cheating on my one week liquid diet ? HELP! PLEASE ):

Weight : 224
Height: 5'3.5
Age: 23
Gender: Female

Hey! So, I've been approved and my surgery is on September 13 . Today is September 10th. My doctor put me on a one week liquid diet and he wasn't very specific on what I should be eating and I was so concerned about being approved that I FORGOT to ask him about what i should eat on the liquid diet.

All i remember him saying is " Some patients feel they're so hungry and they can't do it so , I tell them they can have chicken" .
I've been lost and never really had a guide on how to do this.
My nutritionist didn't tell me about the liquid diet because she specifically told me the surgeons at that hospital don't do the liquid diet. To my surprise, he wants me to do the liquid diet for a week.
SO.. I've been lost. Mostly, I've been on this site trying to search what I can and cannot eat. So far all i got was, broth, SF jello , SF pudding, Decaffeinated coffee and tea and protein shakes.
.....Well, I cheated.
The first day I read online that soft noodles are okay with the liquid diet .
I called my doctors office and the surgeon wasn't in and so the nurse said NO noodles if I were to have soup. ( I didn't tell her I did that already because i was scared) . When I make my protein shakes, I add a small teaspoon of Peanut butter and a banana in the blender. On Thursday, I was feeling so lightheaded and dizzy, I had to eat a half of a small bag of chips because my blood pressure dropped from just the liquids and I could barely walk from how light headed I was. I ate plain chicken Friday, Saturday and Sunday with my Chicken broth. Friday i caved and had coffee with caffeine as well as tea.. With some fat free half&half. Today, I ate 2 small shrimps in addition to the chicken ):
The only plus side is, I lost 6 pounds since i started.

- My Surgery is Wednesday and the only time I can call my doctor is tomorrow but, I feel like its too late. I cheated. I'm so scared now because of my liver. My surgeon is new and has only done 150 VSG surgeries. - I try to be positive by reminding myself that the Hospital did receive many Bariatric of excellence awards consecutively for about 3 years..

I NEED GUIDANCE . SOMEBODY HELP ):

The only guidance I can really give is that you need to be honest with your surgeon and deal with that means. Many surgeons will require you to reschedule surgery and start the liquid diet over again, but no one but the surgeon can tell you for sure.

Honestly, it doesn't sound like you're terribly ready to undertake the surgery anyway. The liquid diet continues after your surgery and then it becomes truly dangerous to "cheat".

I agree with what Erin wrote completely. This is major surgery you've signed on for , and it's very important to adhere to the diet restrictions that the surgeon has put into place.

If I were you I would definitely come clean with your doctor so he knows what he's dealing with before he opens you up.

Secondly, It doesn't sound like your completely ready to accept the restrictive post-op diet. Give it some thought, and if you need more time. Take it

All the best..

The main purpose of the liquid diet is to shrink your liver. If your surgeon gets inside you and your liver is still too fatty and hasn't shrunk enough to retract and visualize your stomach, he or she will not be able to do the surgery. You will be closed up and sent home with no sleeve.

In addition, as other posters have said, the liquid diet does prepare you learn how to change your eating habits and be able to continue with the liquid portion of your post op phase.

Please let your surgeon know about the way you have been eating. He may reschedule the surgery, but it's better to do it now than wait til you are in the O.R. and not be able to continue.

Just a thought, most insurances require a psychological consultation before approving surgery. Did you have one? Are you able to talk to that person about the difficulties you are having staying on the liquid diet?

I hope all goes well for you!

I can agree with everything that everyone above has said. I will be a month post op this Friday. Every surgeon is different, mine only had me on liquids 24 hours prior to surgery.

I will tell you that post op is incredibly tough, I can't tell you how many times I've been upset or regretful of having this procedure because of what I can and can't do/eat. It is an emotional roller coaster, for me anyways. I used food to cope, I didn't realize how much I relied on food for happiness. After my surgery, that all had to change. I'm still on "soft foods", I can't eat raw veggies or fruit, & don't get me started on baked goods because pumpkin rolls are out and I miss them.

BUT, I know that down the road I will love myself and love my decision to do this.

As far as liquid diet goes; broth, jello, pudding, popsicles, protein drinks, milk, I was allowed yogurt.

Be open and honest with your surgeon, you really don't want to have to be opened up and closed, and have to go through all of the pre-op twice.

(I also saw that your surgeon is new.. have you possibly looked into other surgeons who have done more than 150 VSG's?)

You need to tell your doctor that you cheated ASAP. There are stories of surgeons who have made their incisions but closed the patient right back up again without performing the surgery because they had been noncompliant and the liver had not shrunk appropriately.

Instructions or no, you KNOW that "half a small bag of chips" would not be acceptable on a liquid diet. You made that conscious choice. Doing that in the first weeks after surgery, while your body is still healing, the chips could quite literally KILL you.

If you cannot commit to your pre-op diet, you are ABSOLUTELY not ready to have surgery.

Hey AnonymousGirl,

So, when I had my surgery, I had to be on a mainly liquid diet for one month. It was 3 protein shakes a day plus a very restrictive list of vegetables in a restricted quantity. It is true that it was hard for the first week, after that I adjusted pretty well and it was just a mind game of me being completely focused on the fact that my goal was to make it to my surgery with the best chances of success. I never cheated. Not once.

I am not saying this to be boastful or to rub it in your face, I am saying it because I felt so proud of myself. I set myself up for a much smoother post op period and I gave myself a self esteem boost because I knew that I could do it when I put my mind to it.

Like everyone else who has commented, you need to come clean with your surgeon, there is no point in letting yourself be cut open just to be closed up again. It is a really big deal and it doesn't really sound like you are ready for it. You need to be asking all these questions before you even start the diet, you need to know exactly what you can and cannot eat. You need to be prepared for the transitional diet after surgery. It sounds like your surgeon/team did not do the best job preparing you either.

I wish you much success

Update , I called my surgeon. I told him I cheated on the liquid diet and he was fine with it . He just told me to make sure two days prior that I should not have solids . He said it's perfectly fine that I slipped up and he's happy I let him know. He said eating chicken was completely okay and what he recommended I do. As for the chips, he understood because of my blood pressure problems I've had in the past . I told him every mistake . He reassured me that everything is okay and that he's happy I lost 7 pounds . All I need to do is do the liquid diet until Wednesday. I'm completely fine with it and I don't even crave bad foods and foods don't really tempt me anymore . I was around a party full of cookies , cake , brownies , pizza , burgers , hotdogs , and chicken. I wasn't even tempted with that . I think I'm doing good. Thanks for your opinions .