The Year of Changes - Memphis, TN

So, I'm on day 10 of the pre-op diet, and I've been keeping my carbs really low, like below 60 (not Atkins induction low, but it's hard to do that with protein shakes and two fruit snacks a day). I do a protein shake for breakfast and lunch, and a sensible meal for dinner. Mostly lean protein and veggies, I'm allowed one starch at dinner and two yogurts and two fruits for snacks. If you concentrate on big salads with chicken, turkey or fish and low cal dressing, it isn't bad. For the first time yesterday I had to eat something at a work lunch that was restaurant food (spicy chicken from PF Changs), and it tasted WAY salty and I couldn't eat much. I didn't have the rice and only ate about four bites since I'm sure the sauce that coated the chicken had some starch in it. I think this diet must also be about getting you prepared for how you will eat post-op as well. So far down nine pounds on liver shrink. I've already started my vitamins and plan to get a B12 shot this weekend. Down to less than a week... Meep!

So I've always kept protein powder and Torani syrups in my house. The sugar free syrups were mostly for coffee, but I've learned that they can make an ordinary protein shake taste like a milk shake. My advice for anyone before getting this surgery is invest in a really good SMALL blender that can stay on your counter and is easy to use and clean. I use the Nutribullet, and plan to use it to get my veggies in early for nutrition. It's 700 rpm and will pulverize vegetables, fruits, and ice. It really whips protein powders and your liquid of choice well, also. Throw in some almond or soy milk, or even skim milk and you have a surprisingly good "milkshake". Some people use the Ninja personal blender accessory, also.

I also suggest going to www.torani.com and checking out their many sugar free syrup flavors. Flavors like salted caramel, s'mores, belgian cookie are some of the more exotic flavors. They also have brown sugar and cinnamon, vanilla, hazelnut, and chocolate as well as fruit flavors like strawberry, raspberry, orange, lemon, lime and coconut. These syrups are awesome for mixing into plain greek yogurt, smoothies, tea and decaf coffee, and even oatmeal and other things. They can be used for baking and other flavoring also, and are made with splenda. Amazon also sells some of the flavors and you can buy them in bulk at any site. At about $8.00 a bottle, it's well worth it.

We'll see how this goes! I was told I had an enlarged liver after a car accident last year, when a CT scan was performed, and it looks like it's still enlarged. I'm told this is normal for overweight people, though. Hoping this really strict diet helps and it's gone down for actual surgery.