I have not been 100% on this pre-op diet at all. I am about 9 days away... I do protein shakes all day long, and then go home and eat a full plate of food. I can't stop. Am I sabotaging this surgery? Is this super dangerous? What are complications that could come from this?

The object of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver. The smaller your liver is during surgery the less surgical complications can arise. You don't want the Dr nicking your liver while cutting in to you?

As for sabotaging, I guess it depends on what you're eating. Additionally, your intestines and colon need to be "clean" for the surgery. The last thing you want is bacteria oozing out if there is an accidental nicking.

You have a little over a week to go, follow your plan - now is the time to start your new healthy habits.

21 minutes ago, sleevemebaby7781 said:

I have not been 100% on this pre-op diet at all. I am about 9 days away... I do Protein Shakes all day long, and then go home and eat a full plate of food. I can't stop. Am I sabotaging this surgery? Is this super dangerous? What are complications that could come from this?

Yes. It is super dangerous. And if your doc can't do surgery, you could wake up without it.

2 minutes ago, FluffyChix said:

Yes. It is super dangerous. And if your doc can't do surgery, you could wake up without it.

Is it too late to start? If I follow the last 9 days 100%, should it be ok?

TBH, everyone has a different preop diet. Mine was 2 weeks with shakes for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was 4-5 oz of lean mean with 1-2 cups of low starch veggies. No corn, peas, or potatoes. No dressings, sauces, etc. No snacking, no caffeine, no carbonated bevs.

Every surgeon is different and there are some that don't require less time that 2 weeks.

I followed my preop diet closely with only a couple of minor (not crazy) slip ups.

My liquid-only diet is only a week, so (I am not a doctor but) I would guess you can still salvage it if you stay liquid-only from this point forward.

I know it's a scary option, but to be certain, you could always ask your team?

My last week or pre-op has been normal food, just under 1000 cal per day. I have been pretty good, but not perfect. If perfection was the only way to go forward with this lifestyle change, I don't think many people would be able to do it. I have my surgery tomorrow, and am on clear fluid all day today. That is not an option.

Get back on track and be good moving forward.

I ate well for a while before the surgery, but I only had to do all liquids for 2 days pre-op. If I were you, I would call my doctor's office and be honest with them about what you've been doing. That way, you'll know for sure if it'll be okay or not.

Thanks everyone. I know I have to get my head in the game, but if food was not so hard to master, I wouldn't be on here in the first place. Moving forward, I am going to do exactly as directed. No slip ups. Thank you so much for the encouragement!

I am on day 3 and it is so hard. The protein shakes make me want to throw up. I can barely even stand them. I have eaten a few things, my dr. said I could eat a salad or veggies at night if I am really hungry. Yesterday I got home and was RAVENOUS. I ate crackers and peanut butter and my veggies. I felt bad but also satiated. I am not making excuses, but saying that we are all human. With that said I am trying to be better about it today! Good luck, you got this!

I’m on day 2 of 10, and protein shakes are vile...I never drank milk shakes. I’m only feeling hangry when I get bored. I think your on same day or near like me, I would put what you did behind you and just look forward and keep up with the liquids...I’m sure you will do just fine ?

I was pretty bad pre-op. I did cut out alcohol though (was a big drinker). But I had a birthday, kids parties and long work hours where I forgot to take the shakes with me and ended up eating toasted cheese sandwiches! One day I went allll day without eating and ended up eating a burger... I felt terrible so then I had about 5 days where I was ‘good’ pre-op. My surgeon was impressed with my liver (phew). Haha. I lost only a tiny amount of weight which I think was just the cutting out of booze. I also took ‘vegetable’ capsules which are full of antioxidants supposedly good for the liver. Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m actually glad I gave into my burger craving pre operatively.... it’s a long time until I can have one again! Good luck. You’ll be fine :)

I started 10 days out and am adhering totally. Don’t wait. It’s all about your health and safety.

I’m 10 days out: my doc said my liver was so “tiny” and I actually loved the creativity I had in my preop diet. I did have big salads that I would eat, put aside and finish later. That was my portion control. I chose very flavorful protein rich fulls and played around with seasonings that were mostly approved: light adobo is a good one. I avoided carby veggies and fruits and enjoyed eggs and even bunless burgers with mayo and mustard 1 oz light cheese. I never really felt hungry. And I started each morning w/premier. Actually I look forward to going back to that diet. It was filling, tasty, and I lost 10 lbs of fat, not H2O.

I should also add that I cut back carbs (bread, noodles, rice) in July and more so one month out from surgery.

@sleevemebaby7781 10 days isn’t too far out. Anytime you start will help. You could also try the liver cleansing tonic that’s been around for decades to help you out. Just know that you are doing this so your liver doesn’t get punctured. And before they risk puncturing you - they’ll just close you up. And I don’t know the costs for that.

@Spellbound a lot of us are liquid-only for the week before surgery. That's the boat I'm in and it sounds like where @sleevemebaby7781 hopefully is, now, too. Mine's 3-4 protein shakes per day, and I can swap one out with a strained cream soup, plus unlimited clear liquids (broth, sugar free jello, sugar free popsicles, protein water). Nothing solid. So, yeah, big salads and bunless burgers sound amazing right now. I would punch someone to have one of those.