Hi Susie,

Dr. Bautista's pre-op liver shrinking diet was: 1) drink at least 64 oz of fluid per day. You have to drink sugar-free, calorie-free beverages that are non-carbonated. You can drink, for example, Crystal Light, sugar free Tang and Kool-Aid, non-calorie Diet Snapple. 2) For breakfast you drink a shake such as a No Sugar Carnation Instant Breakfast. (They give you a list of shakes you can choose from) 3) For lunch you drink another shake and eat a piece of fresh fruit. 4) Eat a snack in between lunch and dinner which can be light yogurt, light yogurt smoothie, or non-fat cottage cheese. I don't like any of that so for a snack I sometimes ate sugar free pudding. 5) For dinner you have 4 oz of lean meat. They recommended the 97% fat free Hillshire Farm deli select or Healthy Choice. In the weight loss handbook you get at your nutrition classes, it says you can turn the deli meat into a sandwich, but you have to use the bread in the book (Nature's Own Healthline Double Fiber). Also for dinner, you can have unlimited non-starchy veggies. They said to avoid corn, peas, and potatoes. I cooked my meat in lemon juice and seasoned it so I could have a different taste and then put mustard on the toasted bread - I liked it.

Sometimes I would munch on the baby carrots throughout the day. They told me that was okay. Even though I cheated a little on the pre-op diet, the pre-op diet really helped prepare me for the surgery. It's funny because on the night before my surgery, I couldn't eat anything past 12:00 a.m. Luckily my surgery was at 7:30 a.m. and I had to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m., but I remember being so hungry and my stomach growling. However, after the surgery, i was not hungry. I was just so amazed!

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Banded April 2, 2008 in Richmond, VA with Dr. Bautista
3/19/08: 242 lbs
3/25/08: 237 lbs