It has been awhile since I have shared many details about my Gastric Sleeve Surgery. If you have been following along I am now 1.5 years out from my surgery and down 120 lbs. You can read all about my journey here. I recently had a Mommy Makeover and have been sharing all about that journey here. I have been getting lots of questions for specifics on my Gastric Sleeve experience. When I originally went through the process I wanted to do it privately, but I knew I would share at a later date. I kept detailed notes and journals so when I was ready I could share the entire process with yall. Hopefully this will help you or someone you know if you are considering weight loss surgery. Today I am sharing all about my Gastric Sleeve pre-op diet and food journey leading up to surgery.
I started researching Gastric Sleeve Surgery about 9 months before I actually decided to have the surgery. I wanted to do my research and really look into everything before I decided if this was the right procedure for me. Once I decided it was, I ended up booking my procedure 6 months in advance. It is always hard to find a time in your life where surgery is “convenient”. As a mom with 2 kids, a wife, etc it is always busy. So, I basically had to find a time that was the “best of the worst”. After looking at my calendar it seemed like August (2018) was the best time. I ended up booking my surgery in early March so I had almost 6 months to wait. I had several trips booked during these months which was one of the other reasons I decided to wait until August.
FOOD FUNERAL
During this 6 month period of time my eating was terrible. I call it my “food funeral”. I knew I was going to be having the surgery, making a lifestyle change and I didn’t know what the other side looked like. Would I ever be able to eat carbs again without getting sick? Would I be able to enjoy a margarita? Would I have a aversion to sugar? etc. Of course being on the other side I know that none of that happened, but you hear stories so I just wasn’t sure. I was already an over eater so it wasn’t like I was way worse, but I did indulge myself even more than I typically did. I ended up putting on 20 lbs from March until August. If I wanted to eat something I did. I am not recommending this choice, just keeping it real.
GALLBLADDER
2 weeks before my surgery I started having lots of pain in my back. It got continually worse until I was literally rolling around on the floor in pain one night and told Geoff something was wrong and we had to go to the ER immediately! Seriously was one of the top pain moments of my life! We got there and it turned out I had a Gallstone. I had never had any issues with this before and honestly it was a blessing in disguise.
One of the side effects of Gastric Sleeve Surgery is gallbladder issues. Many weight loss surgery patients end up having their gallbladder removed. You don’t really need your gallbladder so it isn’t a huge deal, but it is another surgery. While at the ER I told them I was having Gastric Sleeve surgery in just 2 weeks so they said they recommended getting my Gallbladder removed at the same time. They do it the same way they do the Sleeve surgery so it would be really easy to do both while I was under. They did a sonogram of my Gallbladder and it looked like the pain was from passing a Gallstone and I didn’t have many so I should be fine until my surgery. That was a huge relief because I never wanted to feel that pain again. It felt like what I would imagine being stabbed feels like. . .NO FUN!!
I came home from the ER and 2 days later we left for our annual Mexico trip with some of our best friends the Tuckers. It was over my birthday, a week before my surgery so I was exited to live it up. I ate and enjoyed fruity drinks like it was my job! So much fun and a great way to celebrate before the road I had ahead. Again, at this time I had no idea what it was going to look like so I was prepared for the worst.
Gastric Sleeve PRE-OP DIET
We spent 5 days in the sun, flew home and the very next morning my pre-op diet started. Welcome home me :)! All doctors are different, but mine required a week long pre-op diet. During this time it is all liquids!! This diet prepares you for your post op diet and helps you lose weight quickly which reduces the amount of fat around your liver and spleen which makes the surgery much safer. This week is very important. If you go into surgery with too much fat around your liver they cannot operate.
My pre-op diet consisted of full and clear liquids. I had to get in 80 grams of protein and 64 ounces of fluid during this week.
Here is a list of the options my doctor gave me to eat during this week, but then below I will share what I did.
CLEAR LIQUID OPTIONS: Water, broth, tea, sugar free popsicles, crystal light, sugar free Kool-Aid, Propel, Gatorade, Powerade Zero, Sobe Life Water Zero, Premiere Protein Clear, Isopure, Atkins Lift
FULL LIQUID OPTIONS: Protein drink, drinkable yogurt, low fat cream soup (no lumps), sugar free cocoa, skim milk
I am a creature of habit. I just work better if I have a plan and don’t deviate from it. Especially with something like this. I had the same thing every single day this week. I had:
- BREAKFAST: Premiere Protein Drink
- LUNCH: Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
- DINNER: Premiere Protein Drink
- SNACK: Premiere Protein Drink
I am not going to lie. . .this week SUCKED!!! I would say it was probably the worst week of the entire thing. You are used to eating a lot at this point and haven’t had the surgery to help with that. You are hungry and hangry! This week takes a lot of self discipline which honestly, most people who are needing the surgery don’t have in this area. I went to bed early this week, took naps and tried to stay super busy. There is no way around it. . .this week is terrible and you just have to get through it (haha. . .how is that for honesty). I am telling you though. . .it is sooooo worth it!
I am a person who likes to mentally prepare for things. I just prepared myself that the first month of this surgery was going to be terrible. I set milestones.
- Get through Pre-Op
- Get through Surgery
- Week 1
- Week 2
- 1 month
- 3 months
I had heard after 3 months life is pretty much back to normal. I did the same thing when I had my Mommy makeover. I just prepared that life was going to be terrible for about a month. If I go in mentally prepared for that then anything better than awful is a success! Many things in life are mental games, but especially Gastric Sleeve Surgery. I hear so many people saying they regret the surgery in the first few weeks. I have never understood that. The first few weeks are terrible! You cannot base how you feel about your decision on the worst weeks! It is just a stage you have to get through. Can you imagine if we based our opinion of parenting or marriage on our worst days?! People would stop getting married and having kids ;)!! Almost everyone I know says that Gastric Sleeve Surgery was the best decision they ever made and their biggest regret was not doing it sooner, however. . .they say this when they are several months out. The beginning is NO FUN! Go in expecting it to be NO FUN! Prepare yourself that it is something you have to get through and it will be better on the other side.
I will go into more details in later posts on the emotional side of the surgery, etc. This post is really about the diet portion. I made it through the pre-op diet and ended up losing 11 lbs that week. I will tell you, it gets easier after day 3 of the pre-op diet. You shrink your stomach and it is not as bad. The first 2 days are the worst!
DON’T CHEAT THIS WEEK!!!!
I hear so many people who cheat! This is your life and safety. Cheating puts you at serious risk!! Yes, it is not fun, but we are in the position to need the surgery because we have indulged for a long time. We can ALL get through a short period of time that sucks to give us freedom and health for the rest of our lives!
The night before surgery you cannot have anything after midnight. I had my last protein drink before bed, went to sleep and in the morning headed to the hospital for life changing surgery! More on that coming soon!
I hope sharing my journey and gastric sleeve pre-op diet has been helpful. If you are considering this surgery I hope to be a good resource to you. I want to be very transparent and honest so you can decide if this is the right fit for you. Obviously everyone’s experience is different, but I want to give you a behind the scenes, real life look at my journey.
Check out my other Weight Loss/Plastic Surgery posts HERE.
**IF YOU’VE HAD OR ARE INTERESTED IN GASTRIC SLEEVE SURGERY OR MOMMY MAKEOVER TYPE OF PLASTIC SURGERY JOIN THE HOH PRIVATE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY WHERE WE CAN ALL SHARE OUR STORIES, GET QUESTIONS ANSWERED AND CHEER EACH ON DURING OUR INDIVIDUAL JOURNEYS. I AM HOPING THIS WILL BE A VERY HELPFUL RESOURCE FOR EVERYONE CONSIDERING/OR HAVE HAD THESE PROCEDURES.