Question about my Pre-Op Diet

Hello! I'm new here. :) Despite being very over-weight for my height, I am relatively healthy. I've no physical ailments that are going to impede my process. I even quit smoking almost a year ago to start this wonderful journey. However...

Ive had my pitfalls and I've made mistakes. I was assigned the four week optifast diet that I have been following closely, although in the first week I binged on pizza and ate a handful of Cheezies, it was definitely an emotional eating problem. I saw where I needed to keep close attention to and restrain myself and I've been doing good since. I'm having surgery on June 7th and I'm worried that my short comings early on in the optifast diet will make it so my liver isn't shrunk enough. I've lost 15 lbs according to my scale and I am hoping some of it is fat and some of it is from my liver. I'm still hungry on optifast, but losing around a pound a day with all the walking I've been doing along with the diet, not ravenously hungry...I've learned to figure out emotional eating vs actual hunger now. I've been drinking 2 litres of water a day (a full Brita pitcher) along with my four shakes, a cup of broth, and a sugar free jello popsicle I made myself. My question is...will my liver be shrunk enough to have the lap gastric bypass surgery by June 7th? I've a little less than 11 days on optifast left and I cheated about a week ago.

Only a clairvoyant could answer that question for you. You lost 15#, that what I lost on my two week liquid-- my surgery went fine. But then it also depends on a lot of factors. You said you are healthy despite your weight. I assume fatty liver disease has never been suggested to you then...

I recall in my pre-surgery class the surgeon showing us a healthy liver and one with fatty liver disease. The healthy one was nice and pink and 'pliable'. The the fatty one was yellowish large and dense. It was easy to visualize why working around one would be easier than working around another. I say that to say even the surgeon may not know the condition of your liver until he is inside of your abdomen.

Keep working the pre-op, no more cheating and have faith. You know emotional eating is a problem- I'd focus more on the emotions and what's triggering them than the actual eating. Eating is the result- you need to work on the root cause of the problem.

Excellent advice ^^

Please get some help with your emotional relationship with food. NOW is a great time to set this up, because after surgery, you will need a support system in place to help you cope.

You aren't alone in this -- but getting something in place sooner than later, will help insure that you get the most from your lifesaving surgery.

There's also the weight of the liver as it's on the retractor.

Theres nothing to to do but to move forward and stay away from the carbs from here on out. You lost some nice weight there so you can't be doing that bad. Keep it up.

I totally agree, with Peach and Kat...Go forward, and stick to THE PLAN, from here on out...Increase those SF popsicles, if you feel the need to CHEW more (I sure would!)...

I'm not going to pat you on the head, and tell you it's okay, to "cheat", like you did, because it's not. You did YOURSELF, a disservice...But it's DONE, and OVER...Now, focus on how not to do it AGAIN...Nobody said this stuff was EASY...and if they DID...

THEY LIED

But...there are a whole bunch of peeps, right here, leading successful, post op lives, who will help you through this....

HANG IN THERE !!!!

Thank you guys so much for your words of encouragement and advice! I had all my blood work done and I believe that included some chemical testing with my liver, no fatty liver disease was mentioned. All my vitamins were fine (aside from being vitamin D deficient, which is common where I live). No heart disease, no cancers, no diabetes. I am catching this weight issue at a good time, I feel. I just hope some of those 15 lbs came off my liver. :) I'll keep at it like I've been doing, forgive myself for cheating, but I won't forget what I learned from it. I feel...lighter. I can't explain it, but even just losing 15 lbs, I feel as if I'm not as...jiggly? I am 250 lbs and 4'11', so I got a quite a bit to lose before I am at a healthy weight for me. My goal weight is between 125-145.

Thank you so much again!

Hello. I'm having my surgery the same day and started my 2 weeks pre-op diet on May 24th. I'm down 6 pounds. It was hard the first day. I was throwing up like mad. I think if you just get back on track you should be ok. If I can do it so can you. I say that because I don't like to do anything hard and I quit when I feel like I'm challenged but I haven't given up. So I know you will do well. Just my encouragement and all the best on your surgery.