I was just banded June 18th. Including pre-op, I have lost a little over 33 pounds so far. I am currently on the mushies phase.

I am trying to plan out my eating for when I start on real foods. One idea I had (among many others) was to do a 7-day liquid diet every other month. Basically I would just do Protein shakes, sodium-free broths, Water, etc. Essentially the same as a pre-op diet. I was thinking it would be a good way to kick start my body every now and again. When I did the preop diet I lost about 5 pounds in the first 3 days. I also thought this would be a good way to cleanse my body of toxins and other waste materials every now and again.

Any thoughts? Has anyone done anything like this before? Thanks for any input!

Dear Isavolinist,

Have you had a fill yet? The reason I ask is because I was banded April 1, 2009 and have been getting a fill (or unfill) every month and after an adjustment I have to go on a liquid diet for the next two days--so that pretty much takes care of the liquid diet deal for me. If you need a kick-start, I would suggest you go to www.5daypouchtest.com . I don't really consider it a test but it gets you back to the basics. I found a lot of good info on this site that you can print off for free. Hope this helps. Good luck.

I'm not banded yet, but I don't think this is an approach I would take unless convinced to do so by my doctor. First, the body doesn't require help ridding itself of toxins--it has the machinery in place to do that without modified fasting. And secondly, it's just not a practice I can envision keeping up long-term--it would be psychologically unsatisfying to me, and I would be concerned (knowing myself) that it would ultimately backfire.

I would ask my surgeon about doing the liquid diet every other month if it were me. The liquid diet is because after surgery your stomach is healing and cant tolerate food yet, however after you go to solid foods you are supposed to kind of stay away from liquidy stuff like yogurt, ice cream, broth, etc. for the most part. Thats what my surgeon says at least. Of course there is the exception to that like if you PB or get a fill sometimes you can do liquids for a day or something. But yeah ask your surgeon and see what he thinks about that. Good luck!

Hi everyone,

thanks for all the replies.

Scout: thanks for that info! I will definitely check out that site. I haven't had a fill yet (July 28th!). That is true re: having to be a on a liquid diet after each fill. Despite the lack of saline in my band (I was not banded with any fill at time of surgery), I am doing well and sticking to my Proteins with very few carbs and virtually no sweets etc. But I am looking forward to a fill, because I can easily eat a cup and a half of food right now. Portions were always the issue for me.

WaistBand: I have to disagree with your comment about toxins. Sure, the body rids itself of toxins, but it doesn't rid itself of all toxins. Many people do a 'cleanse' (which varies person to person) every so often to refresh the body.

Additionally, its not a 'modified fast'. With 3 Protein shakes, I will be getting the adequate nutrition per day, and I'd probably end up drinking 4 shakes a day.

ctay: I will probably end up talking to my doc about it. The reason we are supposed to stay away from those 'slider' foods that you mentioned after we go to solids is because, 1. they are in fact sliders (so you can eat a lot of ice cream without getting stuck...you can eat around the band), and 2. if you drink with your meal or eat Soup it will push the food through your band and you'll be hungrier faster. So if you are on an all liquid diet (primarily just protein shakes) those two problems are eliminated.