Pre Op Rituals i should start now????

[thatcostumeguy]

Hi everyone. im 4 months Pre op and have seen many threads where people state that they are starting protein shakes and things post op. Is this something i should be doing? would love to hear all the things Pre Op that should help me out. Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks a ton.

Michael

[Msvetrn]

Personally, I say NO. You have plenty of time for Protein shakes and all the other stuff that goes with WLS when your time comes. You will be sick to death of it all if you start now! One thing you can start practicing now is not eating and drinking at the same time. That will be the biggest help, I think.

[CoComom]

My Dr. said not to because I would be so sick of them. He told me the same thing about eating and drinking and also should be trying to exercise to strengthen stomach muscles. (supposed to help with healing).

[Soon2bfab]

I agree with Christy. If you start the liquid protein shakes too soon you will be burnt out. You should start cutting out all the sweets and fatty foods that you will not be able to eat after the surgery. About 3 weeks prior to your surgery I would start meal supplements, protein shakes and then a sensible dinner. I was put on an all liquid diet 2 days prior to my surgery and it was the hardest thing ever, but it gets you ready for the weeks to come. Good Luck to you.

[Gothikim]

I'll agree with everyone else. Do NOT start pre-op eating until you HAVE to. You will find yourself tired to DEATH of the shakes before you even have surgery, and therefore tempted to cheat post-op, when it can be dangerous to not follow doctor's orders. Make a list of the restaurants and/or things that you want to eat before surgery, and go eat the things that you'll miss.

I didn't make a list and eat the things that I'll probably not eat again until after I hit goal. I regret that now. It's not killing me, but I do regret it.

[luke]

If you want to practice something, practice POST-OP eating. Try eating very small portions, chewing thoroughly, eating slowly, putting down your fork between bites and using smaller plates. Don't drink with meals.

[ida]

I haven't had my surgery yet, but one of the things I've started doing is not drinking with meals. I have also stopped all sweets. I haven't started having protein shakes yet.

[RockvilleGirl]

I know I know - everyone is saying don't do protein shakes, BUT for me I would say the best thing I did was start trying the protein shakes. The reason is that I had trouble finding one that I could really tolerate (picky? who me?). The Vitamin Shoppe near my house has a cooler and sells individuals of some of the pre-mixed shakes and they also sell some individual packets of mixes. The nutritionist also gave me some sample packets of mixes too. Honestly if I had not done some pre-pre-op testing I would have really struggled with the pre-op diet. I would say I tried 3 or 4 different brands in each Feb. March and April - that doesn't mean that I was regularly drinking them, but I at least knew which ones I liked the best so once pre-op time came around I didn't waste time with ones that I thought were gross. My recommendations - Unjury chocolate splendor is my favorite mix - some of the syntrax flavors are really good too, but some are really not good as well, Atkins Mocha are pretty good for pre-mixed as are the premier protein chocolate ones from Costco.

[Harley Granny]

Because you are 4 months out...I have to agree with the majority and say don't start the shakes now. I would however get into good eating.
Practice the protein 1st.
Start making sure you're getting your water in.
Start walking and moving. This will make recovery easier for you. They will get you up and moving not long after surgery.

Start collecting high protein recipes.

[Suega]

So glad you posted this question. It helped me a lot too!

[Msvetrn]

Unfortunately, for a lot of PeOp folks, what they like now (as far as protein shakes) is not what they will like Post Op. Tastes change. That's w hy I always tell people to wait until after their surgery to order the sample kits at UNJURY or SYNTAX. Personally, I could not stand any of the Premade shakes in the cans. Granted, I didn't try all of them! It takes a lot of patience and experimentation and even a few wasted $$$. Everyone above have great ideas though as far as making some changes in your actually eating habits. We are all so smart, aren't we? :-)

[NTV TXN]

Absolutely, start now!! I started after I attended the seminar in April 2010, surgery was two months later. It took me that long to try and find a protein powder I could choke down. I returned three different ones to GNC. Keep your receipt and they'll take it back. I learned the unflavored really isn't. I started eating off of a smaller (salad) plate. Three years later and I am still eating off a small plate with a seafood fork!!! I tried not drinking when eating, not as easy, but amazingly enough, post-op, it was NEVER a problem, it still isn't. I cut out chips, bread and all snacks from my diet.....I ended up losing 23 pounds during that two months!!! I knew I'd have to make lifestyle changes that I could do forever.....I've done that. I haven't regretted having this surgery, not for one minute. I was excited from the time I woke up in recovery and KNEW I was on the road to a new life!! Good luck and get started, it is a wild, wild ride and so much fun you won't believe it!!

[donrodolfo]

Hi everyone. im 4 months Pre op and have seen many threads where people state that they are starting protein shakes and things post op. Is this something i should be doing? would love to hear all the things Pre Op that should help me out. Any comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks a ton.

Michael

I disagree with most everyone here on the protein shakes. Some people's tastes change after the surgery but I'm one of the ones who didn't and I'm glad I knew what I liked when i got home from the hospital so it was one less thing to worry about during recovery. I highly recommend the bj bariatrics sample pack. Avoid buying a case of anything at this point, get singles whenever possible.

Confirm what multivitamins your doctor will want you to take and start taking them now. I was already taking a multivitamin for years before surgery so I was already in the habit.

i don't know what your fitness level is but get out there and do something. If you can only walk 5 minutes, walk 5 minutes but do it every day.

[thatcostumeguy]

THanks for all the feedback everyone i highly appreciate it. i dont think the shakes will be a problem for me. my true weight loss journey started in May. Doc put me on Phentermene and i eat so much less. i eat 2 meals a day. 4 ounces of food only. consisting of chicken and fish and raw veggies. ive lost about 50lbs up until now. i still have about another 130 to go. 1 meal a day i have an herbal life meal replacment shake. so i think i will be ok on that. QUESTION.... why not eating and drinking at the same time? i havent heard of that yet. because in my normal everyday life i drink about 2 gallons of water a day. i also drink quite a bit with my food to make me fuller faster. Also any recipes or guidlines you can share that have worked for you would be greatly appreciated.

[luke]

QUESTION.... why not eating and drinking at the same time? i havent heard of that yet. because in my normal everyday life i drink about 2 gallons of water a day. i also drink quite a bit with my food to make me fuller faster.

There are several reasons why you won't want to drink and eat at the same time, some are more important than others to some doctors:

1) Your healing stomach post-op is small enough. When eating you're body is going to be desperate for nutrition, you don't want to short-change it by filling what little space you have in there with water. You need to fill it with food.

2) Water is dense and heavy and for a lot of people it "presses down" on the food in their stomach, creating significant discomfort. (I was like this personally, drinking while eating for the first 6-7 weeks was quite painful when I forgot and took a swig of water with a meal.)

3) Water can flush the food in your stomach down, both creating some gastric distress and also making your feeling of fullness end abruptly, leading to further eating.

Those are just some...I'm sure others will have more.