Can I really do this? Reality setting in.

After a very long process getting approved and waiting for a surgery date, my two week pre-op diet starts tomorrow and reality is setting in.  There are so many things I will never eat again.  Is this my last soda?  yummy meal?  dessert?  When will my next glass of wine be?  Ever?  How am I going to make it through this liquid diet?  Can I make it through the next two weeks without a major breakdown?  Send some advice and perspective please before I panic!

  You need to be sure you want to do this surgery. It will be a lifetime change. You will be able to eat all foods in time if you choose to. Might be just a bite or so. You still need to live. However you need to be careful so you don't gain weight back.
  For the 2 week liquid diet try to just do one day at a time and don't worry about 14 days of it. You can do it!! The rewards are so worth it.

  Julie

I definitely want to do the surgery and know this is the right path for me.  Thinking about it one day at a time will be helpful.  Day one is nearly over!

Think of it in a different way.  This is my last diet,my last time being this heavy, last time of being out of breath when I walk up hill.  Not last I can have wine(I am not a drinker but did hear you will get drunk very easy now), You will and can have a soda just after your new tummy heals, the gas will get stuck and cause pain.  You will have yummy meals just bit size meals and then you will have left overs so you can have it again for a second meal.  I was not on a two week liquid  diet for two weeks I was on one meal 2/3 shakes a day.  but the time will fly by and then you will be home and eating before you know it.  Once you see the weight start coming off you will feel so glad you did this.. Right now you have to change the way you think about it all so you change  for the long haul.  Best of luck YOU CAN DO THIS!!!!

Thanks, Shana.  Your post was a good reminder to go back and look at my list of reasons why I want to do this surgery.  That was something my surgeon had me do.  This will be the last of so many things!

You will be able to have all those items you mentioned later on only in smaller quantities.

The liquid diet is pretty hard, keep posting here when you feel you can't make it through the day.  Remember the pre-op diet helps your liver shrink and helps you get your mind mentally prepared for surgery. 

You can do this, think about the year you'll have after WLS.

Thanks, cajungirl.  I needed the reassurance.  It is so great to have the support of OH.  The quote in your signature line was also a good mantra for today. 

No need to panic.  Every one of the things you've mentioned, I've been able to enjoy post surgery.

I don't know where the "urban myth" began that WLS brings about the total end to food enjoyment, but it's simply not true.

While there may be things you can no longer enjoy, WLS is hardly the end of all food enjoyment.

I think you'll find that you'll be pleasantly surprised what you can still enjoy once you're a few months out.

Sorry I can't be any help on the liquid diet because it sucks no matter how much I'd like to say otherwise, but it's just for two weeks.  You can do it!!!

Thanks.  Glad to hear that is all possible on the other side of this.  As I sat at lunch today, I was thinking that what I enjoy more than anything is the company and laughter of my lunch buddies.

The reality is that for *most* people, there aren't any foods that you will never be ABLE to eat again. You may CHOOSE to never eat certain things again, but it WILL still be YOUR choice. At some point after WLS, you will be able to drink sodas, eat yummy foods, have dessert, drink wine, etc. You *may* suffer some consequences, but the choice will be yours.

I don't know which form of WLS you're having. I had the DS 7.5 years ago, and I have NO food intolerances, unless I make an absolute PIG of myself on simple carbs. (They make me FART.) I do drink sodas, and I'm NOT talkin' diet ones---but rarely, not all day, every day like I did pre-op. (I just don't seem to LIKE them like I used to.) I have dessert, when I choose to---and again, I don't "do" fake, diet-type stuff. I don't drink wine, because I don't like it---but I DO drink whiskey. (*grin*)

Pre-op liquid diets are STUPID,and have no proven usefulness. A sensible high-protein, low-carb, moderate-calorie diet of REAL FOOD is far better for you, both physically and psychologically. The POST-OP liquid phase is variable, from surgeon to surgeon and from procedure to procedure---I've seen people go home from the hospital eating real food, and I've seen people on 8 weeks of liquids. It IS much easier after surgery---odds are good you WON'T be suffering from hunger, like you are now.