Pre-op help needed

 I have my first one on one with the dietitian on September 13th.  I had the initial group meeting a few weeks ago.  I am having such a hard time trying to figure out sides to go with dinner.  I've been trying to do my protein, my veggies and a starch.  My problem is the starch, do I need it?  I've been making a little bit of brown rice with a spritz of spray butter and a little bit of Mrs Dash seasoning.  I'm afraid to go to potatoes and don't know what else to do.  I need some serious inspiration.  I might also add that I have Fibromyalgia so some days I do not feel like cooking at all.  I was discussing with my husband the idea of hoping to have at least one day every weekend where I can cook all kinds of meals and freeze them so all we have to do is heat & serve.  My husband can't cook to save his life, unless it's hot dogs.  I guess the initial meeting kind of confused me because I thought I was supposed to be eating as I would post op, but that wasn't the way it was made out to sound.  My biggest success lately has been cutting down my soda intake by leaps and bounds.  I used to be able to go through a 2 liter in one day, now it'll last a week or more.  We just had a Poland Spring cooler installed yesterday too so now I have no excuses on the water intake.  I guess I just need some words of inspiration/motivation because I feel like this process is taking so much longer than I thought.  My initial surgical consult was back in June.

I would consider staying away from the starches.

My NUT has had me on protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and one meal which is 4-6oz protein and a leafy vegetable. That's it. So I have been having cabbage, spinich, lettuce, etc.

I would check with the surgeon on your diet plan.

I am also pre-op. For me, a carb-aholic, i started weining myself off of them from day one. making my portion sizes of them smaller. Then I started replacing breakfast (which use to be bacon/egg/cheese on a bagel) with a protien shake. I made sure I had an extra yogurt or cottage cheese or fruit for inbetween breakfast and lunch. I found I wasnt craving carbs as much when I didn't start my day out with them. It really helped. Then knowing I did so well at breakfast made me want to behave at lunch and I eat chicken or tuna on salad. My 3-4 pm crash time where I craved anything bad for me I made sure to have a handful of peanuts, or one of my mid morning snacks, or hard boiled eggs. Dinner I was bad with at first but now I made sure to not even have bad things in the house, so we eat chcken, or turkey (shell-less tacos wrapped in lettuce!) or turkey chili (which is great in the slow cooker all day and can be frozen and reheated!) Now I'll have salad with a protein shake. Good luck on you pre-op journey!!!

I am pre-op too and have incorporated starches into my meals. I need lots of fiber for ahem, dietary/health reasons that I won't belabor here, plus my doc wants me to eat a healthy amount of carbs just due to a family history of high cholesterol and serious cardiovascular problems.
Anyway, different things I do:
baked potato or sweet potato but I only eat half. Put hot sauce on it instead of butter.
brown rice (I'm lazy and like the Uncle Ben's rice that comes in a single microwave serving -- just toss it in the nuker for a minute and it's perfectly done. Again, I only eat half and save the rest for the next day.)
small whole wheat roll or slice of whole wheat bread
half-cup of couscous (whole wheat) or quinoa
I may use a very small amount of light butter (50 cal. per tablespoon) on bread, rice, etc.
So far things are going well and I am losing weight quickly. Good luck to you! 

oh yea, i just posted my NUT's printable recipe book, check it out if you'd like, i hope it helps. I just realized today that i can share it on here with you all!!!

http://tristatebariatrics.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/R ecipe_Book.234131207.pdf

Keep things simple.  If you don't feel like you need a starch, don't have one.  There's nothing wrong with protein with some veggies/fruit.

De-carbing from refined carbs isn't a bad idea.  Right after surgery, all of the focus is on protein.  And about the only thing you'll have room for is protein.  If you can de-carb (or seriously reduce your carbs) before surgery, it's one less stress that you have to deal with post-op.

 I think I'm doing ok for breakfast and lunch, but need some variety.  On work days, I'll have a pack of those Belvita breakfast biscuits that are supposed to fill you with energy and get you through the morning.  Now looking at the nutritional facts maybe they aren't such a good idea.  For lunch I'll have some dry tuna or mix it with a little mustard and sprinkle some chili lime seasoning on it and then put it on one of those 100 calorie whole wheat sandwich thins and I may have a piece of fruit on the side.  I'm having difficulty eating every 3-4hrs because of the way my job schedules my breaks.  I bought stuff to make salads for lunches and then never used it because I was having a Fibromyalgia flare up and didn't have the energy to put one together.  I make tons of boneless, skinless chicken breast and ground turkey.  I would love to buy fish, but most nights I'm just cooking for myself and my husband has whatever I have made for leftovers the next day on his dinner break.  Not to mention it's so expensive.  I guess I just need to do some serious recipe reading and menu planning and stick with it.  Anyone have any good protein shake recipes? 

 You can buy fish from Sams or Costco that is wrapped by indidual filet.  That way if the hubby is eating make enough, or just 1 for you.    Veggies and fruit have carb, so no need for the side of starch.  If you are craving that side then trie quinoa or lentils- better about the protein.  Really watch how many carbs you eat at one time.  I alternate 15 carbs (snack) and 30 (meal).  It will help you to regulate the insulin output and decrease cravings/hunger.  Do only whole grains... google the glycemic index and use that to help make better food choices.  

Hi. I am going to Midstate as well, but I have Dr. Verdura (his name was not a choice on here so I put Dr. B as my doc).  Anyway, yes, the visit with the Nut seemed to be just like any other dietitian visit, not related to bariatric surgery. I thought I would be eating as if post op as well. I was a little dissapointed. I have been to NUTs before and have heard the "divide your plate and eat half veggies, half protein and half carb" thing before. I thought I would see her and she would say "eat protein first, veggies second....." as if I had the surgery already.
If your initial consult was back in June, have you gone back for the second visit yet? I had my initial consult the beginning of August and go back Sept and Oct. I think they are usually a month apart. This group seems to take quite a bit longer to get to surgery than others. My coworker goes to Dr. Aranow in Middletown and while I started this process in May and am just at the half way point, she started in August and looks like her surgery will before mine. She does not have to see a cardiologist, pulmonologist, she already had an upper GI and doesn't have to have an endoscopy or sleep study. It seems like Midstate is very thorough but drags things out.

 I'm actually seeing Dr Verdura as well.  I've already had my initial consult, a sleep study, my psych approval, Tuesday I have an IUD inserted, I had my group meeting with the NUT and my first one on one with the dietitian on the 13th.  Dr V told me it would take 4-6 months to have surgery so I was figuring by the end of the year.  Now I'm doubting it unless things start speeding up.  I want to try to avoid going into the new year and having to meet new deductibles for insurance and all.  I don't even mind if it means going through the holidays on a liquid diet.  I just want to start my new life.