Two months out.

[Maymay3]

Should I start eating right now or wait until my pre op diet? I guess the question is should I loge it up for a month and a half or start trying slowly to eat better??!

[cpttrsn]

You are making a lifestyle change, why wait? Start training your brain now.

[Stacey03]

I think when people have been eating whatever they like there must be a rude awakening! All that addiction to chemicals in fast food and general food etc must be hard to go through withdrawal.
I think it would serve you well to just eat, meat, veg, fruit, wholegrains and nothing in a packet or with a barcode on. Shop the outside edges of the store. Eat as much as you like of those foods, it's not a diet. You might be surprised. Start practising some cooking. I mean gawd, you might eat good things and know how to cook anyway so I'm not presuming but if you don't its a good time to start. So exciting for your surgery and a good idea to get in the groove :-)

[Marsh17]

Great advice "nothing with a barcode"!

[Christie13]

Definitely learn the right way to eat now. Make eating healthy a habit. It can only help put you on the path to be successful!

[Stacey03]

Great advice "nothing with a barcode"!

It's a great mantra :-)

[Dutchie]

Learn to read labels and how to interpret them.
Don't leave home without your reading glasses...

Start no drinking with meals.
For me that was hard.

[ItsMyTurn]

DutchSleeve is right! Start with the no drinking 30 mins before/during/and after meals. That's been a tough habit for me to break too. Also start chewing every bite 20-30 times and cutting your food into pea size or eraser tip size bites. I have small bowls, forks and spoons from when my kids were babies. I use those to eat with now. Can't hurt to start training yourself ahead of time. Oh...and beware of "Last Supper Syndrome"! Do not consume large indulgent meals prior to surgery. You don't want to increase the size of your liver making it harder for the surgeon to perform surgery. Good luck!

[DHB]

I cut out all carbonated beverages and started to taper my coffee & sugar down. Really tried to move to mostly protein & vegetables and to drink more water. Plus practiced the no drinking while eating & better chewing. But it is hard to imagine how different life is after surgery. I had such a huge appetite before and now I have to work to get in enough calories each day. So I'd say try to improve your eating but know it will be a whole different ball game soon.

[mandyjdc]

Like the others here stated, I started "practicing" for my new lifestyle. That said, I did have a few meals and treats in the months leading up to surgery that I wanted to have before I wouldn't be able to eat them for a long time or ever again. I scheduled those few meals and a couple treats and only had them on the day that I scheduled myself to have the special meal/treat. That way I wouldn't be eating poorly everyday.

[AnnieG]

I cut out all carbonated beverages and started to taper my coffee & sugar down. Really tried to move to mostly protein & vegetables and to drink more water. Plus practiced the no drinking while eating & better chewing. But it is hard to imagine how different life is after surgery. I had such a huge appetite before and now I have to work to get in enough calories each day. So I'd say try to improve your eating but know it will be a whole different ball game soon.

I did the same thing as Dale, and I have not had sugar since 9/21/17 -- I don't miss it and I don't care about desserts, so yay! Carbonation same thing; I like CrystalLigh (or generic) but have to change flavors, or get tired of it. I started tracking and measuring what I ate so I could get the image of how much/volume is appropriate.

It helped sooo much!

[Ann2]

Like the others who've posted above, I started making changes 2.5 months pre-op. Lost 10 pounds before I started my surgeon's pre-op diet and started practicing all the new behaviors (eating slower, eating less, tracking/planning my food, eating better food, not drinking with meals, moving a bit more, etc.).

Your success at both losing weight and maintaining your weight loss will be determined by your commitment to change your lifestyle and your new lifestyle behaviors. Why wait to become the person you already want to be? Turn your back on the lifestyle that has chained you to obesity.

Just my opinion, of course.

[MikeMo]

I haven't been perfect in the buildup, but have taken a couple of baby steps. One of the biggest has been switching to decaffeinated Diet Coke, and reducing consumption with the idea I'm phased off by the week before the operation. That has been a biggie -- Coke Zero has been beverage of choice for years, and drastically reducing caffeine has lead to headaches and some other side effects. Sleeping better, though, so it balances off somewhat. But know you won't be able to drink carbonated beverages after the surgery without risking expanding your pouch, so that has been my major effort.

Otherwise, I have been switching one meal a week to shakes, so the week before surgery I'm totally on liquids and comfortable with that. I've done that before on other diets so that does not intimidate me so much. In theory at least, I know the less I weight before the operation equals the less I'll weigh after 18 months, so there is a long term advantage to dieting (again in theory at least). I am aware though of the urge to get those "last meals" in, and am resisting those thoughts -- moderation is the new mantra.

Best wishes with your upcoming procedure.

[sraebaer]

I didn't change my diet until I started the pre-op diet. I was self-pay so got my surgery date quickly. All I did to prepare was walk, I think being in better shape helped with the surgery recovery. It did - I had a very easy go of the whole journey. I also used the time to research, be it here, on you tube, or with my hospital classes. I also shopped for food for my pre-op diet.

You don't need to practice eating less, wth the sleeve you can hardly eat anything. In the beginning you don't even care about food.

Just my opinion!

[Marsh17]

I think the most difficult thing for me will be the not drinking while eating. I was surprised to learn that this is where I have been consuming most of my liquid during the day. It's going to be a hard habit to break. I already begun trying and so far I still have to take just a few sips. Now I just have to make sure I am drinking enough water through out the day.