Pre-Op Diet - PLEASE HELP!!!

Hello everyone.  My surgery is scheduled for October 9th.  I'm having RNY.  My doc has me on the 2 week pre-op diet.  All I get is 3-4 protein shakes a day and one yogurt (plus jello and popsicles).  I am DYING.  I can deal with the hunger, but I need some sort of solid food.  Tonight I ate a can of tuna.  I really don't know what to do.  I am down right hostile to just about everyone.  I feel like a weenie that I can't go for TWO WEEKS without eating, and I feel like I failure that I "cheated" and had a can of plain tuna!  I am obsessed with food, and my mouth waters if I even think about something to eat.  Does anyone have an suggestions at all?  Did anyone cheat on their pre-op and live to tell about it?

My surgery is scheduled for December 11th and I am also having the RNY.  I figured I would do a trial run...just in case I fell of the wagon.  I feel your pain, but remember why you are doing the diet.  You must shrink your liver as much as possible to make the surgery safer (at least that is how was explained to me).  When you feel yourself getting week, look in the mirror and think about how long your journey has been to get to this point; what brought you to this point; and what awaits you at the end of your journey.  Stay strong.  You can do it!  Does your doctor have a dietitian in their group?  Maybe you can call and get ideals from them on how to deal with the food cravings without "cheating".

Best of luck to you and I know you will make it over this small hurdle!

tHANKS FOR THE INFO I FEEL i MIGHT MAKE IT NOW I HAD SALAD AND VEGS FOR CHRISTMAS AND WAS SCARED for RNY 12/28/09

Hi,
I have my first Seminar Scheduled for July 29th (this Thursday) with Virginia Weaver.  I was wondering how you were doing since your surgery and if you could tell me what kind of pre-op diet she requires.  Thank you for your time.

I feel your pain. My advice is to drop one or two protein shakes a day and substitute them with large salads, such as Dole's Very Veggie or Fresh Express Veggie Lovers salad mix. I'm talking 1/2 or even the entire bag here. Slice up half a cucumber, drizzle 2 tablespoons of dressing on top (but no more than that--get used to the taste of veggies because they are your friends), and get ready to chew, chew, chew! It's marvelous.

I don't look on this as cheating. The liquid pre-op diet is very low calorie and is designed to shrink your liver, it's true, BUT a salad of this magnitude, even with dressing, still has FEWER fat and calories than a protein shake AND will NOT enlarge your liver. Even putting 3 ounces of pre-cooked chicken breast on top (about 100 calories) will bring you about even with the calories of a protein shake AND will deliver the protein you need while being tasty.

Many surgeons do not require the pre-op diet to be solely liquid--it's just that a liquid diet causes a patient to drop the most weight quickly so that the surgeon has an easier time maneuvering around the liver to get at the stomach beneath.

But I guarantee you that eating salads of this type and quantity will not sabotage your pre-op diet nor harm your liver. So, Godspeed and good luck!!

Have you tried eating cream of chicken soup or tomato soup, these help fill me up when I was starvin, when I was on my liquid diet.If you are really starvin try putting toast or crackers in  it, But not alot, Best wishes & luck on your upcoming surgery, I just had mine onb the 8th of September.

This is NOT a good idea.  The diet her doctor has her on is low carb.  Cream of chicken soup and tomato soup are extremely high carb.

The low carb diet is to burn the glycogen off her liver, eating those soups would totally defeat the purpose.

I'm concerned that people are advising you not to follow your doctor's diet.  Assuming you've chosen a good doctor, he or she has advised you about the diet you need to follow to make your surgery as safe and successful as possible.   Yes, it's hard.  You need to stick to it anyway.  No, eating one can of plain tuna will probably not have any terrible consequences.  But you do need to stick to your doctor's plan.

Kelly

I'm not telling you to cheat, but ... if you are going to cheat anyway at least make sure it is ZERO carbs.  Meat, chicken, turkey, fish, something like that.

I hate these stupid liquid diets, they are stupid and totally unnecessary.  There is a great deal of value in a low carb pre op diet, it does burn the glycogen off your liver.  BUT... there is no study out there that demonstrates a liquid low carb diet is superior to a solid food low carb diet such as Atkins.  The idea is low carb, it matters NOT if it is liquids or solids.  It makes more sense to put people on Atkins before surgery, at least there is more chance of them sticking to it.