Have you cheated during the 2 weeks of liquid only? pre op

No, too much work to get this far and cheat. The only thing I did that was bad was buy a "sugar free" juice from Peapod the online grocery delivery and on their website it said 0 sugar. I should have looked before I opened it and drank a half glass. I said to myself this tastes great for sugar free and than I checked bottle and it had 45 grams of sugar....It was not sugar free but "No sugar added". Now I am much more careful and read the labels.

I'm only on Day 2 and feel I have cheated by having regular coffee this morning with vanilla premier protein as my creamer. I only had one cup but will it hurt because it is not decaf? I ordered some for my Keurig but they haven't come in yet and I am a big morning coffee drinker!

I had a wedding to go to 1 week prior to surgery. It was a full on Korean wedding with BBQ and just an unbelievable array of yumminess. I was totally not going to cheat...as a matter of fact, I considered not going to the wedding because I thought the temptation would be too great.

2 weeks before surgery (1 week before the wedding) I saw my surgeon again. I told him about the wedding and asked him to honestly tell me if I would be messing something up, risking my life, etc, if I ate at the wedding. At this point I was on a 3 month pre-op diet and had lost about 23 pounds and was really sticking to my protocols. He told me that one meal would absolutely not hurt me or put me at risk. He told me to my face that I shouldn't go crazy, but if I was following my presurgery liquid diet properly, that I should go to the wedding and enjoy a "last meal."

This was just my experience. Not telling you to do or not do anything. Follow your doctor's advice to the letter. Had my doc told me not to eat, I would not have even gone to that wedding. As it turns out, I went, I ate, it was amazing, and then went right back on my liquid diet. A week later I had my surgery, it went off according to the text book, and the weight has been dropping off since.

Best of luck.

Hi!

Honestly, I did cheat. I had sugar free/fat free pudding several times towards the 8th, 9th day because I was feeling extremely weak and shaky. I have a heart condition and my heartbeat was going crazy...which it does anyhow, but it was more so by this time.

I did not cheat due to craving...I had no hunger. I cheated because I felt I needed to fuel my body. No thoughts of 'bad' stuff crossed my mind...I have totally changed my eating plan for the past 9 months, and was down 76 pounds by my surgery date.

I agree with the non-cheaters for all the reasons they posted. The pre-op diet is only 2 weeks and an indication of what you may do post-op. I just felt I NEEDED to get something more substantial into my body, and still believe I know my body better than others.

Time will tell.

I had my surgery Wednesday and my surgeon said everything was perfect and went very smoothly. So I am relieved. But I would have been extremely upset if my cheating had caused any delays or complications.

I am having the same issue...I am 3 days on the pre op diet...fine...even lost almost 4 lbs already. I have no problems staying on this diet EXCEPT, we are going to a Halloween party for a very good friend of mine. I haven't told her, or almost anyone except direct family about this surgery. She has been telling me of all the amazing food she is making and what other people are bringing. I don't want to not go because my husband and I have already gotten our costumes and I think she would be hurt if we didn't show up. However, the temptation will be immense and the idea of walking around with jello cups and protein drinks isn't doing it for me.....help!!!!

I was supposed to be on a one week pre-op diet, I thought it was 2 weeks. On days 7-10, I cheated. I made home made chicken soup, and I ate some small pieces of chicken in my broth. I would never eat carbs before surgery, but some doctors put their patients on a protein diet, so I figured if I was going to cheat it had to be pure protein. I was terrified to cheat the last 4 days before surgery. I wanted my liver to be small.

I cheated before surgery because I suffered from uncontrollable hunger which the VSG cured. In my case, I have major depressive disorder and binge eating disorder, and it was very difficult for me. I wound up eating meals twice. However, when my surgery was done, the surgeon said my liver was "beautiful" and that my organs had very little fat around them despite being overweight; probably (my conjecture here) from being on a low carb diet for so long. However, I did not cheat close to surgery. It was at the start of the liquid diet over two weeks before.

What actually shrinks the liver is that the diet is low carb so it causes the liver and muscles to release their extra glycogen stores and burn it off. It makes a huge difference for the surgeon in manipulating the liver... the liver is very vascular and so it is friable which means it can easily be damaged if it is over-manipulated. During the surgery the surgeon picks the liver up with a tool to access the stomach, so the easier this is, the easier the surgery is.

Psychologically, cheating was worse than physiologically. I work in mental health, in an office, and so there is food everywhere, literally. Even with my food addiction and eating disorder I managed to not eat this stuff. Carry extra RTD protein shakes with you and drink instead of eat. Or carry water constantly and drink that instead. Eat SF popsicles instead of food that is forbidden.

It's really hard to wait, I know. Six days from surgery though you will benefit WAY more if you can resist. Do something else when you want to eat. Carry a puzzle book with you, a reading book, knitting, put a free game on your phone to play. Lots of things to do to redirect eating behavior. The hard part is doing it, but you will definitely have to after surgery, anyway.

I stuck to my liquids-only pre-op instructions, but it was for only one week, not two. It's difficult but doable.

Maybe it will help to remember that the purpose of this pre-op regimen is to shrink your liver, not to lose weight per se. The liver of obese people is usually very fatty and enlarged. Because the liver lies over the stomach, the surgeon must lift it out of the way to get to your stomach. The smaller the liver, the easier your surgery will go. Some surgeons will even cancel the surgery if patients have not adhered to the pre-op liquids, because the liver is still too big for the surgeon to do the procedure safely.

So, remember what's at stake, and turn your nose up at those snacks.

psychoticparrot

I cheated. I did some research on a liver shrinking/fatty liver diet and discovered that the diet actually consists of lean meats and non starchy veggies. So twice (once each week) I sub in one of the shakes with a small amount of lean meat and veggies. (turkey once, and beef once) The key is NO FAT and NO Sugar. This keep me very satisfied, and my doctor said my liver was beautiful. lol like only a doctor can appreciate.