Im on the 7th day of my liquid preop diet and I am starving. I have 2 weeks left and Im not sure I can do this. I cryed today whan my hubby was cooking food for the kids today I wanted a cheesburger so bad. I quit smoking 2 years ago and I think this is harder. Im starting to think being fat and eating what i want isnt such a bad thing

It's your choice, you know. I can say "no don't eat" but you're a grown up. If a cheeseburger means that much, then do it. I surely can't throw stones at your house because I've been there and made the wrong choice more times than I care to count.

At least your husband is cooking for the kids; I know of some poor souls who feel they have to cook for the family while trying to just do liquids. Just to put it in perspective; you could maybe leave the house, go for a walk, go to another room, go ANYWHERE but a restaurant or grocers while they are eating!

And this is ONLY for a few weeks. Not the rest of your life. Most women I know are pretty tough and say "I can do ANYTHING for a little while". This isn't the rest of your life, it's just for a little while. I think you can do it! But, you know yourself best.

Often when we diet a french fry here or a cookie there makes no impact but pre- and post- op it can make or break you. You can do this. If you want to.

Hang in there. You will get through this and it will be so worth it. I think it's harder to do the liquid diet before surgery than after ward. I had mine done on Wednesday (the 26th) so I am brand new to all this but please try to keep focused on why you're doing this. Keep your chin up. You can do this.

When I made the decision to do this (I am still waiting, haven't done been banded yet) my husband told me he would support me 100%, no matter what I decided to do. His only advice was this, which I offer to you now: only go through with the surgery if you truly believe it will enhance the quality of your life. If you think your quality of life without the procedure is higher than it would be with, then don't do it. But remember, this is only a temporary state, the liquid diet. Honestly, if you feel like you're going to lose something by being banded rather than gain something in your life/life style/quality of life, then don't do it.

I know it is hard!!! Can you have sugar free jello? That will fill your tummy up a little bit, enough to get over the strong hunger pains.

Thanks guys for posting Im a little bvetter now. I have to do this for my health I weigh 459 lbs. Its just such a drastic change. Eating alot to 900 calories a day of liquids is such a shocking change to my body. My blood sugar is way low too I just checked and its 80. Its never that low so maybe its that. I just feel crappy and I needed to vent. Also Restless monkey Ive been reading about some stuff on hear and it said something about your body can go into starvation mode and you wont lose wight cuz your body wanys to hold on to it. Does that happen after a while or could it happen on the preop diet ? Just wondering

I think I read that you are on 6 carnation instant breakfasts a day? That would be very tough to stick to if that is all you can have for 3 weeks...

I was on a liquid diet but it had some variety. I could have cottage cheese, light yogurt (not a lot but some), broths, plus Protein drinks, I asked the doctor specifically if I could have frozen strawberries/blueberries in my Protein Drinks that I make in the blender (they are low sugar), he said yes.

If I were you I would maybe ask the doctor if you could have some variety. If it means you stick to the diet, it is worth it. If the goal is low carb to shrink your liver, then there are options. For me, egg drop Soup takeout from my local chinese restaurant really helped me. I usually added some extra broth to it. It was nice and warm. Then cottage cheese with sugar free Jello. S/F popsicles too. I did my pre-op diet for 11 days and lost 14 lbs. My doctor said my liver looked "beautiful".

Regardless.. you will do it!! It does get easier... I had my surgery this past Wednesday and I can already tell it is easier post op than pre-op.. so hang in there!! We're all here for you!!

I don't think you go into "starvation mode" in 3 weeks and actually 900 calories is a pretty good amount. I've done my "preop" diet, with my surgeon's supervision, post op for as long as 30 days and lost quite well (and it had a max of 500 calories each day)

There's some controversy about "starvation" mode; think of pictures of prisoners of war for example, or people like Karen Carpenter who died with complications from anorexia. We have stores and stores of fat for our bodies to pull from. It's not as easy for the bodies to get the energy from the fat as it is, say, from a hamburger, but we can do it. So I think that while it's possible for people who are dieting and exercising to not eat enough and lose more slowly (furnaces need fuel to burn!) it's also not likely for someone like me, say, who is pretty sedentary and still hugely overweight, to go into starvation mode if I'm getting enough Vitamins and Protein each day.

You will probably lose over 20 pounds on this 3 week diet; think how great you'll feel! But do call and tell him about your blood sugar (you're diabetic, I take it?) It's REALLY important that you be on liquids only for a time post op (your band needs to heal into place and I'm assuming your surgeon is like most who have people on liquids for a while post op) Otherwise, hang in there. It is worth it and the odds of you starving and not losing are really minimal this early on. Now if you were to try this for a few months I'd say maybe...but not for the limited time you'll be on liquids only.

Edited August 31, 200917 yr by RestlessMonkey

I hope it gets better for you. I am about the same place as you on the pre op diet and it is a bit easier for me.

The smell of food does make my tummy growl a bit. So what I have been doing is drinking broth. It really has helped me a lot.

Or I drink 8 oz of Water to help try and hush my tummy.

I know you are doing the 6 carnations a day. I only do 5 Optifast and space them out every 3 hours. So I have set times that I try and stick with to drink them, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9. When I do them I sip them. I take anywhere from an 1/2 hour to an hour to drink it. That seems to help me a bit too.

Later at night is when my hunger pains hit, that is when the broth comes out and I drink that. It really has helped and the warmth seems to calm my tummy down quite a bit.

If you are still really really hungry I would call the doctor and maybe see about adding a small meal to your diet. I have read where some were liquids most of the day but a small meal at the end. Or if your pains are worse in the morning make it Breakfast.

I have not been perfect in my pre op diet and have had a piece of cheese, a few bites of sausage, and usually every morning I have been eating a hard boiled egg, whites only with less than pinch of salt.

Just keep telling yourself you can do it... you gave birth to children, you stopped smoking, do what every you can to stay positive and remember like others have said this will pass and you will wonder why you even questioned it...

Best of luck to you!!!