Question:
To lose your pre-op weight can you use diet pills to help ?
I need to lose 15 lbs beefore I get my surgery date, I have done it all and the only way I have lost more than ten pounds was on Diet Fuel, does anyone know if that will be okay to do it that way or is there some other way to do this excrise has only helped so much. If I could lose weight on my own I would not want WLS. Help Please..... — Tracey H. (posted on September 8, 2003)
September 8, 2003
Pills really aren't the answer. Why don't you try high protein - low carb
(Dr. Atkins)? That's pretty much what you will be on after the surgery.
Good luck!
— Jazzy
September 8, 2003
A lot of preops have had success with Atkins induction phase. It will also
help you get ready for some of the changes you'll have to make after
surgery. I wouldn't take diet pills or any other chemical before surgery
because you don't know how it will affect your body's reaction to the
surgery. I know that some herbs and other substances (like ephedra) can
have devastating consequences if you take them too close to
surgery.<p>At the very least, ask your dr if it is okay to use a
certain product. But Atkins is not that bad. I did not do Atkins preop but
lost 15 pounds by cutting out sodas/other sugar, eating higher protein, and
working out with a personal trainer. I think it helped me recover faster
and for sure it shrank my liver so the dr could see what he was
doing!<p>Best of luck to you. I agree, it is a pain, but just think:
That is just less pounds you have to lose later! :)
— ctyst
September 8, 2003
When I was pre-op, Cigna said I had to have 12 weeks of physician
supervised dieting. I went to my doctor and she gave me a 1600 calorie a
day diet. The first 4 weeks I did it, I didn't do too well, losing only 3
pounds. A friend suggested vitamins and I went on a vitamin program
offered by www.lifescript.com offers. I lost 19 lbs that month after
starting their vitamins. I think it was a combination of the 1600 calorie
a day diet and the vitamins. They were a little expensive, but if you add
all those vitamins up individually it would probably be near the price. A
typical day on that diet would be fruit or a bagel for breakfast, a salad
or chopped veggies and soup for lunch and a salad and entree for dinner,
not to exceed 1600 calories. I lost 41 lbs in the 6 months I did it prior
to surgery. And the vitamins did help me feel better. Since the surgery
on 8/15/2002, I've lost 166 lbs. If they offered a combination that
included calcium citrate, I'd still be taking their program, but they
don't. They only use calcium carbonate.
— Cathy S.
September 8, 2003
You did not say how long you have to lose weight before surgery. I lost 12
lbs in 3 months, before my surgery and I started drinking a protein shake,
and only ate protein, very, very little carbs, and of course veggies. No
bread, no pasta, no rice. I was not hungry and like another poster said, it
helped me get ready for my eating style after surgery.
— cindy
September 8, 2003
The diet pills are OK as long as they don't have herbs like ginko biloba in
them. You would have to stop taking them at least 3 weeks before surgery as
certain herbs can cause excessive bleeding problems when it comes time for
surgery.
— Lisa B.
September 8, 2003
You want to be in the best shape possible before major surgery, but there's
no such thing as a diet pill that's good for anybody's health. Try to look
at it this way: Any weight you manage to lose prior to surgery, in a
healthy way, is weight you have an excellent chance of *keeping off* due to
the surgery (unlike your previous experiences). That makes the effort
worthwhile, this time.<P>You also need to know that you'll have to
work at changing your eating habits after surgery, though perhaps not right
away. Most people lose weight pretty well for the first six months or so
after surgery ... when the pouch doesn't allow us to eat much of anything.
After that, most people, somewhere down the line, do get their appetites
back, and wind up fighting "head hunger" and "carb
demons" and many of the same bad habits that we had such a hard time
with before surgery. It's an ongoing process, made easier due to the
surgery, but never eliminated entirely. So ... you'll have to develop
completely changed eating habits after surgery, anyway. <P>Now's a
good time to watch all the posts from people on the "protein
train," or from folks developing other strategies (see many excellent
suggestions below) to make those lifestyle changes we all had such a hard
time with before surgery. Diet pills aren't part of that scene. You *can*
do this now ... Good luck!
— Suzy C.
September 8, 2003
My dr requierd a 10% loss before surgery. I lost 27 lbs in less than 3
months by eating the same thing every day; A bagel or english muffin with 1
tsp of jelly (carbs and all), a lean ciusine for lunch and a salad with
chicken or turkey for dinner (no more than a tbs of dressing) but I did add
grated cheese and egg for variety.
— Tawnda C.
September 8, 2003
Thank goodness I didn't have to lose weight before surgery or I never would
have been able to have it. If I could have stuck to Atkins and lost weight
pre-op, I wouldn't have become a post-op! I couldn't make it through day
one on that program before surgery, although it's helped me tremendously
since then. If you need diet pills, and the doc says it's OK, then use
them (although those didn't work for me either pre-op). Just make sure
your surgeon knows what you're taking so that you stop long enough before
surgery to be safe.
— mom2jtx3
September 10, 2003
I went to see the nutrisionist. They say not to starve yourself. That is
why we gain weight. We think we are heavy because we over eat. When we
really starve ourselves thinking its what we need to do and we burn
nothing. If you eat 3 meals a day, follow the pattern of the food chain.
I have lost 19lbs. I need to loose 24 more before I get approved or I have
to go open. I know it will be like all else. It will be off and right
back on. I need an angel. But I have found that, I loose more by eating
healthier.
— cookiedough
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