PRE-OPS: Five things you can do NOW to make life easier after surgery

This is coming from the idiot in the room who did NOTHING to prepare. If anyone has stuff to add, feel free!

In no particular order:

Quit drinking soda

Even the diet stuff. While opinions vary on soda after WLS, your pouch PROBABLY won't be able to handle all that carbonation at first (and most surgeons that allow soda don't recommend it until you fully heal). Soda withdrawl, especially soda with caffeine, can be a *****! Better to go through it now.

Stop drinking with your meals

Stop drinking 30 minutes before you eat and wait 30 minutes after you eat to drink again (that's the standard time). It's a hard habit for people to break. Getting an early start can help.

Start a vitamin regimen

And tap out a schedule. There are vitamins you can't take together (iron/calcium) there are ones you MUST take together to get the maximum effect (calcium/D3, iron/C) and there are vitamins you shouldn't take in proximity with certain foods (iron/dairy products, iron/coffee). It can be overwhelming to figure this stuff out after surgery.

Start an online food journal

And learn its functionality. If the journal has a mobile app, download it. Not only does that get you in the habit of accountability but you don't have to learn a new system while trying to adjust to all the changes. OR if you want to do a hand-written journal, now is a great time to go get a calorie counting book and start practicing.

Start measuring out your food and eating ONLY what you measure

This will be way more than you can eat post-op but the purpose is not for eating. Even though we don't tend to get hungry (or AS hungry) post-op, our minds can be very hungry still. Eating small amounts, for me, pissed me off. I wasn't mentally satisfied. And I had to work through those feelings alongside worry I was eating too much, worry I wasn't eating enough, worry that I'd fail and worry that I was "unsavable." Do yourself a favor. Do this now and see what feelings come to the surface. Gives you a good chance to start addressing your particular head issues.

Thank You for this because even though I have already done a few of these it is a great reminder.

I'd add - start an exercise program.  Not talking about a "biggest loser" type workout.  A simple, 30 minute routine that you will stick with.  Start slow and gradually increase.  If you torture yourself and hate your workout, you will not stick with it. 

Agree totally.  Nik, you may want to save this and repost it every few weeks.

I also vote for quitting soda, it took me 10 days to get over the diet coke.  I'm really glad I quit 2 weeks ahead of time. 

I would suggest some kind of walking around your house, neighborhood whatever.  It will help you after surgery and your body won't hate you if you've been out walking already.  No need to feel sore from walking while you are in recovery.  You will be walking and walking and walking post op, so if you already know where you're going to walk that might make it easier for you.

Good luck and speedy recoveries to all the Pre-Ops!

Sara in Maui

If I may add:

Clean out the kitchen pantry, cupboards and refridgerator. Getting rid of all the junk now puts you in a position of not having the crap in the house when you finally do have your surgery. If it truly doesn't have any nutritional value, get rid of it.

To add to the exercising...when you're ready to make moves, consider investing in a personal trainer. Next to surgery, this was one of the bets decisions I've made. It's helped me so much to become successful in this journey. Going to the gym adn getting with a trainer got me off the couch and away from the remote.

It's all about lifestyle change.

Thank you for this! The soda for me is the hardest. But as of today I am 5 days soda free and mostly over my headache. Taking the advil now while I still can! lol

Thanks for the heads up.  I'm going to start preparing now.  I've found myself in the "last meal" mode.  I want to eat everything I shouldn't eat after surgery and lots of it!    My surgery isn't even scheduled yet but will probably be early January.

Great post Nik. I would like to add, practice sipping your drinks and making sure that you chew your food and eat them slowwwwww.  I am glad my nut made me get used to make my meals last 30 mins... now its easier to deal with. 
 

I was in the 'last meal' mode for awhile too. Something clicked a few weeks ago and I'm over that mindset now. I was offered all sorts of goodies today and just had my banana for snack.

For me, I think it's when I finally realized that in many ways, I am a food addict, at least with some foods. And I have to make the choice every day to do the right thing or the wrong thing. I see a lot of recovery drug addicts at my job and see how strong they are to make that same choice every day. It helped motivate me once I took myself off a pedestal.