Need to lose 10% excess weight before surgery..HELP!

I lost around 27 months the last month before my RNY.  Do baby steps. Give up sodas one week.  Minimize carbs, avoid white flour foods.  Drink plenty of water. Give up desserts. Stop eating past 7-8 pm at night, assuming you are on a normal sleep schedule.  I've talked to a LOT of wt loss patients the past 6 years. Many of them had mobility issues due to their wt.  Best option is to join a gym or YWCA and use their warm water aerobic program. You only weigh around 12 pounds in water, allowing you to do exercise without the full wt of your body causing pain.  Watch portion control.  Try to cut back to a total of around 5-6 oz, eating 5 times a day or so. Many post ops use this lifestyle to keep up their enegy levels.  Constipation is an issue with many post ops.  You might consider some papaya enzyge (chewable tablets, very cheap) to chew when you feel abdominal discomfort.  This helps in food digestion.  Generic Colace will help soft your stool to minimize constipation too.  DAVE

 i would try to log your food into myfitnesspal.com .. I don't know if your one of these people or not but I think many unsuccessful dieters just "guess" how many calories they are eating and its really much more then they think.

By logging your food into the site it gives you a more accurate picture of what exactly your getting.  This is pretty key to keeping the weight off long term and also during the loosing stage so you can make tweaks to your diet to try and get through stalls or whatever.

Low carb is great, as long as you "really" know how many your eating every day and not just guessing or adding it in your head.  

You can also use a fiber suppliment for your constipation issues like Metamucile (sp?) .. just drink plenty of water as the fiber will need you to be well hydrated.

Best of luck to you!

Thanks Kevin. I agree, myfitnesspal.com is a wonderful tool to help track calories, carbs, even exercise. I absolutely love it! 

I had to lose 10lbs and drank 2 Adkins shakes a day and a small dinner, tried to keep the calories super low as possible.  It took awhile because I had to do it over Christmas and I had a little fit about not being able to eat whatever I wanted.  But I eventually got it off, 12lbs to be exact and had to keep it off for surgery.  They say it helps shrink your liver and makes surgery easier.

Good Luck!

Thank you all for your replies. I will be going back to see my dietician very soon.

Barbara

 I, too, was wondering if you had cut your calories too much, like the previous poster said. Do you drink sodas? I know that many people who cut out sodas (even diet drinks) have a surge of weight loss after completely eliminating them.

Barbara,

I understand your struggle. When they told me you have to lose 18 pounds; my eyes about popped out of my head. I was thinking "Are you kidding me! If I could drop that kind of weight successfully, I wouldn't be checking into WLS."

I did the www.myfitnesspal.com thing because I thought I was doing great and logged a healthy dinner I had at Dennys and holy cow---it was more than I had eaten all week long with Cal/Carbs/protein/Sugar. I had to because I thought I was doing great and this helped me see that some of my choices were BAD.

I then decided to try different protein shakes too see what I would tolerate....GNC Go Lean Lean shakes HELPED me. I forced myself to eat breakfast (usually GoLean Oatmeal because the protein is Great and sugar low) and then shake a few hours later (water/water/water all day long) and then lunch which I did the Healthy Choice Steamers....YUM. Because I got mad that the weight was still hanging on. then another shake in afternoon and another steamer for supper. I lost 23 pounds from 4/8/12 to 6/4/12 and my doctor was thrilled and that brought me to my goal weight for the required "pre-surgery weight loss" .

I think the key for me was to see that my portion size was way too big and since I had the shakes in between, I wasn't starving for my next meal.Also I got a ton of those $1 boxes of sugar free drink mixes and if I was bored with water, I would drink that (some were 5 cals & others 15 cals) I struggled with the constipation if I didn't drink my water with the protein. Since then my doc said Metamusil(spelling?) a scoop in coffee will keep you regular.

I also used the Protein drink for my coffee and since it was vanilla bean...it was yummy and a bit sweet too; so I didn't feel deprived.

I also bought sugarfree jello and ice pops.

I wish you the best. You can add my as your friend & I can share with you anything that I may have gotten with my year & half of research & appts.

Bren

Go to Youtube and search on chair exercises. There are a lot of them.  You don't have to do exercise with your legs.

I agree with  1) tracking and 2) shakes.  My liquid diet was 1200 calories/day. I was on it for 6 weeks and lost 30 pounds. 

Sorry, no advice just my sympathy.  My insurance has the same requirement. It has hindered at least two co-workers who haven't lost that 10%.  I got "lucky"  and developed an adverse reaction to a prescription medication.  I was horribly sick, and by the time we figured out I had lost my 10%. 

Best wishes as I know it can be a real challange.

 My surgeon REQUIRED  me to lose 50 lbs preop .  GRRRRR !!!!  

this is how i did it -  4  isopure shakes per day - with coffee , vodka, lowfat ice cream .. whatever it took to keep my butt STILL  and out of the refrigerator . 

honestly I took a fair amount  of oxycontin and vicodin to put myself down at nite when i was STARVING , which I haven't touched SINCE lol 


I ate air popped popcorn when I got mad uncomfortable in the afternoons .

I ate TONS of  " free " vegetables like pickles , celery , letuce , spinach puree , broccoli w soy sauce , NO OIL!!!!   ... butter buds and zero fat sauces made with  fat free  half and half and butter buds ...

I ate  fat free cheese and fat free cold cuts ( roast beef, turkey , chicken ) which really DOES keep ya full 

I ate a lot of tilapia , scallops and shrimp  prepared with lemon , garlic , white wine and butter buds - with  veggies no carbs .

I also made walking / running  at least 3  miles a PRIORITY EvERY single morning as soon as I got up -  and tried to swim a mile when i had access to water  , and walk /run/ rollerblade a lot longer whenever I could .  

I also did hot yoga which makes the lbs melt off .

its the HARDEST  thing U're ever gonna do   but U CAN do it .  By the way , when all this was going on .. I LIVED  literally LIVED in chat  and on the main board here .  FOR MONTHS!  ( can U believe people put up with me ?  !!   Wonderful OH ers give  the BEST support !! 

((((((())))))))) You CAN do it !!  think -  this is your great chance , your great hope ... and it WILL permanently change Ur life .  JUST jump THRU this last hoop ...... 

REMEMBER  - this is a TEST ... if ya WANT it enuf it will HAPPEN and Ur life WILL  change for  the better .  Be STRONG .