Mine was a 6 month process of supervised diet with my primary care. I wasn't in the high risk group that had to do a pre -surgery 3 wk liver reduction liquid diet. Just basically 2days clear liquids before, nothing on surgery day and restart clear liquids the next day. Then protein shakes, yogurt and purée soft a week then soft foods. My food diary is open, feel free to look at what I eat now at 11 wks. I highly recommend you go to post surgery support group meetings to get real info on what it is really like. For this to work you have to accept a whole new lifestyle. You have to plan your meals ahead. You will not be able to simply eat smaller amounts of what you eat now. Anyone can out eat wt loss surgery. For it to work you have to commit to 70% protein, 25% veg(no potato),5% carb at each meal. If letting go of your Kryptonite foods puts you in a panic you will really have to work on this. If you think you can hold on to your favorite binge foods- you would be mistaken. Everyone who lets the chips, pizza, cookies, bread, pasta, potatoes, fried foods back in just gains all the wt right back. It is an uncomfortable process, at 11 wks I still struggle to eat meat that isn't ground. You will only be eatIng between 650-850 calories per day. That said I have lost 54 lbs in 79 days and I would do it over again. I recommend you start logging your foods now to get an accurate picture of what you are currently eating. Good luck

How exciting for you! I too had my surgery because of mobility and back issues and I am so glad I did! I was really concerned about the preop diet I had to do to shrink my liver, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I anticipated. I think it was all the protein and all the water that kept me from feeling hungry. The posts above mine give you some really good tips and information. Biggest thing to remember, this has to be a lifetime change in eating and exercise. Going back to old ways of eating, old favorite foods and not exercise will cause you to regain. And remember, these are decisions. I don't feel deprived at not having certain foods in my life any more, because that is what I decided to do, never eat certain things again. If you can wrap your head around the idea of "these are my decisions" you won't feel deprived either. Again, no magic bullets here, just an awesome tool!

Good luck with everything. Be patient as it takes awhile to get everything done and a surgery date set. It will happen when it's supposed to.

Hi Nina! I didn't have to do a pre-op diet so I can't offer anything about that, but, I did have a very bad back prior to surgery, and I have to say, my back problems are pretty much gone. The main reason I chose to have surgery is because I wanted to improve my quality of life as well, and it has improved greatly! This surgery really is an awesome tool, and like pawoodhull said, these are decisions, and it's a great feeling to get back some control over our decisions. Good luck to you!!