Need some help....

Hello I need some help . On friday I will be starting the liquid diet for the surgery. I was just wondering if anyone can give me some ideas of stuff that really worked for them and anything that will help with the hunger headaches that I am sure I am gonna get. Thanks

Tracy: My son's mother-in-law is having surgery with Dr. Chung on September 5 and she called me this morning to find out what I ate when I was in the liquid stage post-op. I'm sending her some sf Carnation Instant Breakfast that I have left over. When I was on full liquids I drank low fat milk, protein shakes, low fat cream soups (straining the meat or veggies out), sf lowfat yogurt, diet v-8 splash, v-8 juice, sf applesauce, instant oatmeat or mashed potatoes made runny (more milk than cereal), also had sf puddings (the kind you make yourself), sf jello, sf popsicles or sf fudgesicles. I really couldn't remember what I used to eat and had to drag out the noteboo****ep the handouts I got at the surgeon's office to see what was allowed. I don't know if it's different pre-op than post op, but these are just a few suggestions. Hope this helps. Cathy

My favorite thing to do was make a big pot of chili and eat the broth out of it. It tasted so good. My husband had to eat the rest without the soup but he didn't mind. And it is alot better that just chicken broth. I also would make ramen noodles and eat the broth out of it too. Sugar free Popsicle help with that too because you feel like your eating something. I ate alot of them, any time I felt like snacking or thought I was hungry I would grab one. Tina 336/181/155

Congratulations on taking what might be the most important steps in your weight-loss journey! My perspective (which may be different from yours or that of other forum members) is that your preop diet has a very crucial goal: to shrink your liver and some of your abdominal girth in order to make surgery easier and consequently safer. That said, the key in successfully meeting this goal is to keep your diet extremely low-carb. Give your dietitian and/or surgeon's office a call to double-check, but my dietitian told me I was to avoid fruit and minimize starches and sugars of all types. Personally, I don't like protein drinks. However, I found it a lot easier to take unflavored whey protein and add it to, say, butternut squash soup or blended vegetable soup (watch the carbs!). Be sure to stir in the protein powder after you've heated your soup, but not while it's too hot. Try adding a few sprinkles of parmesan cheese to mask the grittiness of the protein. The first few days will most likely be miserable for you (sorry!). You'll be hungry and grumpy and all that good stuff. However, after a few days, you'll go into ketosis and you won't be that hungry. Make sure your protein content is good and high, too, because protein will also fill you up and keep you full for a long time. Yes, this is a tough time, but it's absolutely worth it. Good luck!

Hi I'm doing the liquid diet as well. I went to Smoothie King and purchased the Gladiator Vanilla Meal Replacement Protien Powder. I mix one scoop in with an Adkins Advantage can drink (vanilla or chocolate) I have this for breakfast. 250 calories and about 37 proteins. For lunch I have a half can of Campbell's Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup. I add a little milk to make it creamier. Around 3pm I drink another ADkins drink with the protein powder. Then for dinner I eat the other half of the soup. I also eat sf jello, popcicles and yougurt during the day. I get in about 90 proteins daily which is wonderful. I did have headaches for about three days but after that I was fine. The protein really keeps me full and satisfied. Good Luck. Sissy