pre-op diet

Hi there,

Im new here, scheduled for my lap band surgery on November 16th.. im doing the pre-op diet right now, its only day 3 and i feel hungry all the time! the pre-op diet is high protein meal replacements - 2 shakes and 1 bar/day and up to 2 cups of vegetables (if you're really hungry) .. each meal replacement is around 250 calories, so its about a 750-800 calorie/day diet for 2 weeks... i dont know how im going to get through it... the first 2 days i did ok on just the 2 shakes and 1 bar but i was feeling so hungry that on the 2nd day in the evening i decided i had to add vegetables to my pre-op diet.... has everyone else had to do the same diet? is there anything you can do to reduce the hunger? or just deal with it?...

Thanks for any help

Welcome!

In my experience, there's not much you can do to quell the hunger when consuming so few calories....just deal with it, as you said. During my liquid diet phases, I was allowed to have sugar-free popsicles, and crunching those helped a lot (maybe more psychological than physical effect, but who cares if it helps?).

According to a bariatric surgeon who spoke at the OH conference in Seattle this past July, the kind of diet you're doing eventually induces ketosis (increased production of ketones due to low carbohydrate intake), and ketosis supposedly quells hunger, but until you get to that point, he said "you'll experience hunger like you've never felt before."

Hang in there! The pre-op diet is for a very good cause, because it reduces the size and improves the texture of your liver, making it easier for your surgeon to maneuver out of the way while placing your band, so your surgery is less risky. And if you lose weight while on the diet, that's a nice head start.

Jean

Thank you Jean, it helps a lot.... I am trying to deal with the hunger, im sure i'll get through it, just getting so many craving that are hard to resist... like quitting smoking.. i quit smoking a year ago, that was hard too, i guess trying to get over food is hard too. My post-op diet says i can have sugar free popsicles and jello too.. .it'll be nice to have something different other than the pre-op shakes and bars.. the first couple days i couldnt stand the taste, but now im getting used to it.
Im nervous about the surgery and recovery. Did you have it already? How did it go?

Look forward to hearing from.

Yes, I had band surgery 4 years ago. It was one of the easiest surgeries I've ever had in terms of pain and recovery time (comparing band surgery to an abdominal hysterectomy, a breast reduction, an inguinal hernia repair, and lots of oral surgery). I was self-employed (doing sedentary work) when I was banded and had planned to take off 2 weeks, but by my 3rd-4th days post-op, I was bored and restless and went back to work.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask me.

Jean

What has your weight loss progress been like? Did you lose a lot fairly quickly? Did you introduce exercise into you daily life too? What kinds of things did you do for it to come off? or did it start coming off because of the band and not being able to over-eat (which is a my big problem i think)

Thank you for your help again.

What has your weight loss progress been like? I lost 100% of my excess weight (90 pounds) in one year.

Did you lose a lot fairly quickly? I lost at a rate of 2-3 lbs/week for a few months, 1-2 lbs/week for a few months, .5 lb/week for a few months. With a lot of ups and downs in between!

Did you introduce exercise into you daily life too? Yes. At first all I could manage was short walks. I gradually increased the time until I was walking 45 min./day. For a while I went to Curves, got bored with that and joined a gym where I did group classes and personal training, and now I go to a fitness studio for group classes (aerobics/cardio, weights/resistance, Pilates, yoga). I can't prove that the exercise affected my weight loss, but I know it's improved the shape of my body - I wore a size 10-12 when I first got to my goal weight, and now I wear 8-10 even though I'm at the same weight.
 
What kinds of things did you do for it to come off? or did it start coming off because of the band and not being able to over-eat (which is a my big problem i think). It was probably a combination of things - me making better food choices and monitoring portion sizes, my band helping to reduce my appetite and provide early satiety. And a lot of work on my part to deal with emotional eating.