The info packet I got from the surgery center in Detroit says...2 weeks before surgery, replace two meals a day with a protein drink? Anybody know why? I'm willing to do it (I'm willing to do ANYTHING to get my weight down!) but just want to know why.

Also, most of the posts have a cute little....ruler?...with the weight and loss and BMI etc at the bottom of the post. How can I get one too?

The liquid pre-op diet in some form is common. Basically doctors want you to lose some weight before surgery to shrink your liver, so the surgery is easier to perform.

Go to TickerFactory.com for the cute little rulers

I think that this is for 2 reasons:

1) To start you on the path to changing your mindset about food BEFORE you have to deal with it in addition to post-op pains, and

2) To shrink the fattiness of your liver so that they can move it out of the way (it partially obstructs your stomach) easier during the surgery. The fat around your liver is some of the first fat to be lost when you diet.

Basically my doc stated for the same reasons: learning that you can survive "without" food, showing you that it doesn't have to control your life. Also, you are lucky that you don't have to replace all three meals. My doc made me replace all three meals for 2 weeks. Plus if the patients were over a certain weight, they had to do it for 3 weeks!!! Good luck!!!!