I just got off the phone with my surgeon's office, and I am so psyched that they don't have any pre-op diet. Just the 1 day on liquids before the surgery that is req'd for any surgery I assume.

They also said that the post-op diet is only 5 days on liquids, 2 days on mushies, and 1.5 weeks on soft foods before I get to solids. That doesn't sound too bad at all.

I was a little concerned with their 75% Protein dietary guidelines. That sounds like it will be hard to do long-term. I think they like it because Proteins tend to stay in the pouch longer so you're full longer. But don't you get sick of the same foods all the time???

Wow. I was told the purpose of the preop diet is to shrink your liver, thus making for a smoother surgery since part of your liver lays over the stomach and must be moved. Also, the purpose of the postop diet is to allow your stomach to heal on the outside, around the band, to ensure that your band doesn't slip. I guess in some ways your lucky not to go through the 2 week torture of the liquid diet! Good luck to you in your journey. I'm dreading the preop liquids which start soon.

I guess my surgeon doesn't feel it's necessary to shrink the liver. He has done thousands of bypasses and lap-bands, so I assume he has the experience. He also claims a very low complication rate. So hopefully he knows what he's doing!

75% protein is very difficult long term. I cant do it. Tracey

My surgeon didn't require a pre-op diet either and my surgery went fine. My post-op diet was very similar to what you will be doing, it wasn't hard at all. I haven't PB'd once, and have tolerated all foods I have tried. I weighed 232 on the day of my surgery and have lost 32lb. since that date.

My surgeon didn't require a pre-op diet either and my surgery went fine. My post-op diet was very similar to what you will be doing, it wasn't hard at all. I haven't PB'd once, and have tolerated all foods I have tried. I weighed 232 on the day of my surgery and have lost 32lb. since that date.

That's great!

There are so many surgeons and each one does things so different. There are alot of people on here I've read who don't have to do the preop diet (makes me secretly jealous! :tongue2:)

That's awesome! I personally had to eat healthy for two weeks before the surgery. After, I had to be on liquids only for 7 days and day 7-30 on "mushies". After that I can "try" to bring in other foods. I lost 11 pounds in the first 7 days, but once I started my mushies, I have not lost anymore. Which is ok with me, I am still eating no sugar, no bread & nothing with white flour, and am eating very healthy. The BEST part (besides losing the weight) is that I have not had one headache since the surgery. I used to have at least one migraine a week, with headaches most days in between due to all of the white flour I had through out the day! To me, that made it sooo worth it. I would literally have to hide my head under a pillow so I couldn’t see any light, or I would PB.

The very best of luck to you!

The BEST part (besides losing the weight) is that I have not had one headache since the surgery.

I am very prone to headaches. I've been dieting for the last 2 months, and am eating much healthier. But I haven't cut out everything like you have. I still get headaches. I'm hoping that they might be less over time. But since I don't really know what the cause is (tension? food? hormones?), I'm not expecting a cure-all.

I was very prone to headaches, too. I have stopped drinking all caffeine over the past two months and I've only had one headache since! I think it was due to decaf tea and withdrawal the next day. I don't know if the decreased in headache is because I am off caffeine or if it's related to eating better since the start of this process? Either way, I'm just glad the headaches are gone!

Mickey-What does 75% Protein equal? How many grams are you supposed to eat? I'm supposed to get in 60 grams, which is fine now. I'm just worried that post-op it will be hard with such limited intake! Do they have you taking any supplements or anything like that? Just curious. :tongue2:

Mickey-What does 75% Protein equal? How many grams are you supposed to eat? I'm supposed to get in 60 grams, which is fine now. I'm just worried that post-op it will be hard with such limited intake! Do they have you taking any supplements or anything like that? Just curious. :tongue2:

I haven't gone to the nutrition class yet, so I don't know the specifics. I'm currently eating 1500 calories, and often get in 100g of protein a day. But the ratio of protein/carbs/fat is still around 25/50/25. So if I eat 1000-1200 calories post-band, and they want the ratio to be 50/25/25 or even more extreme, then it would mean keeping the protein similar to what I have, and cutting out only the carbs. That seems like a very unbalanced diet that one would grow tired of. My current diet is all about 1/2 protein and 1/2 carbs in terms of portion sizes. In reality, because the Proteins aren't always ALL protein, my diet skews as I've described. There are some foods I eat alot of that I'll prob. have to ditch: cottage cheese, which is probably too mushy to be the protein, etc. But this is a diet (Body for Life) that I feel I can live with. I hope I don't sabotage myself with the band for not eating so much protein. I already feel my protein is pretty darn high!!!

Hi,

My insurance company does not require the 6 months supervised diet and according to the paperwork from the surgeon I will only have to do the liquid diet thingee the day before surgery. Can someone please tell me what PB means? I keep seeing it on posts but not an explanation. Thanks! Lisa

Yes all Drs. are different. But I have never heard one say it is a bad idea to do a pre op. It does shrink the liver. Yes a good surgeon can do the band with a large liver but it takes longer. Longer surgery means more time on general anesthesia, more gas, more pain in post op etc. My surgery was only 12 mins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very easy post op. No gas pain. Plus a pre op diet makes it easier with the new eating patterns post op. I lost 20pds. pre op, and have lost 30pds post op in 9 weeks.

Well I had to do a week.. and I actually started like 3-weeks prior to even being told... but one thing i can say is that it did help me with the hunger factor later.... so I was use to eating well drinking my meals so it wasen't so bad... But The Dr. knows best... U are not hat theavy anyway that u would need to do a pre-op anyway.....

Edited June 8, 200818 yr by mstrina27

Hi again! I actually went out and bought some of the shakes and stuff today. I bought the Slim Fast High Protein powder and tried a shake today. It's really quite tasty, like a nice glass of chocolate milk. I also bought vitamins and Carnation Instant Breakfast. I figure if I will be eating differently after surgery, I might as well start learning to like the protein shakes now. If my surgeon doesn't require much in the way of a pre-op diet I might go ahead and start a liquid diet a week or so before surgery anyway. The hardest part for me is trying to teach myself to take tiny bites and chew a lot and eat long and slow. They don't call it "fast food" for nothing! LOL!!! I read somewhere that a person bought a baby spoon and uses that instead of a normal-size sugar spoon. I am going to pick up a few of those too. They should be good for the "mushy" phase of the diet. Now, if only the insurance company would say Yes or No and I can move forward...

I haven't gone to the nutrition class yet, so I don't know the specifics. I'm currently eating 1500 calories, and often get in 100g of Protein a day. But the ratio of protein/carbs/fat is still around 25/50/25. So if I eat 1000-1200 calories post-band, and they want the ratio to be 50/25/25 or even more extreme, then it would mean keeping the protein similar to what I have, and cutting out only the carbs. That seems like a very unbalanced diet that one would grow tired of. My current diet is all about 1/2 protein and 1/2 carbs in terms of portion sizes. In reality, because the Proteins aren't always ALL protein, my diet skews as I've described. There are some foods I eat alot of that I'll prob. have to ditch: cottage cheese, which is probably too mushy to be the protein, etc. But this is a diet (Body for Life) that I feel I can live with. I hope I don't sabotage myself with the band for not eating so much protein. I already feel my protein is pretty darn high!!!

My nutrionist has me on 1600 cal and 60g Protein. She told me not to get much more than 60g of protein in and no less than 60. She figured it out by some ratio she plugged my weight into? I was told to eat fat free cottage cheese. It is very high in protein and the consistency doesn't matter. I have been eating it almost everyday and I'm kind of getting sick of it!