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I was banded a little over a year ago, I've lost over 80 pounds and I am at my goal weight. I also drink wine every evening. I don’t hide this from anyone. I have posted such information several times and when I get PM’d about it I answer honestly. I knew when I decided to get the band that I would have to change my life and I was more than willing to do just that. But, I was not willing to give up my wine. I enjoy wine, I like the taste. My husband & I often go wine tasting at some of the Texas wineries. So, I decided that wine was going to be a part of my lifestyle. From day one (& before) I have enjoyed my evening wine. Yes, the evening of my surgery I had a glass. I count the empty calories (110 calories for 5oz of wine, approximately) and I am careful. I know that wine relaxes the band right along with you. So if you drink too much and the munchies set in…..everything will go down & then some. I am responsible with my wine. I don’t drink for the effect of the alcohol. I drink wine because of the taste. You wonder, does my doctor know? Of course he does, I tell my doctor everything. Hiding information from your doctor only hurts you. My thoughts are this, if you have something you love and you can manage it then you should enjoy it. Make it a part of your plan. I have a friend that has a treat once a week of their favorite fast food meal, and another who has a single serving bag of Cheetos every day. Depriving yourself will not work. If you are anything like me, you will get resentful and end up splurging and hating yourself after. Enjoy your love, just manage it and you will succeed.

Agree. I just want the newbies to know that they do not have to give up the things they love. All they have to do is manage them in moderation.

Everyone always wants to know why you have to eat protein. PROTEIN PROTEIN PROTEIN is all we ever hear. Well I'm gonna try to make this as short and sweet as I can. When we are obese it doesnt matter if we eat protein because we have enough fat to burn for about 20 years worth. When you have weight loss surgery and you lose your fat stores, you will then start to lose lean muscle mass. Once you lose the muscle mass YOU CAN NOT GET IT BACK! 70 TO 90 GRAMS OF PROTEIN EVERY SINGLE DAY. (Sorry forgot to unlock caps and was not yelling). Before you put anything else in your mouth, you should be eating something filled with protein. If you can't eat meat then you have to find other things such as cottage cheese, tofu, beans, etc. If you lose your lean muscle you will be in trouble. Its not about just eating protein to burn fat, its about keeping your body healthy. If you chose to eat like crap then you can't blame anyone else when your muscle's don't work correctly. Also if you do not get enough protein you can become very vitamin B-12 deficient. Once damage has occurred from B-12 deficiency it is not reversable. I have seen patients become paralyzed from not having enough B-12 if that happens you will not get it back. Eat your protein. If you have to drink it then drink it but you must get in your protein. Losing muscle mass from weight reduction can lead to harmful effects on your body, as well as problems with your weight-loss results. You want to lose weight fast but please do it safely. Nothing worse then losing a lot of weight, lose your muscle mass and end up in a wheel chair. That is not what weight loss surgery is about by any means. You are given directions for a reason.

Cabernet Sauvignon...Yummmm. We belong to a couple of wine clubs and get new bottles every month. Fortunately my wife can swig better than I can. But a nice cab with a small filet or rack of lamb? Or a huge chunk-o-salmon with a Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is heavenly and makes for a wonderful weekend meal. tmf

Very nice blog. I have missed you and your wonderful blogs. I was told that my B12 was too high and to take my pill every other day. Have you found a house yet?

One of the scariest or infuriating things I encounter is when I've made a new low on the scale and then gain back 3 or 5 pounds in the next few days. And then it takes a week to get back where I was. I know it's just my body getting adjusted to my new lifestyle, but it is infuriating to see it happen. After reading so many success stories about losing 20 plus pounds per month in the 1st 6 months, I WANT IT TOO! Not 10, not 15, I want my 20+ pound loss, just like clockwork - gimme, gimme, gimme! But that isn't the way my body wants to do it. So I'll just have to get used to the way it works. In fact, the gains are my fault. I allow myself a "cheat" meal on Saturday nights and one more on Sundays when I visit my parents (twice a month). It's not that I eat more food, it's just less healthy. For example: Friday morning weight in: 296.8 Saturday night was Golden Corral buffet night. Over the hour I was there, I had about 4oz of meatloaf, 1 fried chicken strip, 1 big cauliflower floret w/cheese, about 2 tablespoons of Shepard's pie and about 1/2 of some kind of pecan gooey thing. I didn't stuff myself, just ate until I was full, waited while my friend hit the buffet again, and I ate a little here and there as my stomach emptied. The following Sunday happened to be one of the 2 days a month I visit my parents. At lunch we had Churches fried chicken. I had 1 fried breast, 1 single serving of mashed potatoes, and 1 biscuit. This is not the normal fare, usually mom cooks meat and vegetables. I wasn't able to eat the whole thing in one sitting. I broke it into 2 meals, one at 11am, the 2nd at 2pm. The rest of my meals for the weekend were my normal fare: turkey hamburger w/cheese and spaghetti sauce or turkey hamburger w/gravy and chopped cauliflower. In a 4oz bowl. Monday morning weigh in: 302.4 - almost a 6 pound gain! I can only assume that all the salt and sodium caused quite a bit of water retention. I don't believe I really over did it too much on the calories. Now it's Thursday - 4 days later - and I'm back down to 298.4 - 4 pounds. Not surprising really, it's happened more than once. That doesn't mean I have to like it! I think it might be a good thing to switch up foods this way, my body won't get accustomed to a certain calorie count/protein/carb/fat intake. I just won't go overboard on the bad stuff and eat it more than 6 meals a month. Now if only I can get over my fear of seeing the scale move up instead of down! And I'll watch and see how my body reacts long term. If turns out that it's causing stalls or long term weight gain, I'll have to go back to the basic diet and cut out the bad stuff. NSV! Now, where's my light saber? I have to punch a new hole in my belt.

"Right now, I want to succeed, but the fear is that the greater the success the more terrible will be the tragedy of my eventual failure. Yes, I know this is not a productive thought process, but as we all know the band only works on your stomach, not your head." Every diet I have ever been on, I was extremely successful, some of them for 6 months or more!!! Only to fail, have everything revert back to as it was before....if not worse. not to mention what it did for my self esteem and self confidence. Now, with the band, as good as my progress was, I was scared as all heck tha eventually the bubble was going to burst, as before so many times, and I would be as depressed as can be...surgery being my last resort. But slowly and surley my confidence rose, realizing that this is different. That this is real! I put it to the test...we were on a cruise, 9 nights, surrounded by all the food and drink one can ever want any time of day....I decided to let it hang out there and see what the band would do...not even think about it, just be as natural as can be.... I did exercise every morning, had a case of water deliverd to our stateroom, and brought protein shots with me to have one per day first thing in the morning...other than that I was just a guy on vacation out to enjoy himself.....and get his moneys worth. Bottom line...I did not gain a single pound....my little experiment showed the band is the same no matter where I am or what may be put before me.... I now now know this is for real! This is different indeed......I told my Dr. this once and he said "You Had Surgery..what did you expect?" (DUH) Asisde from some medical issue that may arise, (which aslo scares me and I analyze every post) this is not going to change.....(knock on wood)

Congratulations. I can't wait to reach your milestone..