Hello all i'm on day 5 of my pre-op liquid diet:thumbup:, my surgery is next Friday Oct.24th:thumbup:. The Optifast is not bad at all and i like all the flavors, i have Jello, Water,crystal light, and sugar free icepops. not too found of chicken brooth:closedeyes:. i've can along way from day 1 that left me sick and although it's getting better as the days go along , i did cheat and had a small can of chicken noodle soup:drool:. i felt like that would do the least damage and would be better than a heavy meal.

I JUST WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF ANYONE ELSE CHEATED A LITTLE BIT ??

AND IF SO WITH WHAT????

Dr.Ernest Rehnke

Palms Of Pasadena

St.petersburg, Fl.

I didn't have an all-liquid pre-op diet, but I'm pretty sure that Big Mac wasn't on the one I was supposed to be following. It was my only cheat, but was a heck of one!

Nobody is perfect - not all the time. I don't think I'd worry about a little Soup.

SeaSide - you had a piece of cheese. Think about what you would have had before the surgery. I bet a piece of cheese doesn't sound so bad in comparison. You'll get back on the horse.

so eggs are strictly Protein right? My surgery is on 10/24 too! I'm on day 2 of the liquids. why can't we eat lettuce and eggs?

Actually lettuce and eggs both have carbs in them. They are LOW but they have them.

All veggies have carbs. People assume if it's veggie it's carb free, but that's not true.

Your best bet is to call and tell your doc you're HUNGRY and ask if you can have something else, or stick to his/her preop plan if you don't want to. We're all different and different docs require different things.

You want to be successful long term and the preop diet is just the first few baby steps. So hang in there and ask your doc for help if you really can't stay on his prescribed diet!

Good luck! we all know how hard it is!

WOW~ luluc, I noticed your amazing weightloss and it's inspiring. How long did it take you to reach your goal and did your surpass it? Thanks!

thank you. i lost 75lbs in 10 months, with 125 being my original goal & wouldn't mind getting to 118 - which puts my bmi around 20. i'm very short, barely 5'1 & am just going to keep doing what i am with diet & exercise and if i drop a bit more - OK, if not - i'm more than happy with the current results......all the best w/your band journey

I started the preop diet on Monday. All Protein shakes plus a sugar free pudding cup or Jello cup in the evening. When I went in for my class yesterday, there were folks who are being banded next week by my surgeon who haven't started any preop diet. My surgeon doesnt require it, but highly suggests it. His only requirement is Clear Liquids the day before.

So, I look at it as every day I do the shakes, is a day I'm helping myself out. I know I'll eat on Saturday, my mom is making homemade biscuits for me (I'm counting this as the last time) and I'll also want to eat dinners next weekend at a scrapbooking retreat (will do shakes for breakfast/lunch/snack)... so hopefully I won't totally undo what I've been working on this week and next week by eating a few meals of normal food with my friends and family.

But I did cheat today and had some lowfat cottage cheese. Boy was it good.. and I'm not a huge cottage cheese fan... LOL

i asked here if it was ok to cheat...answer i got was no...but to my surprise i talked to my dr. and told him what i was going to eat and he was fine with it. The best answer i got was check with your dr. and that is the best i got, and i did. It is true, every doc is different!

I agree... I see my surgeon tomorrow and want to make sure it's ok if I eat my planned meals and then do the shakes the rest of the time. I'll do whatever he tells me, I want to be as successful with this as I possibly can.

I DID! I lost 15 pounds anyway during my 3 week preop diet. But I'm the "HORRIBLE WARNING" you hear about. My liver was still too fatty. I had surgery on 8/11 and my liver was too thick and fat to be moved out of the way. My Doctor told me his options were to "open me up" and do traditional surgery, lacerate my liver!, or close me up and let me try again. He picked #3. Can't tell you how absolutely TERRIBLE it is to come to in surgery and be told "your liver was too fat, so they couldn't place the band".

Of course I started out very large (larger than most bandsters) but that isn't always a direct tie to liver size.

He did tell me I was his first patient that he couldn't band because of the liver (wow did THAT make me feel better LOL...but what it did do was motivate me) I lost 17 pounds in the ensuing 2 1/2 weeks doing exactly what he told me and was banded 8/29.

SO I say do what your doc says. Many get away with it so I thought I would, too. Boy was I wrong! chicken noodle Soup probably won't hurt but it probably didn't really help you either! Hang in there!

It's worth it!

thanks everyone for being honest with me, and i appreciate you sharing your stories with me. this is Pre-Op not post-op so i have'nt been banded yet ! i understand and know what to expect afterwards, it's just getting through this before hand. and i do realize that this is getting in practice for what's coming next.

thank you PrtyAntovryt that was important to know because when i DID cheat i did want to do the least amount of damage to how far i may have come.

Restless Monkey-- WOW,WOW,WOW,WOW:scared2::mellow::tt2: I REALLY WOULD HAVE WENT CRAZY COMING TO AFTER SURGERY AND NO BAND! SO THEY BASICALLY HAD TO CUT BACK INTO YOUR PRIOR INCISIONS ???:cool2::thumbup:. I MUST SAY WITH THAT BEING SAID I AM ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW PATH AND NO MORE COMMENTS ARE NEEDED...LOL:sleep: AND I FELT GUILTY FOR A CAN OF SOUP..WOW ! WELL I'M GLAD EVERYTHING HAS WORKED OUT FOR YOU IN THE END AND THANK YOU AGAIN, YOUR STORY DID IT FOR ME !!!

and last but not least SEASIDE--- you do have to go through out the entire forum, it is so much info on here that will match where ever you are in the process. they also have the support group forums at the bottom of the main page (i believe) and it's for men,women,age groups and even go by the state you are in. so yes please look around before you give up on it !

SLIM N TN --- no problem we are all here to help each other get through this.

okay now last thing, there is thread where you only put up before and atfer pic. i click around on here so much until i can't remember how i got to it...lol THAT IS THE BEST THREAD EVER and has been sooooooo inspiring and motivating to me.

Actually lettuce and eggs both have carbs in them. They are LOW but they have them.

Actually, each egg has 80 calories and 1 gram carb and 5 grams of fat ad 7 grams of Protein. Eggs are your best bet if you are starving and can't have carbs. cheese doesn't have any carbs. I do not advise anyone to go against their doctor's orders, however, if someone feels they must cheat, it's best to do it with something that is extremely low carbs/high prortein.

A Fatty Liver and an enlarged liver are two different things. A Fatty Liver is a disease/illness. WE all have an enlarged liver... our carb intake does that. There are several other ailments/drugs/pregnancy/addictions that cause a Fatty Liver.

Hmmm odd my doctor distinctly said my liver was "fatty" but "not diseased"....

Either way, stick with what your doc tells you; that's safest. He's the one with the experience.

not all doctors request a diet before surgery. My doctor didn't. So, if you cheated here and there I think you'll be fine as long as you lost something... Good luck.

Hmmm odd my doctor distinctly said my liver was "fatty" but "not diseased"....

Either way, stick with what your doc tells you; that's safest. He's the one with the experience.

Well, it's good that it wasn't diseased. Fatty Liver is a diagnosis but maybe he used the word "fatty" to be descriptive. As a layman's term. But I do know that even people who are slim and active - in shape can be diagnosed with "Fatty Liver" disease. I'm glad your liver was not diseased!

I agree, we need to follow our doc's orders. They are the ones who have to get that band around our stomachs!

not all doctors request a diet before surgery. My doctor didn't. So, if you cheated here and there I think you'll be fine as long as you lost something... Good luck.

Yup, there are many many docs who don't require any pre-op diet! Even for people with very high BMI's. My doctor required the Low Carb/High Protein/No calorie or Fat Restriction diet -- but the number of days required to be on it depended on your BMI. I had to be on it for 14 days and I lost 17 lbs the first time and 13 lbs the second time. My first surgery was cancelled due to my Malignant Hyperthermia.

this is good info, if i'm going to be on a diet for 6 months then a liquid diet for who knows how long before surgery, i should just start cutting back those carbs now as much as possible so its not such a shock before surgery. i'm going to ask the doctor what he required for the pre op diet when i see him this friday, this liquid diet really has me nervous. i get soooo sick and shaky now - just when i eat cereal or yogurt for breakfast.

My pre-op diet is some what flexible in that I can have three small meals that are high protien low carb and low fat with two small fruit Snacks. OR I can have two protien drinks at 42 grams each with a protien meal for dinner.

I have not cheated yet. But I am so hungry. When I get real hungry, I start drinking chicken broth and that helps.

I am really trying to make this work and I have lost 10-pounds so far. But I need to lose 15 more pounds before the surgery, which is November 11. :biggrin: