Tons of questions...
SheriGone,
Here are my experiences
Caffeine - according to my Doctor and Nutritionists it’s a MAJOR NO-NO !! Basically because Caffeine is a diuretic - it take liquids outta you. If you drink 1 cup of caffeinated products, you’d need to drink 2 cups of water to make-up for the liquid you lost. Since you’re suppose to get 64 oz (8 cups) of water in a day - some folks have trouble drinking this much water a day. I was a 1-2 pot of coffee drinker, and the thought of me going cold turkey was insane. So this is what I did. 1 week was all caffeine. The next week was 3/4 caffeine & 1/4 decaffeinated. The next week was 1/2 caffeine & 1/2 decaffeinated. The next week was 1/4 caffeine & 3/4 decaffeinated. And the final week was all decaffeinated.
Now remember, there is NO SODA what-so-ever. This includes: regular; diet or caffeine-free. Soda can EXPAND your “band pouch”. So you may want to start weaning off now, and drink flavored waters (with no sugars and/or minimal calories).
I rarely get hungry. In fact, I need to force myself to eat. On those rare occasions I get HUNGRY, it is quickly diminished when I drink something (especially a protein shake). The only time I notice I get Hungry is when I don’t eat/drink over a long period of time and/or have no protein in my system. I make sure I have something almost every 3 hours. Breakfast at 6:00 a.m.; Protein Drink at 9:00 a.m., Lunch at noon, Protein Drink at 3:00 p.m., Dinner at 6:00 p.m. - and then I’m done. Of course I am drinking water (Crystal Light, Diet Caffeine Free Iced Tea) during the days - every 10 minutes or so.
When I was clear liquid diet it was only for 48 hours - so I was fine. After that, I was on “full liquids) which consisted of protein shakes; low-fat cream soup (made with skim milk); yogurt (non fat/no sugar); apple sauce, puddings, etc. My Doctor recommends to do this for about 2 weeks, but I did it for a month - because I felt so good and full.
As for time off - it depends on what type of work you do. If you do strenuous work you may want to take a week. Truth be told - I could have went back to work in 2 days but I took two weeks because I didn’t have a vacation for over a year - plus I was afraid if something DID happen at work - my coworkers wouldn’t know what to do. But I had NO COMPLICATIONS, and in hindsight I could have worked.
Please remember you (and others) may have different experiences then I did. We all react to things differently.
Feel free to send me a personal message if you have any other questions !! Good luck, and keep your focus on the ultimate goal !!
Tom