Beginning Day 2 of Pre Op Liquid Diet

Well I got thru the first day of my liquid diet and it was not so bad.

The worst thing about yesterday is that I had a bad headache which I still do today.

I am not sure if it is from not eating food or from stopping caffeine.

I decided to mix my coffee this  morning with half decaf and half cafeine as it might not be such a great idea to stop cold turkey. I will wean myself off it over 2 or 3 days.

I was really surprised that the liquid diet was so easy.

I had 3 bariatric advantage meal replacement shakes which are actually very good and in between I  had chicken broth and a sugar free jello.

Since Day one was so easy I woke up today thinking are you really going thru with this surgery, dont you think you can just diet etc blah blah blah blah blah.

I know that I didnt make the decision to do this lightly but my head keeps saying that this is a crazy thing to do and I am weak and didnt try hard enough.

Everyone I have spoken to that has had the surgery has told me it was the best decision they ever made in their lives so I am trying to remember that.

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter.  I have to work tonight from 3 to midnight.  My nieces flight arrives at 12:30 tonight so it will be a long day.

Take care everyone!

Kevin

For me, I think having the restriction, long period to develop new habits, major surgery risk/sacrifice that must be respected (see Thespen post a while back) and fear of dumping with fats has given me the extra tools to possibly succeed long term . . . plus the rapid weight loss is very rewarding.  We'll have to check back in a few years to see if we all kept it off?

I hear you about the caffeine - better now, than in the hospital post-op . . .

Tell your head to shut up.

I had the worse caffiene withdrawl as well.  the headaches were slaming!  I took 1/2 oz of caffiene a day off until there was none.  My friend taught me this and it was a great help.  Trying cold turkey the first day was too painful and I was a whimp!!  Good luck!!  This is a very exciting time for you!

You probably are experiencing caffeine withdraw (depending on how much you drank.. I did last year when I gave it up.. I found that increasing my morning work out helped quite a bit.. You might want to try talking a longer walk in the morning. Something about endorphins that  your body produces with exorcise that mimic the effects of caffeine in your system.. 

Are you doing any other protein shakes other then the Bariatric Advantage shakes??? There of them I know it hard to think you might need more then that.. But, you might. My surgeon had me drink two of the Advanced Recovery shakes per day I did one in the morning and one at night each one was about 19% protein.. I found that if I added two of the Boost or Ensure somewhere in the middle of my day that seamed to give me enough protein... The say you should have 60 grams protein per day but when only doing liquid I found that I needed a little more then that just to keep in operational mode.  That may help with the head aches.. But, I have to ask also how much water you're drinking.. Drinking enough water can also make a world of difference in how you feel during this time.

The best piece of adv I got about pre op phase is LOTS or protein and LOTS of Exorcise one to two week prior to surgery makes for a much smoother recovery.. I put that to the test when my surgery came up and honestly I think that made all the difference for me. 1 hour after leaving the recovery room I was doing laps around the nurses station.. I was told by the nursing staff and the doctor that I was making a MUCH quicker recovery then others on the floor that night who had been through the same thing.. So I am a TRUE believer in this advice because it took it and it worked.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 You're almost there.
Happy Easter

Kevin, It is surprising how full you can feel from these "meals". The biggest threat is that feeling that you have to be munching on something and eating when you really don't need to. Keep up the good work. You will find out soon enough that the surgery will change your life and your perspective on life.

You wouldn't be at this point if you didn't diet and fail and diet and fail and diet and fail.  I could probably repeat that phrase several more times.  Just drink your meals and count yourself lucky that you have the resources and more importantly the insight to have the surgery. 

And yeah, it's hard as hell to stop caffeine cold turkey.  I remember when I had to get myself off the Mt. Dew a few years back.  I thought I was going to need rehab!

Just hang in there, buddy.

We're all here for you.

Chris

Thanks. I am on day 4 and it is getting much easier.

I have my nieces visiting and have gone out to eat every meal and have been fine.

Thanks for all the support.

Kevin