Hello, my surgery is set for October 20th and I am currently on my two-week liquid diet of protein shakes and 6oz protein at night for dinner with three snacks per day for the first week and then three protein drinks and three snacks a day for the second week and nothing but liquid the day before surgery. I am really struggling with this and wanted to know what would happen if I were to cheat during these two weeks? I am so tempted and do not want to mess this up but I am afraid if I do what will happen. My surgery was postponed once and do not want it to happen again.
Pre-Surgery liquid diet
- Thread starter kim K
- Start date
dianeseattle
Member
Hello, Kim, and welcome to the group.
I didn't have a pre-op diet so I can't speak intelligently to that.
I have heard many people talk about their pre-op diets in this group and there is quite a lot of variety. But I don't think we can answer your question about cheating because it goes to the core of your eating disorder.
I'm going to ask you a question: Why are you having the surgery? If you think the pre-op plan is difficult, what do you expect the post-op plan to be like?
I don't think anyone finds it easy, but I do know it is important to change your eating habits. I believe the doctor wants to see that you can stick to a plan and that you can lose weight, which is the proof that you did stick to his plan.
If you can't stick to the plan, it seems like maybe you should ask yourself why you are having the surgery. I don't mean that harshly. I mean that after the surgery, you are not going to be able to cheat at all for a long time. You could really hurt yourself by cheating and you could affect your healing process.
But that isn't even as important as the main point. People have this surgery to change their lives. And nowadays, doctors want to know that you can change your life before they will perform a procedure on you, especially one that is paid for by insurance, that will require you to eat a specific way because postoperatively, you will experience malabsorption.
Because of that huge consideration you need to show that you can eat in a healthy way so you can get all your nutrition and adapt to your pouch and the malabsorption issue.
The surgery will not cure you of obesity . It will not cure your eating disorder. It will not cure anything. The surgery is only a tool, like a shovel, but if you have a shovel, you're still the one that needs to dig the hole.
I understand that you are having a hard time. You are making a sudden change in your diet. And I hate protein shakes, and it's only been in the last eight or nine months that I have been able to doctor them up to the point where I can stand to drink them. I am completely with you on the agony of the pre-op diet because it's similar to the post-op diet, except you actually get to eat solid food right now. For a few weeks after surgery, you'll pretty much be drinking liquids
But I'm 13 years out, and 115 lb lighter. I love the food that I eat. I enjoy every bite. I still eat a lot of the same things I used to eat. But I can only eat about 25% of a cheeseburger for instance. I can't even finish a slice of pizza. But no matter. I have completely changed my relationship with food. It's kind of weird because I had severe Eating Disorders when I was growing up. And now I don't even have any desire to cheat. Food doesn't control me. It's no longer an obsession. I don't know why but I do know how much I love being thin and healthy and athletic and wearing beautiful clothes.
When people decide to quit smoking or quit drinking alcohol, it's an all-or-nothing proposition. But when you decide to have weight loss surgery, you can't stop eating. You still have to take in the thing that you are addicted to. But most people, postoperatively, are surprised to find out how little they have a craving for something or the desire to eat huge quantities of food.
So to be brief, don't cheat. Feel free to tell us your feelings and we will support you in every way we can. You are not the first person to have this problem Oh, and it doesn't magically go away. But, it is the right thing to do when you can't lose weight any other way, and down the road, you will be so happy you did it and you will love the fact that you don't have to eat all these foods that make you obese, in the amounts that are not healthy for you to eat. You're at the very beginning. Don't stop now.
Thank you so much for your support. I am not going to cheat and I do understand the life change I am making. I believe that with support and talking to others who have gone through this will be the best thing for me.
LisaLisa
Member
If it makes you feel better Kim, some of us have had two weeks or more of just protein shakes, protein "soup", one protein bar, and broth. It's awful and I feel your pain! All I want to do is lick the Cheez-itz White Cheddar crackers that I didn't get finished/destroy but I'm afraid a cracker would sneak into my tummy. So the way I look at it is I've had 55 years of ice cream and bread and it didn't serve me well, so I'm going to try something different. And frankly, this too shall pass. My surgery is Wednesday and I think I'm doing okay. Thoughts of cheating fade with every day I get closer to surgery and farther away from crackers.
Hang in there, this is practice for saying "no" to bad habits after surgery.
Hang in there, this is practice for saying "no" to bad habits after surgery.
WazzuCoug
Member
My two week pre-op diet was similar to yours. It wasn't liquid only, but smaller portions, low fat, etc. For me, it was much harder than all of the post-op diet phases.
Stick to it as closely as you can. With a cheat meal throw you off course? No. Will several cheat meals throw you off course? Possibly. As you know the pre-op diet's main purpose is to shrink your liver (because we all have fatty livers) to get it out of the way of your stomach and other organs and make surgery more safe. It is important, and by not following it, there is a risk of the surgeon backing out of the surgery due to safety concerns. This almost happened to me.
Also, while some of us had addiction or emotional eating issues during our weight gain phase, that doesn't mean that is what is driving you to want to "cheat." It's far more likely that you want to cheat because your body is fighting against your fat loss by making you hungrier. I hate it when people think every desire to "cheat" on a diet is some sort of an addiction or mental problem. It is not. Do those things exist, and can they contribute? Absolutely. However, the hormonal signals in your body are more likely to drive you to want to cheat when you are dieting and reducing calories than many other things. It's not natural to lose weight, and your body and brain fight against it, which makes the pre-op diet very difficult to stick to for many people. The surgery gives us a hormonal reboot, which changes these signals for a while after surgery, which is why it is usually easier for people to deal with the post surgery diet than pre-surgery. Usually the struggles during post-op are different than pre-op...sometimes related to hunger, but not always. That is where you often see addictions and bad habits from pre-surgery life come into play and cause "head hunger" or "boredom hunger" because we haven't learned how to deal with those things yet.
So, long story, short: I was pretty lackadaisical during my pre-op, and I almost paid for it with a canceled surgery (according to my surgeon, he thought briefly about backing out, but felt it was safe enough to move forward...thank God). You do not want that to happen. You want this surgery to happen as schedule and move on to the best part of this journey....post-op life, fat loss, and health.
Stick to it, it will set you up for success with surgery and afterward.
Best of luck!! These two weeks and the first couple months after surgery are but a short and tiny part of a life long journey! You can get through it!
Stick to it as closely as you can. With a cheat meal throw you off course? No. Will several cheat meals throw you off course? Possibly. As you know the pre-op diet's main purpose is to shrink your liver (because we all have fatty livers) to get it out of the way of your stomach and other organs and make surgery more safe. It is important, and by not following it, there is a risk of the surgeon backing out of the surgery due to safety concerns. This almost happened to me.
Also, while some of us had addiction or emotional eating issues during our weight gain phase, that doesn't mean that is what is driving you to want to "cheat." It's far more likely that you want to cheat because your body is fighting against your fat loss by making you hungrier. I hate it when people think every desire to "cheat" on a diet is some sort of an addiction or mental problem. It is not. Do those things exist, and can they contribute? Absolutely. However, the hormonal signals in your body are more likely to drive you to want to cheat when you are dieting and reducing calories than many other things. It's not natural to lose weight, and your body and brain fight against it, which makes the pre-op diet very difficult to stick to for many people. The surgery gives us a hormonal reboot, which changes these signals for a while after surgery, which is why it is usually easier for people to deal with the post surgery diet than pre-surgery. Usually the struggles during post-op are different than pre-op...sometimes related to hunger, but not always. That is where you often see addictions and bad habits from pre-surgery life come into play and cause "head hunger" or "boredom hunger" because we haven't learned how to deal with those things yet.
So, long story, short: I was pretty lackadaisical during my pre-op, and I almost paid for it with a canceled surgery (according to my surgeon, he thought briefly about backing out, but felt it was safe enough to move forward...thank God). You do not want that to happen. You want this surgery to happen as schedule and move on to the best part of this journey....post-op life, fat loss, and health.
Stick to it, it will set you up for success with surgery and afterward.
Best of luck!! These two weeks and the first couple months after surgery are but a short and tiny part of a life long journey! You can get through it!
Thank you so much for your support. I really need it right now. I want to wish you luck on your surgery on Wednesday, mine is the 20th and I can not wait. I know that once this is completed (the surgery) was supposed not feel as hungry. I am praying that all goes well with you and everyone here and thank you once again for your support.
TraceyT
Member
Hi Kim - welcome to the group!
I was also on a 2 week pre-surgery diet. I was allowed all kinds of foods - s/f jello - s/f pudding - s/f Popsicle's - protein shakes - snacks - and dill pickles if I got lightheaded. I couldn't eat anything dark colored the 2nd week. I could still have soups - s/f jello and pudding (lemon, orange, lime and so forth).
For me, I don't remember feeling tempted about cheating. Your surgery is a life altering journey and a wonderful TOOL that can completely change your life. You CAN totally do this!
Congratulations on the surgery date!
Hi - I found that my body was yelling “where’s the sugar?” and was going thru withdrawal. I gave in once or twice and had some sugar which calmed it down. Tiny amounts. Had surgery last monday and have had no problems since. I’m glad I basically stuck to the diet and glad that I realized I was going thru withdrawal! One step at a time, that’s the way to do it.
dianeseattle
Member
Congratulations! Good for you!
hillsister
Member
Hi Kim how was surgery?
Hillsister, my surgery went ok. I tore a staple and lost a lot of blood and had three transfusions along with staying in the hospital for almost six days. I am good now. I lost a little over forty pounds so far and am going through a halt right now in my weight loss. I am not sure why, but I am going to ask my nutritionist next week when I have my appointment with her. I am not happy that this is happening. I am eating correctly and working out. grr it's very frustrating!
JudyNY
Member
Oh dear, sorry to hear that you tore a staple and needed three transfusions. As for your stall, you can be doing everything right and still stall. Your body is probably trying to catch up. Sometimes you can overdo the exercise for being on a very low calorie diet and your body is protecting itself. Try to increase your water intake, I heard that can help. I also try to bump up the calories just a bit for a short term. But above all, glad you are seeing your nutritionist and let us know what she says. One of the biggest take aways that I've gotten from another group I am in is "Patience and Persistance", you will get there!