Has Anyone Ever...

My date for the RNY is December 11th and the nerves are kicking in to overdrive!  I feel as though I'm already mourning my food, if that makes any sense.  I was supposed to lose a total of 38 lbs prior to surgery.  I lost 18 fairly quickly and then hit a plateau.  Then the holidays came and I ate.  And ate.  And am still eating.  What's wrong with me?!?!  I KNOW I have this weight to lose and only two more wks to drop it!  I kept saying, the day after Thanksgiving, I'll get back on it.  That day came and went and so did the other two days.  I did go work out last night and have done great this morning so far.  I just pray I can stay on it and get this weight dropped.  I go to see the Dr one more time on Dec 3rd - last appointment with him before the actual surgery.  I'm so scared he's going to tell me he won't do the surgery until I drop the other 20 lbs.   Has anyone ever experienced this before?  Am I the only one struggling to lose presurgery weight?  And WHY am I struggling?  I have told myself that I'd do anything to have the surgery and here it is... time to have it and I haven't even stayed on track with eating right!  I'm really struggling and I don't know why this has been so hard for me.  Am I eating out of nervousness or what?  Anybody have anything to share about this pathetic dilemna?  Thanks for your input...

I, thankfully, only had to loose 5 lbs before my surgery and it was a request not a half to kind of thing. I had to do a liquid diet for 2 days prior to surgery and it was a struggle for me to do that. I don't know about you, but I am an emotional eater and stress and nervousness always caused me to want to eat, even when I KNEW I shouldn't be. Thankfully that has changed a lot since my surgery 10 weeks ago. I don't know that your doctor will refuse to perform the surgery if you don't lose the whole amount. You've lost 18 and I think that is great, but every doctor is different. I would call and ask if you are that concerned about it. I would like to think they would understand we as obese patients are having this surgery for a reason. I know they say if you loose wieght it is easier on you and the doc during the procedure, but there are many folks on here who have had it done and didn't loose a pound before hand. I wish I had more info to give, but hopefully others with more experience with this will. I wish you the best of luck and whenever in doubt of anything, call your doc. Julie

I struggled before too, but my program requiered a liquid diet 10 days before surgery and I lost wt. then. Is that something you could try? We could drink 5-6 slimfast or ensure, and then drink clear liquids, water, broth and crystal light. It might help you before you see your Dr.

Good Luck 

I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't do that before the surgery anyway.  I have heard that they put you on liquid diets to help shrink your liver and reduce the chances of puncturing it.  Not sure if that's true or not.  It's a good suggestion, thank you.  I'm doing better since this morning.  I guess I was panic stricken (and I'm scared) and yes, I'm a bad emotional eater!  I'll get busy when I leave work today and maybe I won't have time to think about eating tonight!  Thanks for the tips!

Wishing you the best to get through this waiting time. You can do it!  Just keep your eye on the prize!!

HELLO?! I think it must be completely normal to mourn food and I don't know about you, but my diet history indicates that if someone tells me I can't have something, I want it even more. Is that called opposition disorder? Maybe, but I digress...

Most of our surgeons here in MN require a pre-op LD of some type and yes, to shrink the liver. But, I know others who have also used it as a means to lose 10% of their excess weight (If this is your surgeons requirement, please double check the actual pounds he wants you to lose because "excess weight" explained to me by a bariatric surgeon was much less than I thought!).

Good luck and just keep your eyes on the prize!

Thanks so much, everyone, for the support and advice!  It's amazing how knowing that someone cares can help.  I did really well yesterday, woke up hungry this morning and have drank water and am on track.  I will do this... I want it so bad I can't stand it. I hope everyone else is doing good... take care... see you on the loser's bench! *hugs*

I was fortunate enough to not be required to lose anything before surgery, but I drank a lot of black coffee between when I got my approval and the day of surgery, and it seemed to kill the hunger a bit.  I ended up losing about 18 pounds between those two times. Now, I drink black coffee a lot to keep me from snacking between meals. Best of luck to you! Love the avatar, btw.

Well it's December the 1st so you don't have much longer to go hon! I was placed on a liquid fast for 2 weeks prior to surgery and I actually began a partial fast a couple of weeks prior to that on my own, so I lost 22 lbs before surgery. The only thing my Dr. told me was that if I gained anymore he wouldn't opporate so I didn't mess around!  Good luck! Wishing you a speedy and safe recovery.

Thanks for replying, everyone!  I have good news all the way around - I've lost another 10 pounds.  I'm down 26 lbs pre-surgery weight and although he initially wanted me to lose another 12 pounds, after examining me today, he said everything was okay and I was ready for surgery.  So it's on for next Tuesday, Dec. 11th!  I'm so excited I can barely stand it.  The butterflies are fluttering but I really believe everything is going to go great.   Hope all of you are doing well on your end of things... I'll keep ya posted on how everything goes! God Bless!