pre surgery questions

i will be having surgery in 3 weeks and i am craving alot of different foods that i know i will not be able to eat, like candy, cokes, chips junk food mainly.  Did any of you do this and how did you deal with it.

Also,  any hints on how to not drink when you eat.  I am a big drinker with meals and have been trying to not drink with meals, practicing for band life.

thanks

Good luck with your surgery!  Yes, I totally relate to what you are writing BUT I kept remembering what my surgeon had told us during the seminar.  She said that it was much harder to operate when the liver was fatty.  The liver is not supposed to cover the entire stomach but in some cases it does and it makes it hard to laporascopically lift the liver without damaging it.  This can result in a cracked or bleeding liver.  So that's the vision I kept having.  I just did not want any problems.  If I followed the diet exactly as prescribed, no matter how hungry I got (and boy did I get hungry and headachy!!) I was helping the surgeon make my surgery go as smoothly and uneventfully as possible.  It was not easy but I did it and lost 10 pounds before the surgery.  That made me feel really succesful before I even got the band.  Hope this helps and all the best.

Good advice  Staring to cut back now before surgery is only going to help. If the craving gets too strong grab a atkins bar.  It is high in protein, low carb and will help satisfy your appetite.

I also used the Atkins Shakes.  I put an extra scoop of 100% Any Whey Instantized Whey Protein (it has virtually no taste, only 1 carb and 17 grams of protein per scoop) in a glass and mixed it with a cold Atkins shake.  32 grams of protein and quite filling.  Also try to drink lots and lots of water.  You need to do that anyway after you get the band (but remember, no water with your meals!!) so you won't get dehydrated or constipated.  I know it is hard, the cravings get really bad and my headaches were awful.  I tried not to be around people when they were eating or when wonderful smells eminated from the kitchen.  Just keep visualizing an uncomplicated surgery and a great recovery.  Focusing on what will be may help take your mind of the food just a little.  I found that I actually slept more before the surgery.  It gave me relief from my headaches, cravings and overall tiredness.

I know its tempting to eat those things, but my advice is start now.  What I did in February before my suregery, I didn't order a drink with any meal not even water, cut out all the stuff I couldn't or shouldn't eat after, eat more protein, and cut out soda.

It really helped me to ensure my commitment.  Cause once you get it, you gotta be careful what you do. 

Good luck with your surgery!

I had that craving for just regular food once I started my preop liquid diet.  I just did the best that I could and I lost 9 lbs before surgery.  Good luck to you on that aspect. 
Drinking and eating took me some time to get used to though.  Definitely start now on it because for me it was not easy to overcome at first.  But now that I'm almost 2 months out, it doesn't bother me not to eat and drink at the same time.  It's just what I'm used to now.  Making it a habit to begin with will be so much easier!  Trust me!
PS  Stay away from really spicy things if you feel you must take a drink...I learned this the hard way LOL 
If you don't mind doing it you can always swish some water around in your mouth and spit it out!!!  Good luck with the surgery!

Congrats on your upcoming surgery!  And I was the same way - but like everyone else has said - once i started focusing and keeping in mind the reason for starting pre-op on the changes - it was much easier.  I used the Atkins shakes too - the dark chocolate ones are good (to me, at least) and they took away some of the sweet cravings.  And I used plain rice cakes, sprayed them with fake butter, and sprinkled them with Mrs Dash - that helped me with the chips cravings and was no sodium. 

My biggest advice:  start getting off the caffeine now!  It will help keep you hydrated before, during, and after your surgery  Plus, if you start gradually removing the caffeine then you should avoid the headaches as much.  If you wait til right before your surgery then you'll have headeaches and be more dehydrated afterwards. 

What I've found since surgery is that since I don't really eat anything too dry, not drinking isn't that big of a deal.  You'll be doing liquids, then full liquids, then pureed, etc.  So nothing is very dry and I can deal without drinking during the meal.  And it's only 1/2 cup or less of food.  I never could have gone without liquid during a meal pre-op but the eating is so different now that it's no big deal. Hopefully it stays that way!

Hi there!

I have to give you my 2 cents on the drinking with meals thing.  It was REALLY hard for me to abide by this rule.  I  had RNY surgery in 2002 and gained back a lot of weight by drinking with meals and stretching out my pouch and stoma. :(  Now I just had a lap-band placed over my bypass as a revision surgery.  This time around, it is even MORE important with the band to not drink so that you don't flush the food down to quickly and eliminate the fullness feeling we all want to feel for as long as possible after meals.

I have quickly learned that when I chew my food well enough (as I am supposed to), the food turns to a liquid constintency in your mouth and you are basically swallowing liquid at that point!  It's great because by chewing tons and tons, I am essentially preventing my mouth from feeling thirsty and/or dry and craving a drink.  Now don't get me wrong, there are times when I want to grab the closest drink and guzzle it, but I will NEVER fail my WLS again so I opt to use mind-over-matter to work my way through it.  Also, never get a drink at a restaurant thinking you will just "have a sip before you leave,"...it has never worked for me.  lol

Don't worry.  You'll do fine!! :)

thanks for being so honest.  It will help alot for me reading about your experience.

No problem...anything I can do to help!  Please keep me posted on your progress. :)