Hi all, I am really freaking out about the pre op liquid diet for two weeks. I am ALWAYS HUNGRY so I have NO idea how I’m going to manage going two weeks on protein shakes. How did everyone deal with this? Any tips?

I was lucky (-ish) that I only had to do it for 5 days prior to surgery. My only tips are

- wean yourself off of caffeinated coffee because you won't be able to have it during recovery

- drink Gatorade if you're allowed. It'll help give some energy and keep you from getting a headache

- likewise, I drank chicken broth every day to help get something warm and to get some salt. You're essentially preventing a "keto flu" here. I was honestly surprised that I didn't have any headaches during those few days.

- I had freezer meals ready for my family so that I wouldn't have to cook for them. My husband could just handle dinner easily. (Not that he's incompetent or something. He had to work and help with watching 3 kids. Me not having to cook was helpful.)

Other than that, try and keep yourself distracted. I watched a lot of TV, played video games, and generally tried to not think about wanting to eat. It wasn't terrible but I definitely hated it. Day 2 was awful. Beyond that, things were easier to handle.

Good luck!

---
RNY 9/10/20

HW: 245
Day of surgery: 225
CW: 218

I think the toughest thing is to find protein/meal replacements that you like. I still love my iced vanilla protein powder coffee drink. In fact, I still have it for breakfast and lunch. For me the higher the protein, the more full I feel. Also make sure you get enough sleep and water. If you dont have enough, willpower will go out the window.

Hi all, I am really freaking out about the pre op liquid diet for two weeks. I am ALWAYS HUNGRY so I have NO idea how I’m going to manage going two weeks on Protein Shakes. How did everyone deal with this? Any tips?

I did a 2 week "full liquid" diet. I was hungry the first 3 days and it got so much easier after that. I did a protein shake mixed with ice and pb fit for breakfast blended. Then broth for lunch and protein shake for dinner. I also had yogurt in between lunch and dinner (i would go 6 hours between lunch and dinner due to work. Decaf tea was my friend. So was the gatorade zero and crystal light. The first days are the hardest but do not lose your resolve, then it makes it harder to start again! Good luck!

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9 minutes ago, CAKEGIRL86 said:

The first days are the hardest but do not lose your resolve, then it makes it harder to start again! Good luck!

Thank you for this!! I am so determined to do this right and it helps to know it gets easier if I don’t cheat. I can already see my brain telling me to cheat so I am going to work really hard at not doing that.

Getting off sweeteners (artificial and natural) can really help as well.

2 hours ago, Jsteelecat said:

Hi all, I am really freaking out about the pre op liquid diet for two weeks. I am ALWAYS HUNGRY so I have NO idea how I’m going to manage going two weeks on Protein Shakes. How did everyone deal with this? Any tips?

I did my best which was to have some pizza four days prior to surgery and breadsticks. This is called food funeral. The other days i just had the shakes and surgeon said surgery went perfectly so no harm done. Mainly they want liver small and tummy empty

9 minutes ago, tarotcardreader said:

I did my best which was to have some pizza four days prior to surgery and breadsticks

Ok so you did this and your surgeon said it was fine. This makes me feel a lot better because I did want to kinda have a ‘goodbye’ dinner. I feel like it will be nice to do before and give me something to look forward to in the two weeks. Thanks so much for your input!

10 minutes ago, Jsteelecat said:

Ok so you did this and your surgeon said it was fine. This makes me feel a lot better because I did want to kinda have a ‘goodbye’ dinner. I feel like it will be nice to do before and give me something to look forward to in the two weeks. Thanks so much for your input!

Yes, I did. Just remember to do it far enough out that stomach wont have food in it. For me i did it 4 days prior to surgery and straight shake for remaining three

Forgot to mention I was allowed a small dinner on those days by surgeon with two shakes but instead i had the pizza that one night and followed it with days of just shakes to clear it out

Edited September 17, 20205 yr by tarotcardreader
Wanted to make sure that its understood i did in collaboration with surgeon

Ok so you did this and your surgeon said it was fine. This makes me feel a lot better because I did want to kinda have a ‘goodbye’ dinner. I feel like it will be nice to do before and give me something to look forward to in the two weeks. Thanks so much for your input!

My surgery was a Thursday and I too had a small appetizer for my Birthday dinner on Sunday and had zero problems at all. Which is how I know it was harder to do the diet after that lol

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3 hours ago, Jsteelecat said:

Hi all, I am really freaking out about the pre op liquid diet for two weeks. I am ALWAYS HUNGRY so I have NO idea how I’m going to manage going two weeks on Protein Shakes. How did everyone deal with this? Any tips?

This is gonna be one of those posts I should not make.

First, do what your Doc says. He's the boss. Stay on plan.

:looks around to see if anyone is watching:

OK, my Doc never asked for a liquid diet before surgery. What he did ask for is no food or drink after 6:00pm the night before. He oddly preferred that my stomach and upper intestines were empty, and I obliged. Actually, I had a meal planned late in the after noon, but skipped it.

Of course, I was on my pre-op weightless diet which involved, of all things, actual food. The horror! I also failed my pre-op diet weightless diet, so there's that.

Your surgeon won't be able to tell if you had a huge 10k calorie meal 3 nights before.

The reason for the draconian pre-op diets are to shrink you and some organs as much as possible to make the surgery marginally easier. This is no small thing.

They had to take out my HUGE gallbladder, get around my fatty liver, fix a hernia, do something about GERD, so I had a 3 hour open surgery. I don't remember much as I slept through it. When I woke up the first thing he said was "You have massive sleep apnea!" "Oh." :shrug:

The laparoscopic folks were threatened with "If you don't lose weight and we can't get in there, we'll have to open you up" but that was no threat for me.

:loooks around again:

So remember kids, ALWAYS do what your surgeons ask, it's for the best!

Tek

1 hour ago, The Greater Fool said:

This is gonna be one of those posts I should not make.

First, do what your Doc says. He's the boss. Stay on plan.

:looks around to see if anyone is watching:

OK, my Doc never asked for a liquid diet before surgery. What he did ask for is no food or drink after 6:00pm the night before. He oddly preferred that my stomach and upper intestines were empty, and I obliged. Actually, I had a meal planned late in the after noon, but skipped it.

Of course, I was on my pre-op weightless diet which involved, of all things, actual food. The horror! I also failed my pre-op diet weightless diet, so there's that.

Your surgeon won't be able to tell if you had a huge 10k calorie meal 3 nights before.

The reason for the draconian pre-op diets are to shrink you and some organs as much as possible to make the surgery marginally easier. This is no small thing.

They had to take out my HUGE gallbladder, get around my fatty liver, fix a hernia, do something about GERD, so I had a 3 hour open surgery. I don't remember much as I slept through it. When I woke up the first thing he said was "You have massive sleep apnea!" "Oh." :shrug:

The laparoscopic folks were threatened with "If you don't lose weight and we can't get in there, we'll have to open you up" but that was no threat for me.

:loooks around again:

So remember kids, ALWAYS do what your surgeons ask, it's for the best!

Tek

?thats pretty funny lol

5 hours ago, Jsteelecat said:

Hi all, I am really freaking out about the pre op liquid diet for two weeks. I am ALWAYS HUNGRY so I have NO idea how I’m going to manage going two weeks on Protein Shakes. How did everyone deal with this? Any tips?

Hello

Great Question:

How I dealt with the pre op liquid diet was a challenge at the moment that I weighed 305lbs. The first 3 days are the hardest and then your stomach begins to accept that you are doing something different with your eating habits.

How did I avoid the hunger? I would go to sleep early and find things to distract me.

Look at the bright side, soon you will be going to surgery and your health will improve. That was my driving force. You can do it.

What day are you today? May I recommend the Caramel Premier Protein and Vanilla are real good. I can live off them.

6 minutes ago, MISTY_CEE035 said:

What day are you today? May I recommend the Caramel Premier Protein and vanilla are real good. I can live off them.

I haven’t started yet!! October 1st is my start date. I’m going to be getting different kinds of the premier protein to figure out which ones I like best!! Others have said the first days are the hardest too. I’ll keep that in mind thanks for your input!

4 minutes ago, Jsteelecat said:

I haven’t started yet!! October 1st is my start date. I’m going to be getting different kinds of the Premier Protein to figure out which ones I like best!! Others have said the first days are the hardest too. I’ll keep that in mind thanks for your input!

Another thing that I did do was buy some low sodium broth (beef or chicken) and boil Broccoli which is a vegetable that is low in calories and you can remain within 1000 calories. I will boil it real good until it is fork soft and add a tbspn of mustard for flavor. I enjoyed that for dinner. So during the day I did premier protein shakes and then for dinner I did the soup.

I drank water, tea, coffee, and gatorade too

12 minutes ago, Jsteelecat said:

I haven’t started yet!! October 1st is my start date. I’m going to be getting different kinds of the Premier Protein to figure out which ones I like best!! Others have said the first days are the hardest too. I’ll keep that in mind thanks for your input!

Oh one last thing for protein get the plain non fat yogurt which is a serving of protein.

I am happy to meet you, I look forward to chat with you as you begin your journey with WLS.

Welcome to the portal.

Missy C