Pre-op diet = meh...

Most think that when the surgery happens, that is when you make the changes in your diet... one couldn't BE more wrong.... First of all, I have been losing weight since November and have lost 30 pounds, trying to instill a healthy style to my eating. But the other thing is that two weeks before the surgery, you start a special "pre-op" diet. This diet aims at shrinking your liver. It is common for obese people to have an elarged liver and - since your liver is right next to/on top of your stomach, an enlarged liver can make an otherwise simple procedure difficult. The diet is following:

Three high protein drinks per day (more if indicated) AND one meal

Meal components for freshly prepared meal:

Food Group Amount Some examples
Lean Meat 4 oz. Chicken, fish, turkey, cheese, tofu
Starch 1/2C. or 1 oz. Potato, rice, pasta, sweet potato
Vegetable 1C. cooked AND unlimited raw Broccoli, green beans, cauliflower
Fruit 1 Medium peice of fruit Apple, 4" Banana, Peach, Pear
Low Fat Milk 4 oz. Low Fat Milk, Low Fat yogurt
Fat 1tsp. regular or 1TBSP light Margarine, butter, oil, mayonnaise

My day starts out with a protein shake. I'll have another one mid morning. If I am working, I eat the meal for lunch so I can get the extra nutrition while I am running around and have the last shake after I get home. If I am not working, I wait til dinner, so I can eat with Seth, in which case I will have another protein shake mid afternoon. I have made enough components so that I am all set for it all the way through. This is what I am eating:


Chicken breast - 1/2 a breast
1/2C. cooked rice
1C. cooked broccoli
LOTS of raw carrots and soy beans
Orange
Fat free yogurt
a tab of margarine for the rice

It is actually a really tasty and REALLY filling meal! Not always able to finish it and always feel satisfied! I am also taking a multivitamin and a calcium suppliment.

You are also encouraged to consume 8 cups - 64 ounces - of non-carbonated liquid per day - including any protein shakes you have. So I have three 8oz shakes = 24oz. 40 more oz per day of the following:

Water, sugar-free popsicles, sugar-free jell-o, fat free/low fat broth/boullion, decaffeinated herbal tea, diet Snapple, Crystal light, Fruit2O, Propel, Milk (Skim or 2%)

The day before surgery, I am to have five shakes, no food at all.... Can't believe it is all happening so fast!