I am not handling this well at all! It's supposed to be one week of nothing but Water, broth, skim milk and Protein shakes (sugar free Jello counts as water apparently) but I haven't been doing the Protein Shakes that much because they are just terrible, which of course has left me hungry and I cheated and had creamy Soup with corn and rice in it!

I'm SO upset with myself for doing this, I told myself time and time again, for weeks that this was the most important thing for me to do and STILL.... I was just so starving and just didn't know what I was doing. I'm now SO scared that my liver won't be small enough (only 4 days to go!) and they'll convert to open or just not do the surgery at all etc etc.

How can I fix this? And how/should I stop beating myself up over this? This is really the worst way, emotionally, for me to start this whole process. It feels like some huge setup for failure for me

Also, on a related topic... WHY can't they just do an ultrasound or something to get an idea of the shape/size of the liver before going in there? Wouldn't that make a lot more sense?

i am on day 3 of optifast 900 and having trouble with the texture of the drinks. I have tried adding lots of ice but that doesn't help. Any suggestions? I am sticking to the veggies and water and have lost 7lbs already. My surgery is scheduled for july 29th

hi suzie q , my surgery is july 29 also. Good luck to us.

The liquid diet is supposed to be for after your banding. You are supposed to lose approx. 10 lbs (or however much is instructed by your surgeon) Of course your Surgeon's word comes first but it is odd that they instructed you to follow the liquid diet BEFORE your banding. Hope all goes well let me know how you are doing :thumbup: <3 Steph

THIS DIET IS SUPPOSE TO SHRINK THE LIVER, TO MAKE THE SURGERY EASIER.:thumbup:

I've been on this board for several years, trying to decide to have the surgery. My date is July 28th. I've been on a Clear Liquids diet for 2 days now, and have 8 more to go. I am STARVING. And I have a horrible headache to boot. I counted the calories that I got today, and it couldn't have been more than 600. My doctor does not even allow Protein shakes, only clear liquids, clear juices, SF Jello, SF popsicles, Kellog's Protein waters, and broths. I already hate the broth, it completely disgusts me, but it does help for a while.

Why doesn't he allow me to have shakes? It sounds like everyone else is allowed to!!

That's very odd that he's not at least giving you protein so that you won't lose muscle mass. But it seems to me that he must want you to either lose as much weight as possible before your surgery or get used to the postop period. Maybe both. But eating like that must be making you weak as heck. Don't forget your Vitamins. I've been eating about 600-700 calories a day for a week now. The first 2 days I had mild to moderate headaches, probably due to caffeine withdrawal. The third day, I forgot my vitamins and almost passed out at Walmart. The last 2 or 3 days my scale has not budged, and even went up a lb. It's that time of the month and I feel sooooo bloated, but it's taking everything within me to not get discouraged and eat an entire 7 layer chocolate cake. Last night, I ate a whole package of Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon. I figure it was better than the cake! I'm going to try not to weigh myself until next week, when this all blows over.

Sorry, I got side-tracked, but I would just suggest calling your surgeon or dietician and telling them how you feel. Just to be encouraged that you are doing the right thing and on the right path. Best of luck to you. This IS a hard thing....this preop diet.

just wanted you to know i am having surgery on the 13 too. hope you do well

prayershawl

That's very odd that he's not at least giving you Protein so that you won't lose muscle mass. But it seems to me that he must want you to either lose as much weight as possible before your surgery or get used to the postop period. Maybe both. But eating like that must be making you weak as heck. Don't forget your Vitamins. I've been eating about 600-700 calories a day for a week now. The first 2 days I had mild to moderate headaches, probably due to caffeine withdrawal. The third day, I forgot my vitamins and almost passed out at Walmart. The last 2 or 3 days my scale has not budged, and even went up a lb. It's that time of the month and I feel sooooo bloated, but it's taking everything within me to not get discouraged and eat an entire 7 layer chocolate cake. Last night, I ate a whole package of Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon. I figure it was better than the cake! I'm going to try not to weigh myself until next week, when this all blows over.

Sorry, I got side-tracked, but I would just suggest calling your surgeon or dietician and telling them how you feel. Just to be encouraged that you are doing the right thing and on the right path. Best of luck to you. This IS a hard thing....this preop diet.

Vegasgirl, thanks for the words of encouragement. I feel so bad for you that you're going through this on your period! I just finished mine - I timed it so that I wouldn't be on it or PMSing during the Pre/Post Op phases.

I did cheat a little this morning and had a little of a soy Protein shake. I couldn't stand it anymore. I woke up with a horrible headache and just felt so weak. I do intend to call them tomorrow and ask why I'm not allowed the shakes. I think I already know their answer, but I really just need to get in more calories, and shakes have to be better than the alternatives!

Looking for me:

I don't even have my surgery for another 3 weeks or so. I will be ok for surgery (as far that time of the month goes), but as long as I can make it through the next few days, I think I'll be ok. So far today, I'm back on track and trying not to think of carbs! Evil carbs! LOL!

Does anyone else have a headache? I never get headaches, and I am not a caffeine addict. It's rare that I have caffeine, so I don't think that's the cause. I really can't stand this. I'm not even sure I was supposed to take Ibuprofen, but I had to.

I was sooooo irritable last night, especially around dinner time. I had a bowl of green salad with lemon juice and an Optifast shake while my family ate lamb casserole. I really miss meat and cheese. I tried going caffeine free but by the end of Day Two I capitulated and decided that I would have one skim milk cappicino in the morning and then be super strict the rest of the time - it's working so far. I'm following Optifast intensive phase - replacing all meals with either the soup, shake or bar plus the 2 cups fo free vegetables (they've never tasted so good).

I woke up at 1am this morning with stomach growls - I reassured myself that this was only temporary and that some people in the world went to bed hungry every night. Still I feel dreadful this morning, hungover withouth having had any fun!! Still, countdown is on, 10 days until surgery on July 31. Stay strong everyone! Cheers (an alcohol free one), Melanie:confused_smile:

Good Luck Today Pennylane :crying:

Cheating is not good, especially with all the negative implications of it ("open" surgery, liver damage, postponing surgery date, etc). For the record though, my pre-op diet is much shorter than yours. I only have to stick to clear liquids and jello for a total of three days. You have plenty of time, just stick with it now. You'll make it!

Does anyone else have a headache? I never get headaches, and I am not a caffeine addict. It's rare that I have caffeine, so I don't think that's the cause. I really can't stand this. I'm not even sure I was supposed to take Ibuprofen, but I had to.

I've always found that I get headaches from lack of Protein, maybe keep some string cheese handy, it's a good amount of protein with not too many calories.

Thanks all for the well wishes, I had it yesterday and everything went absloutely perfectly.

And just for the record, because I've had a few replies like this, I know why the pre-op diet is so important which is why I was flipping out for having slipped up. Just like I said, it's like when I used to smoke and I KNEW that the cigarette was bad for me, but somehow I still made the decision to have one--a common problem, I understand.

I'm happy to report that that one cup of Soup was my only non-clear liquids for 7 days and I told the nurse and nutritionist about it and they weren't concerned, but told me to get back on "the wagon". I lost somewhere between 10 and 16 lbs on that starvation diet (using three different scales so there's no way of really knowing). I'm now on full liquids for two weeks and couldn't be happier. Yay soup, applesauce and yogurt! I will never for the life of me understand how people can complain about a full liquid preop diet :thumbup:

glad it all went well for you....keep us posted

Wow! Penny, you did it! And you were on the computer the next day? LOL Wasn't the pre-op fast the hardest part? And how about all those tests we all had to go through before surgery.

For everyone who's just about ready for surgery, it really isn't bad, it's just the waiting and worrying about the unknown.

Best of luck to everyone and enjoy the results. (Some lose faster than others...yeah, like me, for example...I quit looking at how much weight others have lost who were banded around the same time as I was because I was driving myself nuts. I'm losing slowly, and it's taking time, but I've lost around 45 lbs. so far, in 5 1/2 months. I used to be able to lose faster on WW, but then I always gained it back and was totally hungry most of the time. So, now I get filled up and am satisfied with a much smaller amount of food and all I have to do is be patient and the weight will come off.)

All the best to all of you who are "waiting."