Pre-op and the scale is going the wrong way

Hey yall,

I went to see my GP today and have gained 5 pounds within the last 3 weeks.  I go back to see my surgeon in 2 weeks and although he hasn't advised me to try to lose weight, I'm ashamed to be gaining while on the journey to have wls.  I need to know if anyone experienced weight gain before surgery and at what point did any of yall begin to substitute a meal with protein shakes?  When I go back to the surgeon, this will be my fourth visit and afterwards he'll submit my information to my insurance for approval.

Please give some advice...

Yea the same thing happened to me..

I gained about 10 lbs from my initial consultation (due to what is known as food funerals= irrational "i'll never eat again, whaaaaaaa poor me" i need to eat thinking).

I lost that 10 lbs in the 1 week pre-op during my liquid pre-op diet.

If I was so good at maintaining/losing I wouldnt have needed a VSG....

It happens, you've got a big life-changing event coming up (stress) combined with the knowledge that your ability to eat is going to be greatly diminished.  I think they call it "last supper syndrome" or something like that.

If your surgeon hasn't mentioned needing to lose weight leading up to surgery, I'd put the effort in to do it anyway.  The reason many surgeons require a pre-op diet is to shrink your liver, which sits on top of your stomach.  The smaller it is, the less difficult it is to move it away from the stomach area; it helps reduce complications, risks of damage to your liver, etc.  While some doctors seem to not bother with the pre-op diet, I'd rather err on the side of caution and do it anyway.

What shrinks your liver is cutting out carbs... my surgeon requires no more than 30g of carbs per day on the pre-op diet (no calorie restriction, just the carbs).  So, there's my .02... do with it what you will and good luck!

Yep same thing happened to me too.   I was denied and got really bummed and gained 13lbs from my initial consult.   then when i found out i won my appeal the surgery was scheduled for exactly two weeks away and i was really worried. I was told if I gained I wouldn't get the surgery.  Luckily i lost 18 lbs on the preop diet so was 5 lbs less than the first consult.  thank God.  If you want you could start the protein shakes and really work on your eating habits.  I was put on full liquids so if you could drink it i could have it.  Of course the point of the diet is to eliminate carbs which make the liver slippery and hard to keep out of the way.  Just get serious now and you'll be so glad you did.  Good luck  :o) Jeani 

Really good advise from all of you.  I really appreciate everyone posting and helping all of us out here who have questions.

No guilt necessary- weight gain is why we are here.  Just jump back on the wagaon says PMS girl who had a drive through dinner.  I loved the "food funeral" comment!!  No more greiving for me.  I spent yesterday cooking healthy food for quick dinners after work.  Tomorrow's another day and we'll do better.