Looking for a a pre op plan

Hello again,



I'm still in the baby stages and looking for a doc. I probably have to do a 6 month weight loss plan and god knows what else i figured I would start that diet some docs put you on before having surgery. Does anyone know how that works. I wanna try and get my bmi or 10% of my weight down before i began this process. I wanna by protein powder but have no clue what to get. So any suggestions would be a big help. Mines as well start to do something since this wont kick off until next year.



thepose

Welcome to the board!

All plans are different so 1st I would check with the insurance.  Some like Aetna require you to diet for 6 mos but not all.  Also, different surgeons require different things.  If you dont have a really high BMI they may require only 10%.  I had a 71 BMI to start and my surgeon required a lot of weight loss before surgery and so I have lost 50 so far and trying to lose as much as possible in the next 3 weeks before surgery.  My doc did not require me to do a liquid diet.  But because I have to lose so much I have been using them regularly and will be starting soon to do all shakes because I need to lose another 10 or more soon but I am not required to do all shakes.  Been losing since August 2008.  Had some bad things happen that threw some curve balls at me but kept on doing the best I could.  An awesome (ohoh, showing my age, child of the 80s here) online site is www.bariatriceating.com .  Check it out for protein supplements, chewable vitamins and more.   I have been weaning myself slowly from my caffeine addiction, so far down to 1/2 cafeine, 1/2 decaf so I dont go into major caffeine withdrawal after the surgery, so I just am loving these days Inspire Carmel Latte, which is something you can get at bariatric eating.  Some other stores would be www.vitalady.com and www.chicknutrition.com (where you can get sample packs of their 5 flavors for just the $3 shipping price). 

A good start, at least this is what I did, if you want to do protein shakes, have one for breakfast every morning, and then eat more and more healthier during the day.  Start drinking lost of water, at least 64 ounces, but I tell ya I drink more like a gallon a day, but Im a big girl and I can handle it. 

Just some fast ramblings before bed.  hope this helps.  You can ask anything you want here anytime, everyone here are very helpful. 

Each doc varies, but most seem to center around high protein, veggies and low fat. Protein shakes and bars are a great way to get protein. But you can also get it from food - lean protein, ricotta or low fat cottage cheese, yogurt and greek yogurt.

Everyone's tastes vary. And I'm told that they change again after surgery for most people.

What is nice is when you can find mixed packs of flavors. You can buy individuals bars and shakes at the grocery, health food store or even at some health clubs. You can also buy online many places. I believe Vitalady has individual samples.

Lots of people have done reviews - I think there are some here.

I like shakes, pudding and bars.

Happy new style of eating! It's actually fun.

First, check with your insurance company. In Feb, when I started this journey, mine required 6 mo supervised diet and nutrition education and it could NOT be with the surgeon doing my surgery. I was also told that Weigh****chers and Jenny Craig were acceptable but again....check with your insurance company to see exactly what is required and covered. When I was on the phone with BCBSTX they walked me through where to find my policy details on the website so I could print it out to have handy.

Keep your own records! As my husbands says, cover your own a$$! Any test you have, evaluation and labe work, always request that a copy of the result be sent to you. First, it's your right to have copies. Second, it's amazing how many test results get lost in fax machines! Having copies of test results and reports will save lots of time to resend results. I made 3 copies of everything when I got it.

As for shakes and things, you can order samples at several places online. Put Samples in the search engine here on OH and you'll find several threads giving websites for samples.

One last thing is have patience!  Good luck!