I'm a Newbie and I'm panicking - HELP!!

Hello everyone,
I am a newbie to the site but have become totally engrossed with it over this past week. (I'm at work now and should be working, but had to stop by!!)  Anyway here is my issue.  I got my date last week (16 Aug)  I am super excited!!!  The problem that i am having is that eventhough i am mentally and physically preparing for the surgery, at the same time I feel like I am eating more!!  At times i catch myself thinking, you better have this now, because you may never be able to have it again.  I am freaking out!!!!!  Is this normal?  Did anyone else go through this and how did you deal with it.  I am counting the hours before my surgery but i just hope that i don't fall off the wagon before i even get a chance to get on!  Please help me!!  I'm scared!!!

DLS

I did have a similar experience, but I accounted for all of the foods I ate. My surgeon was very clear to say that my surgery would be canceled if I gained any weight at all. One of the very wise people on this site told me that it is a pretty common reaction and that it is called a food funeral. So, don't freak out. 

Congrats on your surgery date. See you on the losers bench soon!

Even though I logically knew that I would be able to have most of my favorite foods in the future, I still went through a period of binging, right after I got my date.  It lasted almost 2 weeks, or enough time to have regained 4lbs.  But, that feeling is gone now and I'm kicking myself for having that weight gain to lose, as well as another 4+ pounds.  I can't tell you how to avoid or stop the behavior, other than to tell yourself that food will not always be so limiting, so it really isn't your last chance. Would it help if you were accountable to someone to make sure you don't allow yourself to gain weight, ie, weekly weight check-ins with your doc or PCP?

I'm a Newbie also. I have been visting the site for about 3 months and did the same about eating. Now that i have my RE-BIRTH date, i decided to buckel down. My appt. is tomorrow with my NUT. (clear liquids) Just slowly start cutting out sugar and bad carbs. You Can Do It !!!!! Blessings

OMG!  I've never heard it called a food funeral, but yeah that is pretty much what it is.  I told people I was "eating like a condemned man"  LOL  You know when they put a prisoner to death they give him a last meal of whatever he wants?  that was pretty much me a month before surgery.

My doctor did tell me not to gain any weight and to go on a low carb diet, I was VERY lucky in that I did not have to do that 2 week pre op liquid diet.  So I ignored his instructions and ate every meal like it was my last.

I had the surgery and things went fine, BUT if I could go back I would do it over.  I would have rather done the liquid diet I guess because the "cold turkey" quit on food just really got to me that first week after surgery.  

What I did not realize and I hope that this post will help you to understand is that NOTHING is your LAST!  Post op you will have all the things you love again, they just might make you sick, and in that case you really don't want them anyway.  

What you are doing is normal I think, since it happened to me it must be normal!  LOL  But stop, get on a good diet, it will help post op, trust me on that one! 

My pre-op diet got me to the point where I had certain food cravings but I could only get a certain volume down. If you must have something you shouldn't, try cutting it in half. And then cut it in half again and get rid of the other 3/4. Don't freak out about throwing out food. Maybe this will work for you and maybe it won't- just thought i'd trow it out there.

i was bad & went completely nuts eating everything i knew i wouldnt be eating afterwards. i only had a month to do it, although i wasnt eating that much differently than i was before, lol. by the time my liquids week came up i was so sick of all the junk i was totally ready for it. its not the best way to go about it, but it worked for me!

I had the same exact thing happen....I ate anything and everything.  Gained 13 lbs before my two week pre-op diet.  The pre-op diet was just a low carb 40 grams or less a day.  I didn't even follow that for the first week.  I pretty much started it the second week and didn't lose or gain a pound.  My doctor said my liver looked great and had shrank.......You'll get through it....

I think what you're feeling is normal.  Before I started my liquid diet, I I went to my favorite restaurant and ate my favorite meal, with dessert, as the last solid food I would have in a couple of weeks.  It was like saying goodbye.

But here's the thing you need to remember.  There is very little that you won't be able to eat again.  You won't be able to eat half a large pizza or a dozen cookies or whatever, but you will most like be able to have one slice of pizza or one cookie.  Just not for a little while.

I think it's OK to go ahead and eat some of your favorites before surgery, but try not to overdo it.  Remember, each pound you gain pre-op is one more pound you'll have to lose.  Also, eating a lot of fatty food or carbs will make your liver fatty, which makes your surgery more difficult.

I called it my "last supper".  For about a week before my pre-op, I ate everything in sight.  But once I started my pre-op diet, I stuck to it.