If you are scheduled for surgery in March, start sharing those dates. Make some friends with people who are having surgery on the same day

17 hours ago, Ellf said:

I'll admit that I'm not looking forward to the liquid diet. Mostly due to the price tag of the Optifast.

Is Optifast the only option you have? There are likely cheaper versions on the market, including powder. I've been doing a mixture of protein shakes and powder mixed with water.

My doctor requires you to purchase the optifast shakes directly from him, at your two week pre-op appointment. You sign a form with the amount of weight you are, the weight required to lose by surgery day and that you understand you can only have the shakes, water, crystal light and sugar free jello.

10 hours ago, HunterJsMom said:

Day 4 liquid diet here. I’m down 7 pounds. We are not allowed broth on our liquid diet ?

Hi, Hunter's Mom. I'm surprised you can't have broth, since it has essentially no calories, fat or carbs. As I said, it has been great to satisfy my craving for something savory.

I know. It’s crazy. The paperwork literally says no broth, and the dietician emphasized that during the class.

What happens if you don’t lose the required number of pounds? Do they cancel your surgery?

They can. It is 7% of your weight the day you start the shakes, when you are there. So mine was 19 pounds. They said you have to get as close to that number as you can, and if you don’t, the doctor can postpone your surgery. According to them if you are doing exactly as they say you won’t have a problem losing that amount. If I do exactly as they say I better get the surgery no matter what lol. That’s how I feel.

3 minutes ago, 49Nash said:

What happens if you don’t lose the required number of pounds? Do they cancel your surgery?

My surgeon didn't give me a number--she just said the more I can lose the better. She also said I should try to be as active as possible leading up to the surgery. Both help reduce the risks of complications.

That’s great! After being in these forums it definitely seems like my surgeon is on the more stringent side of things.

2 hours ago, Recidivist said:

Hi, Hunter's Mom. I'm surprised you can't have broth, since it has essentially no calories, fat or carbs. As I said, it has been great to satisfy my craving for something savory.

I wonder if it has something to do with the high sodium content many have. Maybe it impacts hydration and liver?

4 hours ago, Recidivist said:

Is Optifast the only option you have? There are likely cheaper versions on the market, including powder. I've been doing a mixture of Protein Shakes and powder mixed with Water.

Yes, Optifast is my only option. It's not a big deal, but apparently I have to buy 98 servings. Seven a day for two weeks.

February 26

On 02/22/2019 at 00:58, Ellf said:

I'll admit that I'm not looking forward to the liquid diet. Mostly due to the price tag of the Optifast.

If you want to drop weight quickly, I would recommend going no dairy, no sugar, no fruit, no carbs. You can eat cheese and eggs and dressing on salads. You can have as much non starch veggies as you want. I lost 18 pounds in less than 2 weeks

I'm down 10 pounds after the first week of liquids! I can't believe it--although I know I can't expect to lose 10 pounds a week after surgery.

On 2/18/2019 at 3:42 PM, Recidivist said:

Hi, Cher--welcome to the group! We'll have to compare notes as we go through this at the same time.

I just started the liquid diet today. So far, so good. Are you on liquids today as well?

Thank you! I am keeping all of my surgery date twins in my prayers (along with everyone on this forum.) Oh, and to answer your question, no I'm not on liquids yet, my program only requires it for a few days before surgery.

3 minutes ago, Cher in NYC said:

Thank you! I am keeping all of my surgery date twins in my prayers (along with everyone on this forum.) Oh, and to answer your question, no I'm not on liquids yet, my program only requires it for a few days before surgery.

It's interesting to see how different surgeons have different diets both pre and post-op, yet we all successful in the end.

Now that I'm on liquids, the surgery is becoming quite real. My emotions range from terrified to excited to just wanting it to be over.