I'm nervous my surgery is scheduled for Dec. 29th. Right now I am in the pre-op full liquid diet and I'm having trouble maintaining momentum with it. I am worried that Christmas won't be the same with me not being able to eat at the table. I know this is all in my head but would like to know what you all have done when it's difficult to follow through because of outside influences.

Things I try to remind myself:

1. This is what i want

2. This is my journey OWN IT!

3. I can do this!

It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it! We went out of town with friends and had several large cookouts while I was on my pre op. It was not easy, but taught me self control. I just kept super busy. When everyone was cooking I helped cook and clean up so that I would constantly be moving. I had my own “food” and ate that while others ate theirs. You can do this! Just keep thinking about the rewards that you are working towards! Good luck!

Keep plugging away on your liquid diet. It’s very important now that your this close to your surgery date. You can do this. You’re already expecting that a situation will be bad because you’re allowing it to happen due to a require liquid diet. If I were you, I’d sit with everyone else to enjoy the festivities. While they eat their dinner, you can have a nice hot bowl of chicken broth and your water. Be proud of yourself because you will be a healthy new person!

I have posted this a few times but perhaps it will help. After my surgery my surgeon told both my husband and later myself how easy it was to do you surgery because I did so well on the liver shrink diet. Well I had very little pain post op. Not even gas pain. It could be total coincidence but I like to think they didn’t have to pump me full of gas and they didn’t have to bruise me moving things around because I did so well on my pre op diet that my liver was out of his way??

it's just this Christmas. For future Christmases, you'll be at least a year out and can enjoy the foods everyone else is eating, just in smaller quantities. But I get it - I was like that my first Thanksgiving (although I was about five months out then, so I could at least eat *some* of the foods). But you're doing this for yourself and your health. Just focus on the social aspects of the festivities..