Depressed and need my girls...

I could NEVER have done a 2 week liquid diet...no way!

Your surgeon just wants your liver to shrink...it will shrink on the Atkins diet. Do your protein and less than 20 carbs a day and you will be fine. The liquid diet is overkill and ridiculous. They will not do any testing on you before surgery...he just wants to see a small liver.

You are doing great!! It will be over soon :)

I admit, doing a 2 week diet would be terribly difficult. I was lucky that my surgeon orders 3 days of clears. I was shaky by the end of day 1, but kept with it. But it was only 3 days! I was so afraid my liver wouldn't shrink, i didn't dare even "taste" my family's dinner while cooking it. I am so grateful those awful early weeks are past me. And thank God they do fly by quickly.

We are all addicts, that is what got us here on this awesome forum. You will be joining us soon enough, and an "expert" shortly thereafter! Good luck.

THank you so much! Did yours shrink in only 3 days??

Thanks Char...that's what I am doing and I think I will be able to stick with it...

Sucks to hear you're having a hard time with the liquid diet!  I know all drs are different as to what they require and why.  I was one of the luckier ones, I had a 5 day liquid diet.  I was like you, fine during the day, but at night...forget it!  I did ok the first 2 days, then it was down hill for day 3 & 4!!  Best day was day 5 (day before surgery)!!  My liquid diet was to help shrink my liver (so they say, but EVERYONE in his office has to do the diet)!!  I'd call your Nut and get some suggestions of meal ideas!!  She is your best bet!

Good luck to you!  And yes, post op will be much easier to cope when it comes to food restrictions!!

Hey Jackie...did your liver shrink in the few days you stayed on it?? Just curious. Thank you..

I haven't been around much, but I'm glad I tuned in tonight to read your dilemma.  I didn't read your cheaters post but I will go back to it to read it after this.  I realized I don't know your name! It would be nice to have a name to go with your cutie face that we have gotten to know for quite a while, but if you don't feel comfortable yet, that's okay too. ;)

OK... straight scoop on the surgeons *****quire the 14-day fast:  They have their reasons for it and if they have their reasons, you can be sure they will be looking for the results. I'm one of those patients who nearly got her surgery cancelled just minutes before in the pre-op room..... all because I did not lose as much weight as I should have on the liquid diet. My surgeon knew I had cheated because as soon as he saw my weight (YES... I was weighed and the results were recorded on my intake chart which my surgeon thoroughly read prior to seeing me). I was all "wired up" and ready for surgery when my surgeon came into my curtained waiting area.  He was dressed in his scrubs, his surgeons cap and his little booties, and boy was he ever NOT HAPPY.  I greeted him with a cheerful "hello" and he had a scowl on his face in return.  "What I want to know is why you haven't been able to stick to the pre-op diet."  I was so embarrassed.  I thought I had done very well losing 10 pounds in the 14 days and I told him so.  But experience with hundreds of patients told him that my weightloss had been below average and he knew only cheating could have made that happen. 

  I still am not sure if he was angry about my noncompliance because this proved I would not stick to a diet after surgery, or whether he was concerned that my liver would be difficult to maneuver around during surgery.  But regardless, he stood there over me in my pre-op bed with the most disappointed, concerned and angry face.  It was as if he was saying "what am I going to do with you?!"  In my case I did not think my cheating was bad. I added Oikos yogurt and some fruit to each of my protein shakes, but that ended up adding about 400 calories to my daily diet, which was a lot. 

I was so grateful that he okayed the surgery.  I promised him that I would be able to stick to an eating plan after surgery.... which has not turned out to be entirely the case.  I still have an attitude of "I'm gonna do it my way." which is causing my weightloss to be slow.  It's foolish really.  Why did I get this surgery I if I am not willing to follow doctor's orders to the letter? 

With all of this being said, I think the type of diet you are putting yourself on is hard hard hard!  My diet was not even that difficult.  In fact, I did not feel hungry at all and I found the protein to be pretty tolerable.  The protein chicken broth really took the edge off my hunger. 
Here is the link if you're interested in ordering my two week pre-surgery diet or just some of the products...like the protein chicken soup.  www.bariatricdiet.com/pre-surgery.htm
Try to stay out of the kitchen!  It is SUCH a hard time of year to on a strict diet.  Good luck and please send out an SOS if you need to.
hugs
kathy

Oh Kathy, that sounds just horrible and I'm sure you were mortified.  I am so sorry.  Dang, if this doesn't scare someone straight I don't know what will.

Hello Kathy, I'm so happy you decided to pop-in and see my thread. First, I wanted you to know that my name is Jenny. Second, thank you for your honesty and sharing your story with me. Today, was my first day to actually stick to a no carb, high protein diet. I did not do the shakes today. I am just going to eat very low/no carb. I have a head ache from hell that is probably from no caffeine today. I know that will get better in time. I do know that he wants to shrink my liver. He does that to everyone. I was told that he will not weigh us again so he won't know if I gained any weight or not. I should probably lose about 5 pounds but I have actually put on 5 since I first saw him 4 months ago. Which for me, is good. I am going to do nothing but liquids for the 29-30. I won't even eat protein on those days. Just the shakes. I know this is not how he wanted it but it is the best I could do for myself. On the shakes, I just couldn't swing it. Having protein and just cutting out all carbs and sugars is doable for me. From reading others replies, the after part will not be nearly as difficult. I'm sure staying on liquids won't be hard because I won't be hungry and because I just can't! That makes it much easier. I have no doubt that then I have this surgery, I will change my eating habits for life and I will be a much leaner, healthier person. I can't wait. Thanks for your thoughts. They really do help!
Jenny

Jenny-
It sounds like you have a more flexible and realistic surgeon than I have.  I sometimes wonder if the reason my surgeon is so strict is so his paperwork and records for each patient are perfectly in line with what is required for his "Center of Excellence" standing. Prior to this incident he had already canceled my surgery and sent me back to square one because he felt I was not complying enough with all the pre-op practice eating, drinking and chewing stuff!  So when this happened I was pretty ticked off myself with him for being so ridiculously inflexible!  I thought, geez, 10 lbs is pretty darn great! What's your problem?! 

I am glad you have figured out a solution that works for you. I feel for you with the coffee withdrawal. I did not stop drinking coffee until the day of my surgery!  And then I went back to it on about the 4th day post op.  I had heard from so many people that they didn't give it up, so I was pretty sure it wouldn't kill me if I didn't! 

And I hope you know that I shared my cautionary tale with you out of concern and not at all with a wagging finger. I was concerned your surgeon might cancel your surgery and I know how hard you have worked to keep this surgery date!  (Jenny, you are the one who wrote to your insurance company, right?)  Anyway,  I'm glad your surgeon is reasonable. Before you know it you will be on your way and you will be joining us on the loser's bench!  

Kathy