Pre Opp Countdown Dilemma: Advice Please!!

Hi Everyone,

I'm on the final countdown to my July 18th lap band surgery date (30 days 22 hours). During my last appointment (right before my info was submitted to insurance) the DR explained that I needed to lose as much weight as possible before the surgery for a better outcome. This presents two problems. 1. I'm a smoker and during my very first appt they mentioned that I should stop smoking 30 days before surgery (not mentioned at all in my last appt). Any time I've stopped smoking in the past, I usually gain 10+ lbs. I'm not sure which is more of a risk, gaining weight or smoking too close to surgery date.

Now comes dilemma #2. While not as much of a concern as the first, still somthing I'm worried about. I keep thinking about how much my life will change after the surgery and feel like I'm going to miss all the foods (junk foods mainly) that I've been eating my whole life. I'm ready for that change b/c i know how much I need it, but depriving myself pre-surgery is difficult. I'm not sure if I should indulge in the foods that I won't be able to have post surgery, or keep eating healthly to lose more weight. I realize I will be on a preopp diet 2 weeks before, but I have 2 weeks until that time. I know the logical answer to this question, however,  I would like to know what those of you who've had the surgery recommend. I

Any advice is appreciated.

Smoking makes it difficult to heal, so do yourself a favor and quit now while it's not too late.

It's not like you are never going to be able to enjoy the foods you love. You just won't be able to have them right now.

The hardest part to all of this is that you have to find a way to replace the emotional eating you are doing now with some kind of tool, so you can cope with this after you have had the surgery. Learn to distract yourself from thinking about eating.  Try some of these distraction techniques.

1. Don'****ch TV because every time your program goes to commercial it's usually a commercial about food. Try watching DVDS instead.

2. Watch Youtube videos of your favorite old videos.

3. Walk your dog/child.

4. For the very first month after surgery I asked my husband and youngest daughter not to cook anything in the house because I didn't need the smell of something cooking stimulating hunger signals in my head. They were happy to oblige.You can do this during your pre-op diet.

5. Walk walk walk. The more you get into physical activity the better you feel about yourself.

6. Use candles, bubble baths, pedicures, facials ETC to baby yourself. Doing stuff that makes you feel good will help you deal with your food triggers. ( No baths after surgery until you are cleared )

Pumpkin gave you some great advice.

I was a smoker before I got the band and I did quit 30 days before my surgery. My doc is very very strict about this I had to take a nicotine test 48 hrs before my surgery and if I tested positive then he wouldn't do the surgery .  To this day he can test me and if I test positive he can stop seeing me as my doctor. He made that very clear up front with me that is how strict he is with not smoking .  I have been clean for 8 months now and I love it . I cant stand to be around smokers anymore the smell makes me sick to my stomach .  You will get the same way I bet.

Okay as far as gaining weight. I really thought I would do the same thing. My dad quit and put on over 50 pounds he really turned to food when he quit that was my biggest fear .

I was so determined not to go into this surgery heavier then my 348 pounds that is what kept me from gaining weight.  I did not gain a single pound when I quit .  I was more scared of something happening to me on the table if I gained more weight .  That fear alone was enough for me .

As far as foods after surgery . Yes of course the first six weeks  you will be a on a strict diet because you need the band to heal after that you can eat again.

I have not given up one single piece of food that I ate before the band.   I 100% believe the band is in us to teach us how to eat foods in proper portions not to give up foods we love.   I eat all my favorites .  I had pizza last night but instead of eating a half of a large pizza like I use to I had a slice and half and I was full and happy . 

I still even lost a pound and half this week even eating pizza.

Like I have told others on here. It wasn't the Ice cream, chips and cookies, pizza that made me fat,  what made me fat is I didn't have no portion control on them foods that is what got me fat. 

Now I'm learning how to eat them foods in portion,  and the most important thing is how often to eat them foods.  I dont eat pizza every day like I use to. I eat pizza once a month and I see nothing wrong with that .

I didn't get the band to give up my foods , I got the band to teach me how to eat t hem foods like a normal human being :o)

Moderation not deprivation I live by that rule 100% every day .  I have lost almost 60 pounds and 30 inches in six months doing it this way and without a fill .. It works for me .

But let me make myself clear what works for me and  a few others on here that live like I do,  it  dont mean you can live like this. Everybody is different .  This is how I live and how I work my band .

Good luck you can do this . The sooner you quit smoking the better off you will be. you dont want to go through surgery and trying to quit at the same time that would be way to hard I think.

 

Amen Sister!

Eventually you will be able to incorporate some of your foods back in your diet. But only in moderation. I had a slice of pizza the other day but I took my sweet sweet time eating it. I only had 1 slice . Not 3 with breadsticks and a dessert pizza like I did before surgery.

The band is not a death sentence. It is just a tool to help control our portions.

I also quit smoking cold turkey and didn't turn to food. I wasn't what you called a hardcore smoker. Maybe 1/2 a pack a day.

Good luck

Jana

You say you need junk food.I hate to be blunt, but if you can't sacrifice your "needs" I.e smoking and eating food that is bad for you, with or without WLS,you might want to hold off your operation and try to figure out why you feel it is a need. If you go into this feeling deprived of your need you will probably have a hard time sticking to the rules. We all know that the band rules are very easily broken.
I am reading between your lines and come away with the feeling that you think once you have the band it will do all the work for you.....Hopefully I am reading it wrong, but I would hate to have another person not be happy with the band results because of unrealistic expectations.

Not all surgeons just operate and don't care about the eventual outcome.They  sometimes use the preop diet as an indicator on how serious the patient is about the surgery.

I hope this gives you something to think about, please realize I am not trying to be mean, you did ask for advice. My advice is....Find out if you are willing to give up your "needs" for the bigger goal.


Good Luck
Petra

Thank you all for your feedback and suggestions. Changing my rountine I think will be a big help (thnx Pumpkin). @ steelerfan1  you really helped me gain a different perpective as to how post surgical life will be. I understand the mechanics of the band and realize it doesn't control what I  eat but helps with portion control. I'm the type of person that can do really well at something as long as I set strict guidelines to follow. I think that as long as I keep the BAD food out of the house, I won't feel as bad if I do indulge in goodness once in awhile especially since I will feel full from it after eating less. 

I actually take a medication that gives me the urge to smoke, on the days that I don't take the medication, I don't smoke. If i do then i get sick. Since I got my surgery date (about 34 days ago) I have lost 19lbs. Not b/c I've really been trying that hard, but b/c I'm so nervous about it. So on the days I take my meds I train smoke instead of eating. It's really not that I can't give it up, it's more so that I'm afraid if I do, I will gain weight. Getting into activities outside of watching TV all day should help with that.

@ Petham thanks for being honest. That's what I was looking for. The reason I have had so much anxiety about the surgery isn't b/c I don't think I can give up these vices but more about how I perceive I will feel about giving them up. Steelerfan really helped ease my concerns by pointing out that I'm never going to be able to eat food that tastes good.  I don't need the band to do the work for me, in fact, I don't know that I even want it to be filled, I want it as a reminder that I just spent a year jumping through hoops to get insurance approval, took a week off work and got sliced open. I think will be motivation enough. 


Thanks again for the support and advice.  You guys are AWESOME!!

I'm glad I could help out :o)  When I first saw my doc I told him flat out I will not be the type of person that will give up everything. If I want chips I will eat chips, if I want a pizza I want to eat a pizza .   I want to eat like a regular person but learn how to contorl them foods like a normal human being does .

You will be amazed how much you will learn in a short amount of time :o)   My husband went into McDonald's yesterday before we put the boat in the water and he got his usual Big Mac Large fries and a tea.  He asked me what I wanted and I said nothing !!!  NOTHING at a  McDonald's I went and got a Chef Salad from my favorite pizza joint instead :o)    What happened yesterday is exactly the reason why I got the band I actually have learned how to eat .

Now, dont get me wrong I still go to my McDonald's I love their fries and I love their Chicken sandwiches .  But I eat there maybe once every two months now and I grab a handful of fries from my hubby's order instead of eating two large fries of my own and I take the bread of the chicken sandwich. 

I have not gotten a fill and the reason you stated is alot of the reasons why I dont get a fill. I just had a WLS that was motivation enough for me. The band in me alone is enough to remind not to overeat and to slow down that is all I wanted from it.

But I can go 3-5 hrs of not wanting to eat. I just dont let the food control me or obsess about food it's just not worth it no more to me .  From the panic attacks,  from sitting in my lazy boy chair for 3 months thinking if I got up and got my heart rate up I would die from a heartattack , not being able to go on coasters with my family, not being able to walk around Disney World  enough was enough. That is why the band is just doing its thing now without any fills :o)