must lose 10-15 lbs before i can meet surgeon

i must lose 10-15 lbs on my own before i can meet with the surgeon for my pre-op consult/scheduling of surgery! 


if it wasn't a problem for me to lose weight then i wouldn't be considering WLS ! so i guess my question now is this... other then strict food choices and portion control with lots and lots of excercise daily what else is there to do ??? i have already done all this in the past and none of it worked before so why do they expect it to work now pre-op ??!!

A couple of reasons.  For one it shows that you are serious about weight loss.  For another, it will help start the process of shrinking your liver, which in most of us is big due to fatty liver, to make surgery easier to be done. 

Everyone's plan is a little different.  We met with the surgeon after we were approved, then had a 4 week Optifast diet before surgery where we had to lose 8% of our excess weight or surgery would be cancelled. This was after the 6 month monitored diet most insurance requires. 

did they give you guidelines?  Our first diet was 1500 cal a day.  the second was 5 optifast shakes, 1 small food meal.  I don't remember what I had to lose, but I made the goal. 

If you go high protein, low carb, get your fluids in, you should be fine.  You will be healthier with a smaller liver for surgery and on your way to a new you.  Most of us have lost 10-15lbs many times.  then we gained it back.  this time, you will end up with a new tool to help get the rest off and keep it off.

ps, thanks for changing the color.

You can do this Tanya!!! Think of all the fluid/water weight you will lose -- I bet you can do it in a couple of weeks! Drink water only... low carb, high protein. I had a 6 month class and had to weigh in each month -- didn't have to lose but I knew this new life is what I wanted so I started making better choices and lost. YOU'VE GOT THIS!!!!!

Swinging critters for ya!
Meg

thanks ladies for all your good advice... i know i can do this i just need some guidance along the way and there is no better place to get it from other then people who have experienced it ... and yes your all right. i CAN do this and i WILL do this :)

All plans are different.  I did not have to lose weight but I did. I was "practicing"  for after surgery.  Getting the surgery was my motivation. I was never a fluid drinker and once I started "drowning" myself in water I was not hungry and the weight started coming off. 

Set small goals for yourself. Aim for 5 lbs when you get there aim for 5 more.  The initial water weight will come off quick.  I know it sounds like a lot, but YOU CAN DO IT!!!

We are here if you need to lean on us.

Sheri

I would start using a food tracker as well..I use fitday but there is a lot out there.there is even one on this website that seems fairly decent..it will keep track of your protein, calories, carbs etc. Low carb and high protein is the way to do it...ask for some guidelines as far as calories etc from your clinic..

You might consider switching surgeons. If you could lose weight without WLS, you wouldn't need it. That practice sounds like they believe obesity is a character flaw and not potentially a metabolic issue.

Makes no sense, sorry.

--gina

That's what I was going to say!

My surgeon encourages weight loss because it makes the surgery easier for both us and him. But he doesn't require it and he certainly doesn't require it before you get your consult with him. How can you  know if he's the surgeon for you if you aren't even allowed to meet with him?!

One of the things he has said in our support group meetings is that they've found that after a certain point, if the weight isn't lost, then requiring it just means putting off the surgery maybe even forever. So it's better to do the surgery anyway so the patient can start getting the health benefits rather than living for months, even years as a morbidly obese patient, with all the wear and tear on your body that causes.