Liquid diet day 1 – Take 2

Today is the start of my two week liquid diet, again.

At least this time I know my surgery is scheduled and all set.

I got a letter from my insurance company stating that the surgery had been approved.  That is a huge relief.

It's funny how liquids don't seem like a big deal anymore.  I've done it so many times for the band as I had to be on liquids for a couple of days every time I got a fill.  I remember how scary the thought of two weeks of liquids were to me before I had the band.

The NSMC version of the pre-surgery liquid diet is as follows:

3 liquid meal replacement shakes a day (carnation instant breakfast or equivalent, I use Nature's Way Metabolic Reset)

In addition to your three liquid meals, you may also have the following snacks:
Sugar-free Jell-O, any flavor
Sugar-free popsicles
Crystal Light (drink or drink mixes)
Bouillon or broth – no meat, noodles 
or vegetables 
Herbal tea, any flavor
Sugar-free flavored waters
Tomato soup (not every day)
100% fruit juice, in limited quantities

You may have ONE serving per day of the following:
Fat-free, no sugar added yogurt usually has 100-120 calories per serving
Fat-free, sugar-free pudding, any flavor

You may also have ONE serving per day of the following:
Fresh, frozen or canned fruit (not in heavy syrup) e.g.:
1 cup melon cubes, any kind
½ cup pineapple or blueberries
½ cup fruit salad (plain)
15 small grapes
¾ cup strawberries or raspberries 
1 medium apple, pear or orange
1 small banana 
12 cherries

I've heard of some places that do 3 weeks, some places that do a week, a day, none at all, etc.  It does vary from program to program.

One thing that I do like is I can have that one serving of fruit a day.

I find two things hard about the liquid diet:

1.  It's a lot of sweet and I'm more of a salty person.  I'm thankful for the option of broth and tomato soup as I do need SOMETHING to break up all of the sweet.

2.  Not chewing much.  I am thankful for the one serving of fruit per day for that.  Being a salty person, I often also like crunchy and I miss crunchy while on liquids.  I bought grapes to start with, but I might get some apples and see if that satisfies the "crunch" a little bit more.

During the work week is easier than the weekends.  Especially days like today.  I was SLAMMED at work.  I didn't even drink my second shake until after 2 and I had a FF/SF yogurt at 5:30.  I'm drinking my third shake now.

The busier I am, the easier this is.  I also find that making sure I drink a lot of water and herbal tea helps.  The more hydrated I stay, the less hungry I feel.

I am also remembering my experience from last time when I had the band put in.  I made it a good way into the liquid diet and then I ate my son's leftover mac and cheese.  BIG MISTAKE!  I was so sick the next day.  I'm using that memory to make sure that I don't slip this time.

Work is going to be super busy and stressful until I go out on medical leave for my surgery.  Liquid diet wise, that is a good thing as keeping busy makes it a lot easier.