My surgery is coming up in a couple months. I am a little nervous about the 2 week pre-op diet. I know this question is going to be weird and it is really just a hypothetical question...

I was told by the dietician if I don't adhere strictly to the diet 100%, then it could be canceled on me. To my understanding, the diet has a few functions but one is to mainly get rid of the fat around the organs like the liver. But I'm worried I might mess up one day because of how hungry I will most likely get. What if I did mess up one day and eat something not on the diet? Would the surgeon somehow be able to tell? What can I do to keep myself satiated besides drink water all day? This part is really going to suck isn't it? Have any of you gone through the 2 week pre-op diet? Did you mess up one day and how? Did it cause any issues with getting the surgery done? What advice do you have so I can better prepare myself for this pre-op diet?

it's a challenge -- but most of us are required to do it. You just have to white knuckle it. I never cheated. It was hard, but I powered through it, as I suspect the majority do. Yes - some people have reported here that they cheated once or twice - but I didn't want to go down that rabbit hole. I don't know how much better it is if you have a couple of "cheats", since you have to be on the diet for 14 days, so you're still going to have many days where you're going to have to deal with the diet and the hunger. That is, unless you "cheat" every day (or most days), which defeats the purpose and can cause your surgery to be canceled.

I never thought I'd be able to do it, but I did it. It gets a lot easier by day 3 or 4, when your body gets into ketosis. And that's another issue - I'm not sure your body is going to go into ketosis if you cheat. So you'll be dealing with hunger the whole two weeks.

there's nothing you can really do to prepare except to stock up on things you're going to need. In my case, it was sugar free Jello, sugar free popsicles, chicken broth, tomato juice/V8, and lots of clear no-cal (or ultra-low-cal) beverages, like Crystal Light.

the thing I kept in mind is that if I could do this, I could definitely handle any of the post-op diet requirements.

I dont know how they will tell if you have not adhered to it 100% unless they are having you do a liquid diet. I am also preop and know it will be difficult. I am working now on slowly converting to what my new meal plan will be post op so I will not be surprised later. Try out different food options now and see what you like and stock up on those things. Research recipes and such and try them out. This way you wont be scrambling and feeling desperate later. Good luck!

Catwoman is 100% correct. Once you get a few days in it will get easier. Sounds weird but it will. Drink broth. It’s warm and filling when you’re hungry. To be successful you need to commit to this. We have all had to do this so I’m speaking from experience. You can do this too!
One last piece of advice. Don’t put yourself in the same room as people eating things you will want. When my kids and husband would come home and eat I’d simple go into my bedroom w my liquid of choice and stay in there until they were done. I did that so I wouldn’t smell, see or make myself ravenous w the food being around. You can do this. Set yourself up to succeed. Don’t put yourself in situations of temptation.
YOU CAN DO THIS!! Keep us updated. I wish you success.

For what it’s worth, my doctor said he could tell that I did really well on the pre op diet (guess my liver was really small) and I didn’t have any pain post op. I like to think it was cause the liver was shrunk down and out of the way he had a lot more room to move around in there and I didn’t get bruised inside from them trying to retract things to make room?? Perhaps if you think of it that way it will help you stick to it.

Keep your eye on the prize !! This was the hardest part for me, but I knew when I got through the 2 weeks that help was on the way.

I think there is a real advantage going into the surgery already in ketosis. It took me a good 3 or 4 day to get there but I made sure I did not add in any carbs during the pre surgery liquid diet. I had headaches the first three day of the liquid diet but I'm relieved that I won't be going through carb withdrawal right after surgery.

Here’s the thing: the pre-op diet also serves as mental prep for after surgery. While your stomach is healing, you have to adhere to your surgeon’s instructions perfectly. Weeks or months of liquid/pureed/soft foods.

Looks like we are surgery buddies. I'm having the sleeve surgery on Monday too. Best of luck to you!

5 hours ago, Lunae715 said:

My surgery is coming up in a couple months. I am a little nervous about the 2 week pre-op diet. I know this question is going to be weird and it is really just a hypothetical question...

I was told by the dietician if I don't adhere strictly to the diet 100%, then it could be canceled on me. To my understanding, the diet has a few functions but one is to mainly get rid of the fat around the organs like the liver. But I'm worried I might mess up one day because of how hungry I will most likely get. What if I did mess up one day and eat something not on the diet? Would the surgeon somehow be able to tell? What can I do to keep myself satiated besides drink Water all day? This part is really going to suck isn't it? Have any of you gone through the 2 week pre-op diet? Did you mess up one day and how? Did it cause any issues with getting the surgery done? What advice do you have so I can better prepare myself for this pre-op diet?

Right before my revision surgery, I questioned why I had to adhere so strictly to the preop diet (especially since I was at my goal weight)

I was told that not only does the pre-op diet reduce the fat in the abdominal cavity making it easier to navigate during surgery, but it also reduces any fat remaining inside the liver. They took preventative measure for better surgical outcomes.

The liver is one of the organs that must be lifted in order to reach the digestive track. If it has too much fat, it is not pliable and becomes prone to injuries like tears, scaring and even breaking.

My surgeon asked me to imagine a marbled steak as opposed to a leaner steak. The fat filled areas of the steak will tear easier that the purely muscular areas.

After that conversation I (begrudgingly) complied with the pre-op diet.

My surgeon explained it to me that the issue is that if the liver is still too fatty after the pre-op diet it's just impossible to lift up the liver to do the bypass. My bloods b4 the pre-op diet showed that my liver was very fatty and so I had to do the pre-op diet for 18 days beforehand rather than 14. The nutritionist's diet sheet included carbs, so I didn't go into ketosis as some people do.

So, I'll be honest, I was hungry most of the time, but I did what all the other posters here did and drank plenty & filled up on veggies. I managed to stick to it simply because it was so time limited. I knew it was only for 18 days and the surgeon had told me of one patient who he'd opened up but whose liver was still too fatty to move, so he'd had to sew him back up again without doing it and I was determined not to let that happen if I could help it.

Just focus on the fact that it's only for a very short period of time. The hunger is good - you're losing weight and visceral fat. You can do it!

Great advice here- I had an easy time because I was already in ketosis before and I can’t recommend that enough. Start low carb a week or two before so you don’t have all the shocks at once.

Also, distraction! I went shopping in the evenings, took my kids to the park, worked late, prepped for my surgery trip etc. You can’t cheat on a diet if you’re not around the food! Plan a full day of the food you can have. I was always “eating” something so I had less time to be distracted by what I wasn’t able to eat.