Day 4 of pre-op liquid diet

Hey everyone... just thought I'd check in.

Today is day 4 of my liquid pre-op diet. I am on 4 Optifast shakes a day, with 2 servings of vegetables. So far, so good... it's odd, although I have moments where I feel hungry, I seem to have somehow managed to just switch off the idea of "real" food. A friend of mine asked me today "have you been tempted to cheat?" I was honestly shocked - it was like the *idea* of cheating never even occurred to me! We'll see if I'm singing that same song on Day 14 :)
I find myself being hungry most when I'm cooking dinner for my husband... the smells...mmmm!

I told myself that I wasn't going to weigh myself more than once a week, but I couldn't help but get on the scale this morning. 5lbs down. Do you think I should restrict weighing myself to once a week? I have read where some people weigh themselves daily ... I'm really not sure what the "right" answer is.

The Magic Bullet has turned out to be a Godsend ... I have it at work. I picked up a Betty Crocker hand blender to have at home, and I have to say it totally sucks! I think I'll splurge and get another Magic Bullet. I'm on this thing for another 20 days, so I think it's worth it.

Well... that's my news :) Hope everyone is having a great week!

Hope it goes well.

It probably helps that you can have the vegetables. My doc didn't allow anything but liquids. The one time I cheated it was with a salad!!

Best of luck!

I'm sure the veggies help .... I don't think cooked green beans have ever tasted so good in all my life!
Salad cheat - you wild and crazy girl :)

Liane

   If you can spring for another magic bullet - you will probably use it after surgery, too.  I don't have one at work, but I have a really good immersion blender (blade on the bottom of a wand, and you put it in a big plastic glass) and I still use it to blend up my protein drinks with ice.  Great for "smoothies" too!

You are doing great - the main thing about the liquid diet is that you are making it easier for the surgeon to do his/her job - the reduction in fat around the organs, especially liver, make it easier for the surgeon to get around and do your surgery.  Cheat on that?  NOPE, I didn't either.  I may have strayed a mouthful or two, but that was it.   I wasn't too hungry on the liquid diet either.  Good luck to you!

Thanks! I hadn't thought about using one after surgery as well, good point!
I had to laugh at myself today .. I was hungry, and whipped up the chocolate shake - and I actually let out a "Mmmmmm" after my first big sip. Day 1 was like "ewww I guess I can suck this back", but now I look forward to them!

Everything is relative, isn't it??  Glad you are "enjoying" them!  Better than nothing... LOL.

  I am about 5 days from surgery, and on day 11 for my preop diet.  There were a couple of days that were tough, I admit, but I just kept reminding myself of what Mary just said, it helps my body get in shape for surgery.  Good luck!  You can do it!

I can only ditto what Mary said.. she worded it so well..

I will tell you that after the first 3 or 4 days it gets easier.. you will not want to cheat so much because you have done so good you don't want to mess it up.. and this is a great way to prepare for the after surgery liquid phase where you only get liquids...

This is not the easiest thing in the world but neither is it easy after surgery either.. it is all hard work.. but you can do this.. you have made the decision to change your life no matter what you have to do.. and that determination will see you through..

I feel like Patti said,  that the vegetables have to make it easier.. most doctors (mine too) want only liquids and that is hard to do right from eating everything.. so cherish those vegetables..  and remember you are getting prepared to make a drastic change in your life..

As for the weighing.. I tell myself I am only going to weigh once a week , but I find myself stepping on the scale almost everyday.. I feel now that weighing everyday makes me honest.. if I have not lost I work harder.. if I have lost I get excited and work even harder yet..  I will tell you this though..  there are going to be times when you hit plateaus and during those times you do not need to weigh everyday.. it will literally make you crazy to be working so hard and not see the scale move.. so during those times hide that scale and only pull it out once a week.. we have a thread on here that we all report to on Mondays with our weekly weight.. you can join in with us now .. would love to have you.. Patti usually posts it..  but if she does not get a chance to, others will post...

Now one last thing.. Measure yourself... take all your measurements now.. get them logged in on the health tracker... I remeasure every month on my surgery date, that way I remember to do it and it is exactly one month apart ... one important reason to measure is that most of the time when you are not loosing lbs you will find you are loosing inches.. when you are in a plateau always remember to measure then instead of weighing.. don't know why but the plateaus are a time our bodies adjust to the changes and we loose inches instead of lbs.. ..

hope this was helpful to you... Congratulations on the good job you are doing.. hang in there.. the time will go faster than you think...

huggs...

Teresa, your post was so helpful! I figured I'd get around to taking measurements one of these days, but never thought about it in the context of being able to get through an eventual plateau.

I'm very excited about this drastic life change, and feel ready to take on the world. I often think about all the years I wasted hmming and hawing about making a change... intellectually, I knew that I needed to do something to get healthier, but never really committed to making the change. I'd diet for a bit, then sort of shrug and slide back into old habits. I know that the band is a tool, and that it's all up to me - and I finally feel ready to do it!

Everyone here is so supportive, it's just amazing.

Liane

Glad it helped.. I didn't measure at the beginning.. I didn't measure until I had lost around 55 lbs pre op.. so now for my inches lost all I can go by is those measurements instead of ones at my starting weight.. I really regret that.. I have dropped 22 inches in my waist but I always wonder just how much it would be if I had measured at the beginning..   and yes believe me the measurements make a difference in the stalls....so measure as soon as you can...

I am so glad that you have made this decision to start a new life for your self.. It will be the best thing you will ever do for yourself..

There are a lot of supportive people on this forum.. Welcome to the best forum on OH...

huggs....