Pre op advice

I dont have a surgery date but the nurse at the surgeon said that it will more than likely be next month. I have gained 5 pounds since my "locked in" weight. Im stressing. There is no specific liquid or pre op diet just medical necessities like no smoking and such. What is the best pre op diet that is simple, super simple? Even if we are talking protein shakes/liquid diet? The more weight I lose the faster they will get me in and I have gained 5lbs. So stressful, I have been feeling like I need to saygoodbye to the things I love so much that are so bad and put me in this position in the first place. So please someone yell at me I need someone to give kind advice and someone to tell me the exact simple things to take in. Please all, I am begging for help and advice. I dont want to screw this up. Knowing what lies ahead of me has me feeling more and more stressed out. Please friends, help.

Many people try to "practice" the life style they will have to live after surgery.  That means eating protein and veggies and limiting fruit to one serving a day. No simple or starchy carbs like bread, crackers, sugar, pasta, rice, potatoes.  Don't drink with your meals and wait at least 30 minutes before you start drinking again.  Drink at least 64 ounces of water per day. Eat three meals daily with no snacking, or eat 6 very small meals (200 to 300 calories only) daily.  If you eat a small amount every 3 or 4 hours it will keep your metabolism working hard and you won't feel so hungry.

The food funerals common but are a bad idea.  Those foods are killing you and you KNOW it.  You have to start thinking about the wonderful,new life ahead of you and NOT what food you'll be missing.  You HAVE to change your relationship with food to succeed and now is a good time to get started with that!  Food is nothing more than fuel for your body.  It should not be used to comfort you.  You will have to figure out how to comfort yourself without using food.  Many of us see a therapist to sort it all out.  They do surgery on our stomachs, not our brains.  We have to work through the reasons we became obese in the first place.  Food doesn't have to be the center of every celebration.  Celebrating should be about spending time with those you love and not the food you eat.

Your health is more important than those McDonald's fries or that piece of pie that you feel you have to eat "just one more time".  

This is just one of the things I focused on was not drinking with meals. Habits like this are good to get rid of before surgery.

I will say if you don't have a therapist I would seek some guidance in finding a good one. I am not saying everyone needs therapy but to get to the reasons why we eat does help you figure things out. 

Best wishes

What Rocky said.  

The simplest diet in terms of not having to think about what you are doing is an all liquid diet.  In the long run, though, starting to focus on protein and eliminating carbs now will serve you MUCH better than a liquid diet.

Focus on dense protein, vegetables, limited dairy, very few fruits, and no refined sugar or "white" carbs (rice, pasta, bread, crackers, cake, etc.), and NO fried foods.

Lora

Other posters had great advice.  Also, might as well taper off any soda, coffee, sugar, and caffeine ahead of time.  You won't be having those things for a while, and it's better to taper slowly and minimize withdrawal rather than deal with it when you're healing from surgery.  The other thing is that you may want to try some protein shakes now so you can find the ones you like, and maybe replace 1 meal a day with a high protein, low carb shake.  That will help take off a few pounds plus get you ready for the post-op diet.  Good luck!

I had 2 pre-op diets. The first to lose weight was to eat 100g of protein a day(including one protein shake) and do not go over 100g carbs. Fats OK in moderation. Then 3 weeks before surgery I had 3-4 shakes per day and one meal of protein and veggies or salad and 2 fruits a day. 4th shake was only if you really needed it. I was on these both a total of about 2 months and lost 25 pounds. Take a deep breath and stay focused.

In addition to all the great advice above ^^^^^, ask your surgeon if they have a nutritionist on staff or can refer you to one.  Their guidance and support, plus the accountability of showing up to appointments with this person, will help you stick to the program.  

I am having surgery on Monday and practiced all the items above, and met with a nutrition monthly.  I didn't lose a lot of weight but I learned a ton.  I'm ready to rock this! And you will too!  

Christine

I gained a few pounds during the first couple weeks of the program too...I sat down. Wrote a list of Pro's and Con's for the surgery and realized if I wanted to live life fully and longer than the cons of losing foods I enjoy was not important.  I started swimming every day. First for 30 minutes and by the time my surgery date came I was swimming an hour a day almost (maybe not every single day but never missed two days in a row).  About 5 weeks out from surgery, after buying and trying a bunch of protein shake samples I started doing two protein drinks a day and one well balanced meal.  I also stopped smoking 3 months ago so I could have the surgery, and stopped drinking coffee.  In those last 5 weeks the one thing I did continue to allow myself to have was coke zero.  I have been fine with out it since the surgery.  You just have to make the concrete decision.  If you life and living longer and healthier more important than your enjoyment of foods you should not have?  Decide once and for all that you are worth it!  You deserve to be healthy! You DESERVE TO BE HEALTHY!

Good Luck!!

Bethany

One goal of the pre-op diet is to shrink the liver, making the entire procedure easier. 

So yes, if you can get a good head start by eating a low carb diet (protein first, lots of veggies, some fruit, and at least 64 oz of water a day) it will help a lot. Your carbs will be complex carbs from fruit and vegetables, not simple carbs from highly processed sources. 

Expect your doc to have a more detailed pre op regimen once your date is set. However, if your date is not set, I'd hold off on going to full liquids right now. You'd be in for a l-o-n-g stretch of liquids and it may place an undue burden on you in the long run. That said - if your surgery date is later in April, many people here have done a 2 week liquid diet pre op. And yes - the beauty of the liquid diet is you just don't have to think about it much!

Your wish to say goodbye to favorite foods is very normal. But bear in mind that some of those favorites will indeed be back - it's not as if you'll never eat again! But it's also true that you won't even want or miss some of those old favorites - and as crazy and impossible as that sounds today, I am telling you from my heart it's true.