Pre-Op Day 7 (Warning: long!)

The bad news:
 
Time to go choke down a protein shake, but just the thought nauseates me.  I'm a little hungry, but at this point, I'd just as soon skip it, even though I know I can't.  One the one hand, my body is telling me I need some nourishment, but at the same time, it's saying "Nuh-uh, no way, I'm not drinking anymore of THAT stuff!!!     I've tried different ways of making it, but nothing really helps.  Made it with milk:  awful.  Tried plain water:  Awful.  Water & Crystal Light Raspberrie:  Yuk (tasted like I was drinking Pepto Bismol!)  Crystal Light Passion Fruit:  awful.  Crystal Light Orange - for a little while, that was tolerable; I'd put a bottle of water in the freezer until it was a little frozen, and that wasn't too bad.  But after 6 days, last night I just couldn't stomach it anymore, and rather than have another one, I had 8 oz. skim milk and about 2 oz. of smoked turkey breast. 

On top of the shakes, my once daily "light meal" has mostly been frozen entrees that I'm allowed - Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Weigh****chers - but those have become totally unappealing, and I can only get down maybe half of the meal.  I've been taking in only about 500 calories a day, and I just don't think that's enough, although my protein grams are pretty high. 

Really not sure where to go next, and be compliant on this diet.  Luckily, I go for my pre-op appt. tomorrow, and I'll talk with him about this.  For now, I'm having a protein shake with Jay Robb protein powder (), skim milk and Torani peach flavoring.  It tastes great, but I'm still having a bit of a hard time drinking it, for some reason.   

Now, for the good news:

We had a great support group meeting last night!  The group is led by the program NUT, and as often as possible, my surgeon is there too.  Our speaker was from the counseling service who does the bariatric evals, and he talked about building a support team for ourselves.  GREAT info.  I guess the one little "gem" I picked up was how important it is to BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND!  That's sort of the foundation for evaluating all the relationships in your life, and determining who is really there to support you, who is not, and especially, who consciously or unconsciously, will sabotage your journey.  Sometimes we have to make some tough choices along the way, but it's all part of this life-changing event and taking charge of our lives.  

Even though I'm having these problems with eating (or the lack thereof!), I am still really PSYCHED about my surgery, and just can't wait for next Thursday to be here! 

Beth

I hate to be jealous, but I am ! haha you are allowed more then I am :) I am on day 3 of my liquid diet and all I am allowed is my protein shakes, chicken broth, water or crystal light and either 2 cheese sticks or 2 hardboiled eggs (or i can do 1 and 1) oh also, i can have one sugar free jello snack!!
I know its tough, but hang in there!!!! Wishing you lost of luck

To tell you the truth, I'd rather have the cheese or eggs, LOL!!!  My diet consists of 2 or 3 shakes per day, a light meal, such as a Lean Cuisine entree (at least 17 g. protein, under 300 cal. or 40 g. carbs and low fat), and clear non-sweet drinks.  No carbonated drinks or caffeine.  I can also have SF popsicles or jello.  The amount of food isn't what's bothering me; I feel some hunger, but it's not all that bad, surprisingly enough.  The truth is, I'm feeling thinner by the day (have lost only about 5 lbs. so far, though), and I really like that feeling; it's very motivating! 

Best of luck to you on your diet and surgery.  I see yours is scheduled for the 10th, is that right?  I'm be right behind you, then we'll both be on the proverbial "loser's bench"! 

Beth

My plan was shakes and clear liquids only for 14 days...no solids of any kind...I did fine...you will too...Also, after surgery you will be even more restricted than you are now...and even less calories...even though you wont feel hungry at first

You MUST get used to the protein drinks!!!  MUST MUST MUST!!  If you think it's hard to drink them NOW, just wait until post op!  My pouch and my tastebuds HATE protein drinks now.  They make me nauseous and they taste disgusting.  It's gotten a bit better the past couple weeks (I'm about 3.5 months postop).  I was able to stomach the shakes before surgery, in fact I liked them.  Now I'm lucky if I can choke down one per day. Pre op my favorite shake was: 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 cup 8th continent light vanilla soy and a scoop of vanilla protein powder all blended together....had it every morning for 2-3 months preop.  Post op....it makes my pouch gurgly and gassy.  I have it every once in a while and it's OK, but not every day like preop. 

Good luck finding one that you like! Don't worry, post op I promise you the hardest thing is going to be learning how to eat ENOUGH.  It's not until a couple weeks ago that I got my appetite back....and she's back with a vengeance!  i've noticed what's going to be my saving grace now that I'm able to really eat again.....protein shakes.  So, i'm going to have to learn to like them all over again....I'm SORRY...unfortunately they seem to be a necessary evil. ::sigh::

 Like someone else said - you MUST get used to protein shakes.  Try another brand.  I did all EAS prior to surgery.  You guys area all lucky - my preop liquid diet consisted of 5-6 protein shakes a day and clear liquids.  That's IT!  Be glad you can have some food!  

Preop diets in general suck, but I promise your surgery will go that much smoother the closer you follow it!  Not to mention, it's preparing you for post op.  

Good luck!

I know i have to do the protein; I've been drinking protein shakes once or twice a day for several months now, and didn't have any problems at all.  It's just the particular brand of protein that's getting to me!  Before I started the diet, I tried quite a few different brands, some of which I liked, some not so much, but the absolute best was Jay Robb, which is very low calorie and has a good healthy dose of protein (27g, I think?).

But now, my doctor is REQUIRING I use Bariatric Advantage. I'm not sure if it's the taste of it, or the consistency - it tastes kind of like liquid chalk : : : shudder: : : - but whatever it is, it's just not agreeing with me. My body's response to it is very similar to how it was with the stuff I had to drink right before my colonoscopy/EGD: that was hands down the most awful taste I've ever put in my mouth. To this day, every time I have even a vague memory of it, my lips curl up, LOL!

I can't wait until I see him tomorrow, so I can find out if maybe I can go ahead using my Jay Robb.  It seems to me using that would be better than not drinking anything at all!  (Of course, then I'd be fasting, and I don't think that would work very well.)

Thanks everyone for your responses.  Be assured I know how important the protein is now and will be especially after surgery, so I will do whatever it is I have to do.  Lordy, I've gone through too many tests, too much work and anxiety to quit now!  I've gotten this far, I'm going all the way!

Beth 

 It is so interesting to hear about the different preop diets surgeons have us on!!!  Weird they have you on a specific protein powder.  Yuck!!!  Hopefully he allows you to switch after tomorrow!

 I totally agree about the Bariatric Advantage. I gag on them, and I tried all the flavors. They didn't agree with me at all. 

However...Since they are required, can you add more liquid to the shakes, so it's not so blah? Like double the liquid so it's not so thick? Add fruit, like fresh strawberries?

Thanks for the tips; I'll try adding more liquid.  Hadn't thought about that.  Not sure if the strawberries would be okay, but I can ask tomorrow.

Beth