles; however, I noticed that the "sugar free" fudgicles had 5 grams of sugar (on the box, it said no sugar added). Would I still be alright in eating them or should I refrain from eating them?

• Can I drink almond milk?

• Can I have sugar free pudding? My mom had weight loss surgery almost two years ago and when she was doing the liquid diet (she had to do it for two weeks), she was allowed to have sugar free pudding.

• One of the brands of Protein Powder I have says that it has less than 10 grams of sugar and carbohydrates; can I still use this brand of protein powder or should I use something else? I have another brand of protein powder that I have that has no sugar.

Sent from my SM-G935V using BariatricPal mobile app

[orionburn 1,023]

Ummm...shouldn't your doc be giving you this info? Not being snarky, but seriously, any office worth a lick of salt should have this info for you well in advance. The vast majority of folks on here had clear cut instructions from their WLS team on what not only to have prior to surgery but afterwards as well. Unfortunately there aren't any standards set in stone. What one doc approves another may not.

[Little Green 582]

1 hour ago, Cats315 said:

Hey everyone!

So, my surgery is February 22nd and I start my liquid diet on February 15th.

I have a few questions about the liquid diet:

• How many grams of sugar, Protein, and carbohydrates are we allowed to eat in a day? On the pre-op liquid diet sheet I was given, it said that we can have sugar free popsicles and sugar free fudgicles; however, I noticed that the "sugar free" fudgicles had 5 grams of sugar (on the box, it said no sugar added). Would I still be alright in eating them or should I refrain from eating them?

• Can I drink almond milk?

• Can I have sugar free pudding? My mom had weight loss surgery almost two years ago and when she was doing the liquid diet (she had to do it for two weeks), she was allowed to have sugar free pudding.

• One of the brands of Protein Powder I have says that it has less than 10 grams of sugar and carbohydrates; can I still use this brand of Protein powder or should I use something else? I have another brand of protein powder that I have that has no sugar.

Sent from my SM-G935V using BariatricPal mobile app

No sugar added means the popsicles are likely made with fruit juice instead of an artificial sweetener. Gotta be careful with those stupid marketing phrases and always check the ingredients/nutrition info. So, no, those popsicles would not be appropriate for the diet.

My surgeon's diet didn't specify exact grams or quantity of macros/calories but just said to have 5 servings of Protein Shakes with each shake being 200 calories or less, 15g of protein or more, and 8g of sugar or less. Combined with unlimited amounts of broth/jello/popsicles that's around 800-1000 calories per day and 80+ grams of protein. Again, that was not specified as the goal, but that's how the math works out.

On my surgeon's diet, no, you would not be able to have almond milk or SF pudding, only Jello.

That seems acceptable for the protein powder, but I don't know your diet's requirements.

Did you get any documents or literature related to the diet guidelines? If not, I would call and ask the dietitian. I'm telling you information based on my surgeon, but your surgeon could have a totally different philosophy.

[Apple203 1,314]

As Little Green pointed out, all of our plans are a little different. I can have dairy, soy, almond, or rice milk with my Protein Shakes. I can also have nonfat yogurt, lowfat cottage cheese, up to 1/2 cup fruit, and 1 T Peanut Butter. But not all at once :-)

My target parameters: >250 kcal, 20-30g Protein, >8g fat, >6g sugar, >15g carb, and >10g sugar alcohols (tho sugar alcohols are discouraged).

So my surgeon is shooting for up to 1,000 kcal per day.

[Little Green 582]

2 minutes ago, Apple203 said:

As Little Green pointed out, all of our plans are a little different. I can have dairy, soy, almond, or rice milk with my Protein Shakes. I can also have nonfat yogurt, lowfat cottage cheese, up to 1/2 cup fruit, and 1 T Peanut Butter. But not all at once :-)

My target parameters: >250 kcal, 20-30g Protein, >8g fat, >6g sugar, >15g carb, and >10g sugar alcohols (tho sugar alcohols are discouraged).

So my surgeon is shooting for up to 1,000 kcal per day.

Sooooo not fair. I'm so jealous!

[Apple203 1,314]

8 minutes ago, Little Green said:

Sooooo not fair. I'm so jealous!

Would it make you feel better to know that I have 1 week of Clear Liquids before I can have a shake? Our liquids are 50-50 Water and juice, so calories will be in the 400 kcal/day range. An entire week!

Edited February 13, 2018 by Apple203

[Little Green 582]

2 minutes ago, Apple203 said:

Would it make you feel better to know that I have 1 week of Clear Liquids before I can have a shake? Our liquids are 50-50 Water and juice, so calories will be in the 400 kcal/day range. An entire week!

Yes. That does help. When do you start?!

[Apple203 1,314]

2 minutes ago, Little Green said:

Yes. That does help. When do you start?!

Day of surgery, March 14th. I get to eat regular food 2 weeks pre-op. Do you have a date yet? Still shooting for May?

Edited February 13, 2018 by Apple203

[Little Green 582]

Just now, Apple203 said:

Day of surgery, March 14th. I get to eat regular food 2 weeks pre-op. Do you have a date yet?

Okay no it does not help anymore............. you bamboozled me! LOL. I haven't called the office yet to tell them I'm postponing until May, so still have March 8 as the official date. We would have been almost twins!

[Apple203 1,314]

1 minute ago, Little Green said:

Okay no it does not help anymore............. you bamboozled me! LOL. I haven't called the office yet to tell them I'm postponing until May, so still have March 8 as the official date. We would have been almost twins!

I think you should just throw caution to the wind and go for March 8th!! After the liquids, I have 2 weeks of those Protein Shakes, then another 2 weeks with 50% shakes, 50% softs.

[MsTipps 314]

My preop calories were to be under 800 a day. I chose low fat low carb Protein Shakes like phd diet whey, Isopure, precision and even slimfast if out and about. If you're in the USA, I hear premiere Protein being discussed a lot. They don't seem to sell it in the UK. If your plan says liquids only then that's exactly what it means. No sugar free pudding etc. If you don't stick to it you could jeopardise your surgery so do it to the letter. Phone your surgeon if in any doubt about anything as this is definitely something you need to get right.xx

Edited February 13, 2018 by MsTipps