Wow I don't understand why there is a preop diet....if I could be on a liquid diet I think I could lose weight without surgery.....I have a huge dilemma I have a 1st appt. 11-26-08....I am clueless on alot of this stuff but from what I am reading it requirs weightloss.....My problem is when I diet I maintain and when I don't I gain....this being said I am trying not to diet until I see the doc...however I am gaining until then.....any sugesstions....I can take off about 10 lbs. waterweight but I am trying to save my loss so it can count....Am I making any since???

I understand what you are saying. i am on day 8 of my 14 day liquid diet before surgery. If you haven't seen the doctor yet then don't worry about dieting. Once you go through all the steps and get set up for surgery he will put you on a diet a week or two before surgery. It is to shrink your liver for surgery. anyway i hope this helps!

I don't know how you do it or how I will do it for that matter.....I am not pleasant when I am hungry....I hope you do well.....It still sucks though....

Your liver hangs over where they will put the band and stiches. They have to shrink the liver to be able to move it up a little without damage. No carbs does the shrinking. Drink up.

Not all doctors require pre-op diets. It is their personal choice. My surgeon doesn't, however, I am doing one to get my body ready for liquids after surgery. I was told that it has a lot to do with your BMI. A higher BMI suggests a fattier liver and they want a less fatty liver to have to move around.....less likely to bruise or make your liver bleed.

I am on day 4 of my pre-op and I don't think that the protein shakes are that bad. I have one in the morning after tea. Then I have SF jello for a snack, then another shake for lunch, then some applesauce for an afternoon snack, and for dinner I have another shake. For a night snack I have a small salad with either tuna or an hard boiled egg. I am totally not hungry. Drinking water between, I feel full up to my nose!! All that is 900 calories and well above my protein need and way under carbs. Good Luck!

your right, don't loose any until you go see the doctor.

i lost 6lbs before i ever got to the appt. and i wish i hadn't.

originally i was 343 but by the time i saw him i was 336. and they said don't gain not 1 pound or your insurance will deny you.

but then on the other hand my bmi was over 50 and he said i still had to loose another 8lbs to get it below 50. and its been ok - i'm loosing a pound or two every time i go see him. so by the time my six month diet is over i should be at the 8lbs. the only thing im struggling with is the weather and getting out to walk. i need alot more exercise.

don't worry about the liquid diet. just stick to it - thats what is important - to shrink the liver.

good luck

I went from a BMI of 50 to 44 and my insurance still approved me. I started weight watchers in June, went to doctors in Aug. and got my approval today. I start pre-opt liquid diet on the 19th and surgery on the 26th. I'm so excited I can hardly sit down. Good luck to everyone.

Wow I don't understand why there is a preop diet....if I could be on a liquid diet I think I could lose weight without surgery.....I have a huge dilemma I have a 1st appt. 11-26-08....I am clueless on alot of this stuff but from what I am reading it requirs weightloss.....My problem is when I diet I maintain and when I don't I gain....this being said I am trying not to diet until I see the doc...however I am gaining until then.....any sugesstions....I can take off about 10 lbs. waterweight but I am trying to save my loss so it can count....Am I making any since???:thumbdown:

I completely understand where you're coming from. I'm the same way - my metabolism instantly adapts to any diet, and when eating normally I gain. The pre-op diet seems to differ depending on what dr. you go to, and people's experiences around it differ. Mine is two Protein or Meal Replacement drinks and a lean cuisine for dinner, with some green veggies, SF Jello, and crystal light allowed for hunger. For me personally, it's been hellish and my weight loss has been really slow on it. Especially in the beginning, I was headachy, lightheaded, exhausted, and my stomach literally hurts with hunger (it doesn't seem to interpret the liquid meal replacement as actual food). But the weight has gone down, albeit much more slowly than I would like. If hunger/control is an issue for you, you might want to consider something like the induction phase of Atkins rather than a liquid diet, but I suppose it will depend on what your dr. recommends. I would have chosen Atkins myself if I didn't have a short amount of time to lose a large amount of weight, so I opted for the harder option. But everyone's experience is different, obviously. Just try to remember what is at stake in the end. I find that that has helped me sustain my motivation, where before I would have given up and cheated a long time ago.

Whats amazing to me is that who ever you talk to has a different pre op diet based on who their doctor is. My doctor didnt put me on a pre op diet, but once I went in for my initial appointment she did tell me that part of the process was to lose 20 lbs, which was to help shrink your liver and , the less you weigh ideally the fewer complications you might face in surgery. The only prop instruction I have is a liquid diet the day before the surgery and NPO after midnight. I started this journey on July 14 and My surgery date is in 5 days, November 19. To date I have lost 34 lbs, by drinking only water (oh, with the exception of my daily non fat sugar free vanilla upside down carmel machhiatto from starbucks) and really limiting my carbs and fried foods (not cutting out completely). I started with one small change at a time and made changes that I could stick with. Plus uping my previously non exsistant workout schedule to 3-5 days a week on the treadmill for 45 minutes. Is it easy? Absofrickinloutley not! But you can do it. Small changes on at a time towards a healthier life style, because face it thats what we have to do. We have to make changes to what and how we eat. You can do it, but I would start small and make changes that you can stick with the kind that you are going to have follow after surgery. Good Luck!

Great job Denise~

I have now lost 26 pounds, and next week I will start the pre-opt diet. I will lose another 10 + pounds before surgery on the 26th. If all goes well, I really could have a total of 50 lbs off by Christmas.

Good luck with you surgery. Hugs Julie

Thanks for all of the info.....I am ready to start my changes now but I know I have to weigh in at my first appt. on Nov. 24th.......And if he says lose alot of weight I am will be screwed not saying I won't try......but here lately I am moving up a lb. or 2 weekly.....And I am really freakin out because a few people said if you gain 1 pound once you weigh in the insurance will deny you...In 6 months time I don't know if its possible for me....also since my general preac. appt. where I got the referral I have put on 5 lbs....will this count against me???????

Without knowing your personal scenario and insurance requirements and surgeon, it is impossible to answer you in anything but a personal anecdotal way. Most insurances consider anything over a 40 BMI to be morbidly obese.

You do realize this band is NOT a magic solution and you will have to do all of this and more AFTER the band is placed and for the rest of your life? That you will continue to feel hunger for some time after the band is placed? If you are not prepared to suffer some and push past the unpleasantness, you really need to examine if you are ready to do this! You sound like you are kind of freaking out. Take deep breaths, have some patience, have some faith in yourself and know that your surgeon will tell you all you need to know. But determine here and now you will do whatever it takes to make this surgery successful for you. The band itself will change nothing. It is just a way to help you change yourself.

I will only add this to what everyone else has said. If your doctor puts you on a pre-op liver shrinking diet, make sure you follow it. You don't want to wake up in the hospital after surgery with no band. One of my friends from this board did their own version of their doctor's diet. When they woke up from surgery, they had no band because the liver was still fatty. They went home and followed the doctor's prescribed diet to the letter and was able to get banded later. Think of it this way, the pre and post op diets are only for a short period of your life. Think of the reward you will get (weight loss and a healthy band). If you are not prepared to make changes to your diet now, what are you going to do after being banded? You still have to make healthy changes. It is a tool. Keep these things in mind while on whatever your doctor prescribes. Good luck!