3 weeks

Don't be afraid to post here. :) I see you're going to Dr. Aceves, too! You will like him and his team. Everyone is so caring there. The nice thing about his pre-op diet is that he doesn't limit calories--it's basically an Atkin's-style diet, and it's only 7 days before surgery. So you know what? Go pig out. I know I ate several Red Lobster cheese biscuits before surgery. I also had my favorite donuts. Pizza. Chinese. It's perfectly normal to mourn your favorites, and really, like everyone says, it's not forever. You're just taking a break from them while your stomach heals and you lose weight, and then you can enjoy these foods again but in a much, much smaller quantitiy.

I didn't tell anyone about surgery either, except the people who had to know, like professors and my supervisor since I had to miss my students' final exam. Also, I hope this isn't the same for you, but I bought a case of Isopure, thinking I would be able to choke it down after surgery. Nope. It was awful after surgery. It tasted llike SOAP no matter what flavor I got! I hope that doesn't happen to you! 

Good luck, and please don't be afraid to post here. The people are awesome. :) 

Abby

 Only 6 bottles of Isopure, but hoping it doesn't taste like soap. 

Glad to hear you had a good experience with the Aceves machine. I'm nervous, but it seems like so many people have gone to him and had good experiences. My friends all went to a doc in TJ, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. I haven't been given a preop diet, so it's meal after meal for me. Cuban tomorrow night. 

I did! The hospital is much nicer than the county hospital in my city. The nurses are always right there when you call for them. The docs check on you a couple times a day, and Dr. Aceves will come in and chat with you, too. :) My husband and I were very pleased with the choice of surgeon. And the location is safe--I never once felt unsafe there.

Cuban.. that sounds so good. Jealous! Enjoy it for those of us who can't eat that again yet! :) 

Abby

This so resonates with me.  My pre-op is completed and I am just waiting for a surgery date.  I had to lose 5% of my body weight before seeing the surgeon.  I did really well on this and lost over 10%.   I have maintaned this over recent months until right after Christmas. As usual, maintenance is so much harder for me than losing.  7 months i ate healthy.   This past month I just want to eat........JUNK.  I have kept up the exercise and this helps me feel a little better about things. On friday I had gained 7 pounds.  I had lost 29.  This gets so frustrating.  I tell myself NO biscuit......and then I get one.  This makes me more determined to get this surgery.  I am also using this time to read as much as I can about this surgery and about food addiction.  I know the emotional part is going to be the kicker for me.  It helps to know that I am not alone in this struggle.  If my surgeon gives me a hard time, I am going to be honest but I am also going to say, it has been over 4 months (!!) since you saw me and I was preapproved.  I tried, I really, really did.  One day at a time I guess.