Pre-Op diet. What to eat? Especially when you are a picky eater!!

I saw my surgeon yesterday and as some of ya'll know he suggested the DS to me as my surgery because he thinks I will be the most successful with it. He wants me to get started on the Pre-op diet of 1200 calories a day for the next 6 months. Okay I attempted to start today but when you are a young adult (20 oct 7th) living alone with limited funds to food and not knowing how to cook it can be hard.So far I've ate a hot dog and two packs of cheese peanut butter crackers. Oh and I had chocolate milk (Nesquick) It does not help that I am a picky eater. I don't like cheese (I honestly think that is because I have told myself that so long that I've made myself think it's disgusting because I love mac and cheese and pizza... and mac and cheese is MOSTLY cheese lol) I don't like milk except chocolate milk but my mom said when I was a baby I hated milk too. My parents say I like the "odd" vegetables that most teens/young people don't like (ie. turnip greens brocoli califlower green beans, etc) I am starting to like other ones as well. I used to hate fruit but I am realizing I really like bananas lol. So anyway I was just wondering what would be good for me to buy at the grocery store tomorrow. I am EXTREMELY uneducated when it comes to nutrition. They did give me a paper about the pre-op diet but it just confused me lol. I want to be successful and make LIFESTYLE changes not just temporary changes.. Also what vitamins could I go ahead and start taking so I can get into the routine of taking vitamins. The pre-op diet paper said to go ahead and start taking supplements from  the office where I will be having surgery but I didn't know that until I left. Anyway any advice would be great. Oh and my surgeon is Dr. Boyce. Thanks!

You could start on a multivitamin, vitamin D3, calcium citrate (Citracal) and possibly an iron tablet such as Walgreens' Feosol Bifera. It would good to know if you have your labs and what your levels are. I understand Dr Boyce's office pushes those vitamins he has in his office but they are really over-rated and expensive.

If I were to be going on a 6 month diet for pre-op I'd eat those veggies you like plus take a look at Google for high protein / low carb foods and use it as a shopping list. You could eat your veggies with a hamburger (no bun). You'll want to cut out starches and breads.  There is a lower carb chocolate milk called Hood Countdown. You might have to Google that too to see what stores near you might carry it.

--gina 

 Why did your doctor suggest a 6 month diet?

Is it for medical reasons, like he wants you to lose weight beore your surgery to make the surgery safer?  Or is it an insurance requirement?

There's a big difference.

First, if he's just asking you to do it, find out what his concern is.  It's not easy to stay on such a low calorie diet for 6 months.  If we could do that, a lot of us wouldn't need surgery.  Find out why he suggested it and what he's concerned about.  Now, if he's just talking about you getting yourself as healthy as you can be for surgery, that's probably easier to do.

The bigger question, though, is does he have knowledge that your insurance company requires it?  If that's the case, you need to find out EXACTLY what your insurance approval requires, because they are going to hold you to it 100%.  They might require food logs, monthly weigh ins with a doctor, things like that.  Some insurance companies make you jump through hoops - not because it helps, but simply because they hope you drop out and dont comply and therefore they dont have to approve you for surgery.

You really need to find out why he asked you to do that. It's not normal protocol for most people and surgeons.

 He said it was for my insurance company that they required it but I honestly dont think that was true because I called my company the other day and she said they got rid of ALL the requirements for  bariatic  surgery that basically you have to prove that your health is being affected in a negative way and then send it to the insurance company so that their coordinator can review I told him that and he said that it is a requirement and my PCP had also said that the insurance company would pay for me to go to weigh****chers for six months so I am really confused at this point but I've seen people talk about a medically supervised diet before surgery but as I said my insurance company told me it was not neccesary I thought the surgeon would know so I just let it go 

You need to get your insurance policy regarding wls IN WRITING to sort this out. If the 6 months supervised diet is a real requirement, as someone else already said, they have specific rules you have to follow, such as monthly visits with a doc with documentation of each visit in the doc's chart that your diet was the purpose of the visit and that the diet was discussed. If you miss even one requirement, or the date is too late by one day, they won't accept it, and you have to start over again.
     Some policies will accept Weigh****chers or something similar. Most won't
     Some allow for a dietician to be seen. Others insist on a doctor.
You get the idea.

I wouldn't count on anything you are told by phone by some anonymous company flunkie to be accurate. They don't care about what happens to you, you are just one more phone call. No one cares about this more than YOU. It is YOUR responsibility to check your policiy and make sure you follow it - or, if they really have droped this requirement, show that to your surgeon, again in writing, and see if he'll proceed without the 6 months delay.

Larra

 You absolutly need to get a copy of your insurance book to figure out exactly what they want from you.  WLS is not like going to your family doctor for a cold.  You have to jump through all the insurance hoops in order to be approved.  I even followed my insurance to the letter, but was STILL denied.  I had to appeal just to get them to cover it.  So you really need to know what you're getting into.

As for the "what to buy" question.  That's kinda silly.  Everyone knows what we "should" eat as a normie, it's just following that that seems to be an issue for most of us.  Lean protein, vegetables, low-sugar fruits, whole grains, etc.  If you're not aware of the basics of nutrition, then you don't want to be getting a surgery that requires you to know these things.  After surgery, your requirements will change.

I would get on Amazon.com and order a college nutrition text book and read it cover to cover.  If you don't know what carbs are, or what you will need to eat after surgery, you will be in for a world of problems.

 OK, so you know to find out for sure about the requirements.  Many insurance companies also require 6 or more consecutive monthy visits with a nutritionist.  Find out for sure and read the real thing.

You have to be smart to be successful with the DS.  Start learning about nutrition and portion sizes now.  Use the diet as a tool.  Read.  Start tracking every bite you put in your mouth.  Use fitday or sparkpeople.  Buy a set of measuring cups and see for yourself how small a 1/2 cup serving is.  You have to know what you are doing and be your own advocate.

Forget the nesquick and packets of crackers and cheese.  Probably you should forget about processed foods completely and just learn to cook.  It's cheaper and better for you.

Postop, your diet will revolve around meat/protein.  Buy a chicken and cook it.  Eat it plain or make chicken salad.  Make tuna salad too.  It also doesn't take any more time to bake two chickens than one.  Freeze some portions for your own fast food.  Learn how to shop for inexpensive meats.  Read about Atkins Induction.  That's pretty much the post DS weightloss phase diet.  You might as well learn it now!

If you need containers/baking dishes, go to a local thrift store and pick up used stuff for cheap.  I would also get a crockpot.  All you do is put stuff in it the night before and stick it in the fridge.  The next morning, you get it out, plug it in and go about your business.  When you come home it's done.  Have dinner, then portion and freeze the leftovers.  Go to a dollar store and pick up some spices.  Some dollar stores have real food too.

You said you love pizza.  There is a DS friendly pizza recipe here.  Search for Broks's Pizza.

Forget the milk you don't like anyway.  Buy a decent multivitamin and extra D, iron, and calcium citrate.

After you get all this down, come back for more.  Good luck!  This can be awful or fun and a real education.  It's all in your attitude.

Clean all White Foods out of your cupboards. No bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes. If it's not in
the house, it's harder for you to grab an easy snack.

Protein protein protein.

Also check out protein powders; you'll find if you have more protein in your diet you won't want
to snack so much.

Definitely eat the veggies you like, and maybe try some new ones. Nobody said you have to eat
things you hate, but there's a lot of good-tasting veggies out there. Be adventurous!

Check out herbal and decaf drinks, cut down on carbonated drinks.

Definitely get started to the multivitamins and supplements.

Start walking, even if it's only for 15 minutes a day.

Good luck! These next few months will go sooooo fast!

Okay, in order to eat cheaply and healthily---you're gonna have to learn to cook. Cooking can be a lot of fun, too.

Learn to appreciate cheese. It's a wonderful source of protein, and it comes in so very many varieties there's bound to be some you'll like. It's also a very handy snack. But stay away from fruit---it's full of sugar!