Question from Newbie Pre-Op...what did you do before surgery that was most valuable to you Post-Op?
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Autum1031
Posts: 83 Member
Hi, this is my first time posting in this forum, though I've been lurking and reading for the past several weeks. I'm in the pre-op process, having gone through some nutritionist & specialist visits. Visit with my surgeon is in Sep, with late Oct as a tentative date. Current stats: I'm 41, 5'10", CW 296. My HW was way back in 2003 at 350 pounds, but I lost 100 pounds on my own over the course of 3 years. Came back after I suffered some physical limitations that still plague me and I also stopped watching what I ate. I bounced between 240 and 280 for several years, until a year or so ago when I got back up to 320. I've been trying the last several months to lose weight on my own again, but it's a slow, slow process, especially hampered by my severe plantar fasciitis which leaves me unable to do most exercise.
I'm honestly really terrified of the surgery. I'm terrified of the complications and terrified I will fail on my weight loss journey. I'm terrified that since I can't exercise much due to my PF that I won't lose much weight. (As I told my doctor, I don't have PF because I'm fat....one of the reasons I got fat is due to the PF. It won't necessarily go away just because I lose weight). I've considered this surgery many times in the past several years, but I've never entered the process until now.
I've been in the pre-surgery program for about 6-8 weeks now, and I've admittedly not made many changes, beyond attending some local support groups. I feel really lost and I don't know where to start. I know I need to make some steps to healthy changes NOW before the surgery but I just feel overwhelmed.
So after this long introduction and ramble, I'd like to know the specific things that people did pre-op that really helped them after surgery. I don't mean the general, "tried to eat less and exercise," I'm thinking of more specifics like:
Needing to drink 64 oz of water per day
No drinking water during meals
Eating XX amount of protein
Chewing food very well, taking time between bites
And so on.
I look at "life after surgery" and it seems awful and daunting considering I can't get my diet under control now, much less post-surgery and everything is restricted. Tips for a scared newbie would be welcome. Thank you.
I'm honestly really terrified of the surgery. I'm terrified of the complications and terrified I will fail on my weight loss journey. I'm terrified that since I can't exercise much due to my PF that I won't lose much weight. (As I told my doctor, I don't have PF because I'm fat....one of the reasons I got fat is due to the PF. It won't necessarily go away just because I lose weight). I've considered this surgery many times in the past several years, but I've never entered the process until now.
I've been in the pre-surgery program for about 6-8 weeks now, and I've admittedly not made many changes, beyond attending some local support groups. I feel really lost and I don't know where to start. I know I need to make some steps to healthy changes NOW before the surgery but I just feel overwhelmed.
So after this long introduction and ramble, I'd like to know the specific things that people did pre-op that really helped them after surgery. I don't mean the general, "tried to eat less and exercise," I'm thinking of more specifics like:
Needing to drink 64 oz of water per day
No drinking water during meals
Eating XX amount of protein
Chewing food very well, taking time between bites
And so on.
I look at "life after surgery" and it seems awful and daunting considering I can't get my diet under control now, much less post-surgery and everything is restricted. Tips for a scared newbie would be welcome. Thank you.
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Autum, I am 10 days post-op. Quite a lot of what you had to say sounded very familiar to me. Instead of PF it is a bad Achilles tendon, three surgeries and permanent nerve damage. My surgery was delayed a year due to my school schedule, so once I got the go-ahead, I was told that I needed to lose the weight that I gained over the past year. A hard order since I have not been successful in losing more than 5 pounds at all over the past 3 years. First thing I did, was cut out all soda and sugary drinks, I saved my coffee until the day before surgery. Then I slowly increased my step count. Since my diet was not that bad, I needed to concentrate on activity. I had already switched to my morning cup of coffee then nothing but water from there out. I managed to lose the weight so that I did not have to go on a secondary diet, but chose to follow it regardless to get myself ready for the liquid only post-surgery diet that I am now on. I will be honest with you, a lot of this is a mental game and if you can get past that, you will be fine. So my advice is to start drinking less sugary and carbonated drinks now, watch your portion sizes. To-go boxes became my friend when we went out, and I got to enjoy those great dishes more than once. Start cooking low-fat, low-carb, high-protein. Then the big one, get out and move more. I have a fitbit that tracks my steps and I tried to move a little more each day. If you have any questions, I will try to help.0
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Hi Autumn1031,
First off, welcome. Like penny above, I'm only a week and a half post op, but I felt the need to reply because I could have written your post. I've had PF for years and was in the midst of a 2 year flare up when I started this journey. I could barely walk more than a few feet. Agonizing. I too gained a ton. Living in the constant pain is awful. Physically and mentally. I knew I needed help. So I started this program and focused on what I could control; what I ate. Exercise did not happen. My exercise physiologist told me not to strain my feet or push it. I watched my daily step count and tried to do a little more each day.
I lost 55 lbs prior to surgery. I amazed that I went through with it. I had the same doubts. In some cases I still do. I was terrified of complications. But so far, I'm good. I've had more pain than most people talk about, but that's temporary.
I had worked up to walking about 7000 steps a day prior to surgery. I've barely done 4k in the days since. But as I get stronger I am trying to do more. And, my PF has calmed a bit. Though I think my vionic sandals helped win that too! Best of luck, and feel free to add or message me! ~Nikki
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Hi Autumn, I was sleeved 4/7 - I didn't have the added burden of PF but here are a few tips that I think can help. I agree a lot of this mind stuff. Start a new change every three to five days so it's not everything at once, because honestly everything at once can definitely be overwhelming when you are not in the motivation mindset. Here's some things I did pre-op that got me started in the right direction: 1) start each day with protein heavy breakfast or a protein shake instead of a full breakfast, a good option for me was Premier protein (160 calories and 30 grams of protein) this got my metabolism working again 2) water or zero calorie drinks only - no carbonation and no caffeine and at least 64 oz a day (use MFP to track) - I was a coffee snob, lots of it with lots of flavored creamers or Starbucks lattes, sometimes two a day, I cut them all out, I am six months caffeine free and never felt better 3) eat at least three meals a day each one being no more 400 calories pre-op, focus on protein first and complex carbs seconds (cut out all simple carbs) - there were days pre-op my calories were 1200 there were days I hit 900 it varied but it was always meat and veggies, don't misinterpret I definitely cheated but most days that was it 4) measure all your foods and log them religiously into MFP it makes you accountable, you will be surprised how you change your mind on those cookies if you have to log them
4) do what you physically can, if walking hurts, try to find chair exercises or get to the water, in a pool that takes the pressure off your feet as little as 30 minutes treading water will give you a great burn. Good luck - we have all had our doubts, but as you have read there are lots of successes on here! You will be the next in line! Joy 0 -
I received the gift of my VGS on March 9th. I've been thinking about your post and concerns and wondering what kind of support is available from your surgery center. Before mine I worked for 6 months with my centers nutrition staff, including classes, on changing eating habits of eating proteins with carbs at every meal. We had to chart our intake following the guidelines provided. We couldn't proceed without the blessings of the nutritionist. Don't try to follow the post=op eating routine in terms of quantities right now, get in the habit of eating your protein and carbs. I eat 6 times a day, about every 3 hours, and I shoot for 200 calories at a time. To tell you the truth at this point I have to make myself eat on this schedule. My wife loving reminds when its time to feed the baby. This is a great group for support.0
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Thank you everyone-- your suggestions and well wishes are much appreciated! I'm grateful to see that this can be done without strenuous exercise. I walk about 4K steps a day, and that's about all I can do. There are days that I walk in the 6-7K zone because of an unusually busy day, but those days are brutal. I'm limping heavily by the time I get home, and the next day my feet are so stiff I can barely get out of bed.
In terms of support, I have the monthly support group, which is OK. There are so many of us that after the initial 20-30 min presentation on a particular topic we spend all of our time going around the room and doing quick introductions. There is not usually time for more. I see a nutritionist every month, I will see the nutritionist 4 times before my surgery. She is great, non judgmental, giving me lots of great ideas (I absolutely LOATHE cooking, which is the main reason why I am so heavy). I just haven't been able to make the mental shift. Unlike many of you here, it is not required that I lose a specific amount of weight before surgery. I cannot *gain* weight, as my insurance will disallow, but apart from that, there is no mandate. My surgeon has the final say, and I've heard she's fairly strict, so I assume if I don't lose any weight before late September she won't be pleased.
My goal for this upcoming week is to drink 64 oz of water and reduce my carbonated soda down to 1 per day (I typically drink 2-3). I don't drink coffee, but I love my Diet Pepsi. So not looking forward to giving that up!0 -
.....walk about 4K steps a day, and that's about all I can do. There are days that I walk in the 6-7K zone because of an unusually busy day, but those days are brutal. I'm limping heavily by the time I get home, and ......
you'll find that the walking gets easier once a couple of the lbs disappear. before my sleeve I don't think that I was even walking the 4k steps that you are and anything even close resulted in severe knee and foot pain. since my surgery on April 1st I've lost about 60 lbs and easily walk up to 4 miles at a time with a pace of around 15:30-15:40 per mile pace on hilly routes (did a 2 mile course at 14:30 per mile on flat ground). best of all, knee pain is non-existant and the foot pain (arthritis) is greatly reduced and really on bothers me if I get in the 6-7 mile range on some days. oh yeah, all the previous meds for high blood pressure and arthritis, I don't take them any more.
so just hang in there, follow your dr's plan and you'll do just fine
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I did not do much as far as making changes pre op. I lost just enough weight to convince the insurance company to approve me, and then promptly gained most of it back in needless "food funerals" (eating all of the things that would be "off limits" post op) once I was approved. After the surgery, I did everything I was told to do, exactly how I was told to do it- esp. the first three months. As time passed, I occasionally had a bite of cake or a little ice cream here and there, but overall my results were so awesome and I felt so good eating well and exercising that I did not struggle that much. When I hit the one year mark, I had some ups and downs-- battling binges, then battling restriction, but overall it is getting increasingly easier for me to eat healthy and take care of my body because it is becoming something I WANT to do, as opposed to something I HAVE to do. I am sorry you are dealing with an injury- that is a bummer. Fortunately, 90% of weight loss is diet-related, so you have a good chance of success injury or no.
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One of the best things that helped me was giving up all carbonated and sugary drinks. I pretty much got into the habit of just drinking water with the occasional hot cup of tea. I tried a sip of my hubby's soda the other day and it didn't even taste anything like I remembered. It tasted weird.0
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Definitely cut out soda and a lot of the drive thru crap I was eating. I had the LoseIt! app on my phone and didn't set the calorie level too low but around 2,000 which was MUCH lower than I was currently consuming. Tried to start drinking the 64 oz of water daily and started wearing a pedometer daily to track my steps. I didn't lose a lot pre surgery only 5 lbs. I didn't try to do too much all at once it was way too daunting every two weeks or so I would try to add a new goal like doing a power bar for breakfast instead of bagel and cream cheese which was what I always used to eat. The bagel and cream cheese at Dunkins was 550 calories!!!! And that was just breakfast! You can totally do this. You do have to be committed though. Too many ppl have this surgery and then slide back into bad habits and gain the weight back. Decide that you will track every thing you put in your mouth and keep at it no matter how many months of surgery have passed.0
