Why do we go on the liquid diet?

I am about to have my vsg tomorrow and I am afraid that I haven't prepared myself properly for the surgery. When I first saw my doctor he told me I had to go on opti-fast for a couple of weeks before my op or something similiar. I still had a lot of leftover herbalife in my cupboard so I asked him if I could have that being protein shakes and all. He said that was fine. So I have been reading your postings and it looks like most of you were on nothing but shakes for the whole time. With herbalife you have two shakes a day and a normal meal at night which is what I have been having. As well as some herbalife protein bars occasionally. Have I stuffed up and should I have just been having shakes? My doctor has probably assumed I knew that opti-fast was all liquid , but I didn't I actually thought it was the same as herbalife. I have dropped about 7pounds since I started but is there a more important factor in the all liquid diet. I am very stressed at the moment and thought maybe I should totally fast today and not have anything bu****er and green tea to try and give the liver a quick clean. Any advice appreciated.

it really depends on your surgeon... some don't require any preop diet, others do. For those that do, I believe the theory is 2 parts... first, since liquids are easier to digest and absorb, it gives your digestive system a time to rest before it's attacked in surgery.  The other part (probably the more important one) is that a short-term rapid weight loss (even as little as 10-20 lbs) can help shrink the liver a little making things easier both for you, and the surgeon as he's working inside. good luck

Hi Sean, Thanks for your reply, I am feeling more relaxed about the whole thing this morning and I am just about to go to the hospital now...will be back to the message boards when I can. You look fantastic..well done! Jenny

My preop diet was to shrink my liver. My surgeon said that the liver is one of the first places to lose fat, so even a modest loss of say 10 lbs. is very beneficial. I lost 12 lbs on my preop diet and the surgeon said my liver looked great.

Hi, Thanks for your reply, I am feeling a lot better about the whole thing today. I have still managed to lose around 4kgs so hopefully my liver has shrunk a little anyway. I am 10 minutes off going to the hospital and feeling great about it. Will post when I can and let everybody know how I went. Thanks again you guys are a huge inspiration.