Habits to form BEFORE the 2 week pre-op diet?

I'm in the final stages of completing my pre-op requirements and am meeting with my surgeon on 11/14/18 to schedule the surgery. I'm curious what others have done in preparation for surgery BEFORE the 2 week pre-op diet? So far I've cut out caffeine and pop (for the most part). I don't drink or smoke. Any tips? I'd love to hear them all!

A few things off the top of my head, in no particular order:

• Drink ALL THE TIME. Water, tea, broth, Crystal Light, Mio, anything flat and calorie-free. You'll need to make sipping your full time job, especially immediately after surgery!
  
  
• Weigh, measure, and log all your food. It's a very important habit to get into!
  
  
• Try to eat a protein-forward, low-carb diet. After surgery, your best bet is to eat almost exclusively lean, dense protein, so get started on that habit early.
  
  
• If you struggle with the emotional side of dieting, you may want to connect with a counselor or therapist. Surgery fixes our stomachs, not our heads, and many people here on OH have found it very helpful to work with a professional on the emotional side of weight-loss.
  
  
• Get moving! You don't need to join CrossFit or do anything super intense, but even a little bit of walking is good for you. The best exercise is something you enjoy and you're willing to keep up, so find something that makes you happy and get an early start on it.

I had surgery in March, and in January I started replacing all the meals I ate alone with protein shakes. So that meant breakfast and lunch most days. I also made the meals I did eat protein forward and skipped the refined and processed carbs. This worked really well for me and for my mindset.

I also started seeing a therapist which is my number one recommendation for success.

No drinking while eating, or for 30 minutes after. It's a lot harder than it would seem.

Exercise 5-6 days for at least 30 minutes.

Read all food labels. Don't guess about what is in your food or what a serving actually is.

Find protein drinks you like now because after surgery, you will be drinking them A LOT.

Carry water with you everywhere.

I started planning meals, eating smaller portions and eating protein forward with non-starchy vegetables. Basically I followed the suggestions made by the nutritionist I met with monthly. I lost about 1/3 of my weight prior to surgery between those changes and the pre-op diet.