Surgery coming soon!

Good luck with your optifast period! It's really not all that bad. I had to do it before my band a year ago (over xmas too!). Ofcourse the band was a big waste of time, however I managed to lose 5kg over 2 weeks (more with optifast than with the flippin sleeve in 9 months!).

An alternative that worked for me was to have Optifast during the day and a piece of fresh salmon and cooked cabbage (with a squirt of sweet chilli sauce and garlic powder) for dinner. Still lost heaps! Just a thought...

Keep us all informed of your progress!

Hugs,

Kris

Hi all
Believe me, being an ex-bandit is actually a help in the early days of being sleeved - I know this now as I am now 3 weeks sleeved after having my band of 10years removed in July this year.

You are sooo aware of the need to chew slowly, the need to eat the right foods so as not to be uncomfortable etc, so you have a lot of the groundwork already drummed in.

Christmas will be a time to enjoy being around the food without the ability to consume the amounts that did us the harm - you will be able to join in, whatever food stage you are at, and you will be so glad of your new tummy that you will protect it and yourself - I have already found this out by having to go out for 2 dinners already in this past 3 weeks. I enjoyed the company, enjoyed all the food smells, and tasted some of the beautiful sauces of the meals - but enjoyed my yoghurt beforehand so I wouldn't starve.

My dietitian suggested the book Knife, Fork and Band, which is for banders, but the guidelines in it and the recipes and meal menus and all the information regarding the psychology of changed eating patterns due to wls is really good.

Anyway - don't be afraid - you are all on the path to a healthier and slimmer life - enjoy.
Best wishes to you all
Loz

LOL you should be excited about starting Opti, you are a step closer to surgery.
Its not that bad, the 2 weeks will fly by.

I was sleeved 14 December last year, pureed food for Christmas lunch!!
I didn't care, I was sleeved!!

Sickgm, I am exactly the same as you...ex-bandit and worried the sleeve won't work for me either... I guess common sense says that it will work if we follow the guidelines, but emotionally we are still 'scarred' from the band experience. I couln't follow the band guidelines due to a badly placed band.

I remember reading a similar thread to this on here a while ago...lots of great advice from everyone, maybe do a search in the search bar above.

Good luck with your opti, remeber...the first 3 days but after that

I have been on my pre surgery diet for a week now and down 6kg, I know its not all fat that I have lost...but the scales are going down...wooot!

Hugs......Jiggly

i hear you teecee!!
being xmas time will be a challenge for you, but atleast it is after the sleeve has been done!! if you were on opti i think would have been sooo hard!! atleast having the sleeve done earlier in dec youll have no choice but stick to the plan and probably wont worry as much as you might think,youll already have some weight loss kicking in,so that will be a boost.
i did struggle after the sleeve for about 2 months with feeling like i couldnt eat the way i used to but as the weeks went on it didnt feel like thatand now i dont even yhink like that,it just the way it is now and i accept it (and am soo greatful for the sleeve and the normality its giving me)
it will be all worth it in the end!!
shelly

Yeah, I know how you feel! That is why I tried to get my done as soon as I could. Hopefully I am looking a little lighter and eating a little more normally come xmas time.

I am with you buddy !!!

I tried to ween my way into Optifast over the past week and while I have been on it before, I am really not looking forward to the fact that as of tomorrow, I wont eat normal food for about 2-3 months. I get sleeved on Dec 6 (all going to plan).

But I am not concerned about not losing weight. I am just very anxious about being on such a modified eating plan for so long. Especially when Christmas is in the middle of that.

googluck with your upcoming surgery
i think youll find everone has had the samw worries as you,i know i did,ive lost 30kg now (7mths out) and am not looking back.
youll be fine!

shelly

Hey guys and Gals!

Well, I start my optifast diet tomorrow and I am not too excited about it! I have had a million thoughts going through my mind about the surgery and the one that keeps haunting me is "what if it fails just like the band?"

Surely having 80% of your stomach removed will help you loose weight!!! I am scared to be the only one on here who with a sleeve still didn't loose weight? :(