This Module Contains:

Video Lesson: “Fueling Your Future”

• Pre-Op Nutrition Tracker (daily log + mood check-ins)
• “When It’s Hard” Emergency Toolkit
• Permission Slip: “I am allowed to find this hard and do it anyway”

Reflection Prompt: “What does nourishment mean to me now?”

Begin Your Pre-Op Nutrition with Intention and Grace

The pre-op diet isn’t punishment—it’s preparation. Your liver needs to shrink, yes, but your mind needs to shift too.

The pre-op diet is also a chance to ease you into the strict diet requirements early in your surgery. There are many different pre-op programs that surgeons prefer but whichever diet your surgeon requires, compliance to their program is extremely important. Here are some things to think about and prepare for during the pre-op diet:

• Headaches: You may get headaches at first from having your routine changed so abruptly. This is a great time to utilize your newly created special space. Grab a bottle of water and have some quiet. Do some slow breathing and relax for a little while.
• Crabbiness: If you are one of the people on a two week liquid pre-op or milk pre-op, you could find yourself “hangry, crabby and just miserable”. Try talking a walk, taking up a craft or doing a crossword puzzle. Redirecting your attention away from a difficult and not useful emotion is a great habit to practive that will come in handy in a few weeks. (I promise..)
• Temptation: You will face at least one episode of temptation and probably think to yourself, “ust once before the I can never have this again won’t hurt me.” Physically, it probably won’t hurt you unless it’s the very day before the surgery. But mentally, – YES, IT WILL HURT YOU. Practice by saying “NO”. Stick to this diet. Build resiliency. This is your time to start practicing new habits for your new life.

Mind Shift

Reframe the Requirements: This diet is not intended torture. It’s the first part of the process. Go into this with positivity and gratitude that you have this opportunity for health.

• This isn’t “one last diet”—it’s your first act of self-care
• Each protein shake is practice for putting nutrition first
• Every skipped temptation is building your “no” muscle
• View restrictions as liver gifts, not life limitations

Practical Intentional Eating: This is where you start building new habits around mindful eating. No more shoveling food mindlessly into your mouth until the TV show is over. It’s time to release – just grabbing something in the drive-thru because you forgot to take something out for dinner. No more barely chewing and swallowing.

• Treat your pre-op meals like an event: nice plates and silver for your limited portions
• Practice mindful eating now—chew slowly, taste fully, honor the process
• Document how foods make you feel, not just what you’re eating
• Start your relationship with protein shakes as medicine, not meal replacement

DID YOU KNOW… Once you have your surgery and start eating food, chewing food becomes one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Why? With a natural digestive system, gastric acid in your stomach breaks down the food you eat in order to digest it, extract nutrients and utilize it for energy to run your body’s organs effectively. With bariatric surgery, the availability of gastric acid is either greatly reduced or missing altogether depending on the surgery so chewing becomes the manual way of doing the job that gastric acid had. That is why it is important to chew each bite 25 to 30 times, breaking it down with your teeth and saliva in order for those nutrients to be extracted and for the dessicated food to be used for energy utilization. Using the proper chewing technique – [small bite, chew 25 – 30 times (set utensil down while chewing), swallow and wait 1 – 2 minutes before your next bite] will cut down on digestive issues like gas, pain, burping…

Mental Preparation Through Food: I’m sure that you’ve heard “not to eat in front