I am on my 8th day of the Optifast diet and I am quite hungry. The thought of going to clear liquids after the surgery (next Wednesday) is unbearable because I am so hungry now. :smile: The NP told me I won't be hungry after the surgery so it won't matter. Is this true? And I was told no pork, ham, or beef for at least 6 months. What's up with that?

The NP told me I won't be hungry after the surgery so it won't matter. Is this true?

It could be true. It kind of depends. At first, a lot of people aren't hungry as an aftermath of the surgery. But a lot of people also find that liquids aren't very filling and so they are somewhat hungry during this time. Sometimes it's head hunger and sometimes it's not.

It shouldn't be anything like it is now though.

I found chewing sugar free popsicles helped a lot. Also Jello. Both were "chewing" foods even though counting as liquids and the act of chewing helped.

Once I got on mushies, I pretty much wasn't hungry unless I went for hours without eating -- like 5 hours or more -- or if I was experiencing something I was interpreting as hunger, but wasn't -- like stomach gurgling from drinking too fast.

And I was told no pork, ham, or beef for at least 6 months. What's up with that?

What's up is that you have the kind of program where they have a lot of arbitrary rules. :biggrin:

Some programs have all these deadlines for when to eat things ... no tomatoes for X months, no OJ or acidic foods, no salad, don't eat certain kinds of meats. On my program, they say start out slow and be careful about having new foods but, once you are cleared for regular food, you can eat anything "as tolerated".

So I eat all those things and have since about 7 weeks out. But I don't eat bread or Pasta because I don't tolerate them well.

I prefer being able to try things on my own schedule but some people like having rules especially if it helps them avoid trouble.

I eat all those things and have since about 7 weeks out. But I don't eat bread or Pasta because I don't tolerate them well.

I prefer being able to try things on my own schedule but some people like having rules especially if it helps them avoid trouble.

What do you mean by not tolerating certain foods? Does it cause discomfort, pain, or vomiting?

Also at about 5 to 7days I need to add Protein Drinks to get 50 to 70 gms a day. Any recommendations?? Thanks.

I have been on liquids since 2/3 - had surgery 2/5. Clear liquids was hard for me the 2 days before and then 3 days after. The day of surgery and the day immediate following weren't the worst because I was sleeping a lot and had drugs. I am doing 4 weeks of liquids now as directed and I am hungry a lot. Some of it is just head hunger but still hard. I am telling myself to take it one day at a time but I can't believe I have to do this for 4 weeks!! Ahhhhh

This is not easy but 6 months from now we will look back and be glad we stuck with it. Things worth having can be hard right?

I am so glad to hear you are doing so well. How much weight have you lost? But I am disappointed to hear you are still hungry after the surgery. Are you less hungry as each day passes or more hungry? Have you had much nausea?

I got hungry after the surgery and I have read here that I am not alone--- I can eat whatever as long as I chew and chew and chew--- I was baned on 12/9 and had reg foods on 12/24 --- I was glad because it was Christmas Eve -- every doctor is different -- or was I banded on 12/7 -- I get it mixed up

What do you mean by not tolerating certain foods?

They are hard to eat. Like with bread and Pasta, they expand in your stomach. So you have to be careful not to overeat. I don't like them enough to bother. :thumbup: But I like shrimp, which is also hard for me to chew well so for that I just put in the work and am extra careful.

If I over-eat, I get a pressure in my chest and it's uncomfortable. It's not worth dealing with that for foods I don't really care for.

I am home now, day three of my surgery and this is the first day I really feel hungry. The experience is similar to when I was banded. You do feel hunger after, but stick to the regimen and it is not that bad. I am allowed full liquids today which includes protein shakes and creamy soups. I know the hunger I am feeling will pass. Especially when I get to transition to mushies. Then when you start adding real food, you will feel the full effect, once that food pushes back up a little bit you will feel full for quite some time. Just stick to it, the reason for liquids is to let you stomach heal, you don't want to jeopardize that. Be strong, you can do it.

I do plan on being strong and following the guidelines but I want to know what I am in for. My plan says to add full liquids on day 10 or 12 so that seems like a long time for clear liquids. But if you are already having full liquids at day 3 and tolerating it well that sounds more reasonable. All they keep telling me is you won't be hungry so it won't matter. Because Opti fast is not cutting it. How is your recovery so far?

Well, I can't lie, I am glad my doctor told me full liquids at day 2 for two weeks, I just looked over my plan again and This is my doctors regimen: Clear liquids 1-2 days after surgery, Full Liquids when you go home for 2 weeks, Start pureed Foods for 1 - 2 weeks, Soft Foods lowfat, low sugar for one week, regular foods Weeks 5 - 6. Yesterday was day three and I was having Protein Shakes, Water, Lipton cup of Soup cream of chicken, chicken broth and diluted juice all day and I was ok. This morning I woke up hungry (day 4) and decided to read over my plan again. For Full liquids they allow pudding and tapioca (sugar free non fat),Cream of wheat, cream of rice, farina or grits, cream soup, custard and yogurt. Non fat and sugar free where applicable. At this stage I missed that I needed to boost my Protein and give you ways to do that like adding powdered milk to skim milk or adding Protein Powder to yogurt. Right now I am having a cup of tea with soy milk and sipping it by the tablespoon. When I first started sipping you know how your hunger pains get worse when you start eating? Yeah that hurts, it is starting to subside now, but I am feeling pretty hungry. I'm going to take it slow and make some cream of wheat.

I have figured out what 'dumping' is and that is the funny pain I have been feeling in my gut. I wasn't diluting my fruit juice enough and when the sugar hits your intestines so fast you get a cramp. It didn't take long to figure out that sugar is not my friend. So I have highly diluted it and added a packet of sweetner, you still get some flavor that way. More like two parts water to one part juice, maybe three parts water. I feel for you, having to do Optifast before has got to be really hard. My doctor does not require that, they just tell you not to gorge yourself the day before (last meal sort of thing.)

You will definitely not be hungry the day of your surgery and maybe a little on day 2, but the clear liquids will alleviate it. After that, ask them if you can do what my doctor recommends.

Also viactive soft chews Calcium and Vitamins are tolerated very well, so that was my treat yesterday, chewing slowly one of each. Also, I had some acid reflux and tums are allowed which took care of that. Your day is coming up soon, I know why they do the optifast, but I bet you could replace some of those calories with a low fat yogurt once a day. Anyone else think that might be ok?

As far as my recovery, I walked the dogs 1/2 mile last night. I am still wearing sweats, afraid of the waistband and the bra still. After lapband I had a problem wearing a bra for a month. It was very tricky getting by with that at work...layers is the key. Last night I tried to sleep on my right side, but woke up with mild pain in my stomach, 4a today.

So now I'm up, here is the recipe for my cream of wheat: 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk, 1 tablespoon cream of wheat, added 1 tablespoon of vanilla protein powder during simmer. I am taking a tablespoon at a time every 5 to 10 minutes, so far so good. It is very soupy, but good. 9 grams of protein about 3 grams of fat. No additional sweetness needed. Oh, yeah, the cream of wheat is going down fine, definitely helping.

This afternoon I am going to make runny instant mashed potatoes using 1/2 cup of chicken broth, but no protein powder, all i have is chocolate and vanilla and that would not be good.

Thank you so much for the info. Why are you having soy milk? Is it your preference or is it part of the diet? I think I am on an ultra-conservative plan. They don't allow cream of wheat until 4 weeks! But it is good to know that other people are having it and doing fine. I guess I will take it slow and see how it goes. Have you tried the protein powder (whey protein isolate)? That is what they are recommending to be sure we get enough protein everyday. I don't think it is flavored but I haven't tried it yet. I guess that is why they say we won't be hungry b/c we will fill up on protein (clear liquid) drinks. I really appreciate all of the little tid bits of info. It goes a long way.

I have heard of a drink called iso pure? supposed to have 40 grams to a container. Haven't tried it yet. I started wtih soy milk before surgery to see how I liked it and also wanted to avoid the lactic acid (milk sugar) after surgery. But not really any reason why, and it lasts longer in the fridge because my son won't drink it.

Today I went to Walmart and found an unflavored protein powder which uses a smaller scoop. I made my lunch with a packet of cream of chicken cup of soup with hot water, then added a tablespoon of instant mashed potatoes and microwaved another 30 seconds, then added one scoop of the protein powder. Couldn't even tell it was in there, it added 10 grams of protein to an otherwise proteinless cup of soup. Then I had 4 ounces of protein shake. I am feeling full. For my breakfast earlier, I couldn't finish the cream of wheat, went out to walmart then finished it when I came back. It definitely filled my hunger and so did that lunch. I might just have a yogurt for dinner then my two viactives for dessert. I can make the yogurt high protein by adding protein powder to that Yum! The minimum amount of protein they want us to take in is 40 grams with a goal of 60 grams per day.

From now on it's going to be protein, protein protein. But I wasn't this vigilent when I had the band and became protein deficient. My hair got really thin. Luckily it's all growing back in the eight months I've been without. I can't let that happen again.

The surgeon who did my original band was not as involved with his patients as my new doctor and didn't send us home with much nutritional information. My new doctor prepares a notebook on your nutrition and a notebook for your after care when you are realeased. A completely different experience this time around.

There are tons of whey protein isolate powders out there, flavored and unflavored (though the "unflavored" still have a flavor. :thumbup:) You should be able to use any of them.

I found info on that isopure drink, looks like something I will try to find locally. We have many nutrition stores here.

Isopure Zero Carb Drink at CWI Medical

I get it at GNC. It saved my butt in the early days because I was getting protein *and* liquids with it.

My program wants us on a really low carb diet and so things like cream of wheat are discouraged. We had "thin" liquids for 2-3 weeks, which is like clear liquids, only also all the protein drinks and things like milk. But no pudding, etc.

Then "softs" for another 2-3 weeks, which is everything allowed on full liquids, everything allowed on purees and everything allowed on softs. But again avoiding anything with a lot of sugar and carbs.

I ate a lot of yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, scrambled eggs, chili and soup.