- Riebie wrote:
- My name is Sherrie and I am 34 years old. I'm booked in for my sleeve on 26th November, and as my title states, I am very nervous about it and also excited about the changes to come. Today is my first day on optifast and struggling. I would never call myself a big eater, more a bad eater. I am so worried that I am going to go through all of this and it wont work. I don't know what to say I feel a bit lost to be honest.
Hi Sherrie, I am due to have a Gastric Bypass in early 2013, but I have had 2 Lap Bands and have used Optifast many times over the past 20+ years. The first 3-4 days on Optifast are the hardest because you are drastically reducing your calorie,sugar, fat and fruit and veggie intake and what you are trying to achieve is a state of metabolism called ketosis. This is often a way to quicken up your metabolism, so a lot of people lose weight while on Optifast but the most important reason for being on Optifast is that because of the ketosis, the 'fatty' layer that has probably formed around your liver (all of us with weight issues have a syndrome known as 'Fatty Liver') will shrink very quickly, firming up the liver which makes it much easier for your Surgeon to access your stomach on your 'Big Day' and hopefully reduce the risk of complications post op. It's important to remember that every time you slip off the Optifast, you put your body under stress and it has to restart the conversion back to ketosis.
It's ok to feel a bit lost, whenever we make a huge decision like having major surgery we have periods of doubt, this often inspires us to 'stick to the plan' whether it be Optifast or the Post-op plan.
You don't say in your post where you are from; I am in Australia and if you are in Australia there is a forum for Aussies having the 'sleeve'. It does help to connect with people who are close by; if you are in another country have a look at the different forums and locate a group that is close to you.
A number of people find keeping a diary, including measurements as well as weight records helps as they progress from Pre to Post 'sleeve'. There is a diary section here too with some very interesting stories from members all over the world.
At the end of each post you will see a 'button' which says "PM", this means that you can Private message the person who wrote the post if you want to contact them personally.
Please remember that all of the people on this site are very wise and all are going or have been through the 'weight loss surgery' process and I have found them to be very supportive no matter what questions you need answered.
I hope this has helped and I look forward to hearing about your surgery and your successful weight loss.
Best Wishes
one_elle26
