I just started Atkins on 5/27, and so far so good I am a little concerned, because I will be having minor outpatient surgery on 6/12 and am wondering how this will affect the plan. I will be mostly bed/couch ridden the day of and day after the surgery, but should be back up and about after that. I need ideas for meals for those two days - I know I won't feel like eating much if anything the day of due to the anesthesia, and won't feel like cooking much the next day, so I need quick and easy things hubby can heat or whip up for me.

Also, I am a bit concerned about not eating the day of the surgery. I am not supposed to have any food or water after midnight, won't wake up until noon or so, and then won't be able to eat probably the rest of the day. What sort of havoc will this wreak with my body? Also, will the anesthesia itself have an affect on the way my body is metabolizing things? Should I adjust carb intake because of that?

Thanks in advance!
Robin

I'm not really sure.

Since it looks like you are just starting I would wait until you are up and around and then you can get into your groove for real without going through carb withdrawal while you aren't feeling your best anyway.

Take care.... we will be here waiting.

I had spine surgery in December and spent one night in the hospital. I had nothing to eat from 10:00 p.m. the night before and they brought me dinner that evening, still didn't feel like eating, but I chewed a lot.

You will have an IV during surgery and afterwards that will help keep you hydrated. You may talk to them about one without sugar, I'm diabetic and they gave me one without.

Afterwards I would eat what sounds good, keep some chicken broth on hand, when I felt better I added some diced chicken to it or some broccoli and cheese and cream -- it was winter time and that just hit the spot. This seemed to be very easy on my stomach and was low in carbs.

It also took me about 6 weeks to get all the anethesia out of my body -- I was foggy headed for that long, so I think drinking a lot of water for that would help. Anethesia and the pain meds they said could cause some constipation so I took Benefiber (a tasteless powder you mix with liquid), it has no sugar in it and was very easy on my system. The doctor suggested the metamucil fiber wafers and I brought her the benefiber and she said that would even be better for me. One way I took it was to mix it with sugar free cocoa with whipped cream on top for a nightly yummy. If you look at cocoa I think the diet one has less carbs than the no sugar added, if I remember that correctly.

I hope this helps and best wishes on your surgery! Let us know how you are doing.

Debi

When I had surgery last December, I cooked several main dishes ahead, labeled them with the reheating instructions and put them in the freezer. That way, all my DH had to do is take it out of the freezer, pop it in the oven and microwave a vegetable to go with it.
Soup is always easy on the tummy after surgery. I'm one of those rare folks who wakes up from anesthesia hungry, but I still need to take it easy for a day or so because anesthesia can slow down your digestive tract and make it more likely that you will get an upset tummy if you push it. Go for light, easy foods like scrambled eggs or soup or sugar-free jello. Check the recipe section...there are quite a few recipes for very tasty soups (that would also freeze well) that would fit the bill nicely. Chicken broth with a bit of chicken or a raw egg stirred into the hot broth is always soothing.
Pain medications can also upset your stomach, so you may have to wait until afterwards to gauge what you feel that you can handle. In general, you might want to avoid dairy products for a few days (like cheese) because they can constipate and the anesthesia may already be having that effect.
Here's wishing you a quick recovery!