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I think how alcohol affects WLS patients is as varied as non-WLS patients. I've had 4 cocktails within a couple hours postop and it certainly didn't hit me like 28-40 cocktails would have preop! In fact, I was barely buzzed. And I definitely didn't have a 28 cocktail hangover. Actually, I really don't notice any difference in how fast or how hard alcohol affects me at all. I simply choose to drink a hell of a lot less than I did before surgery....just because of the whole empty calories, blah blah blah reason. I simply treat it like any other "white carb" and only have it in moderation.

I had my first wine at 3 months. Had hard liquor cocktails by about 5-6 months. I don't get buzzed any quicker than before (bummer), but alcohol will give me gastritis if I drink more than a couple days in a row. But I wouldn't dream of drinking alcohol only 1 month out. Incision is not healed yet and nothing is worth the risk of causing damage so soon.

I eat red meat all the time...I much prefer it to fish or chicken. I've had no problems with beef, elk, bison or venison. I started eating tiny beef burgers when I was cleared for regular food, about 7 weeks out. I eat steak, burger, roasts, tenderloin, and my favorite is BBQ ribs from my local deli.

One year surgiversary today ???? HW 238 SW 216 CW 137 TPL 101 TGP 88 Down a pound this week. Ready for mom's good cooking and Christmas "cheer" ????next week. Bring on the carbs and calories! Edit 12/21. I had to go into work for an emergency tonight so I decided to weigh one last time before heading out of town. Hit an all time low of 136! I have no doubt it won't last with the upcoming holiday feeding frenzy, but it gives me an extra 3500 calories worth of guilt-free eggnog to work with ????

Thanks Rocky. I'm traveling to Wisconsin next week, maybe I'll check prices there and have my doc call in an Rx if it's cheaper.

137. I've now got -4 pounds to work with....bring on the Christmas goodies! Oh yeah, and today is my 1 year surgiversary.

So? One more reason I'm glad I don't have a nut telling my what I can and can't eat. I'm perfectly capable of reading labels and making my own decisions.

There are no carbs in chicken meat. And as for meatballs, I have yet to see a recipe that doesn't include bread crumbs. So unless you make them yourself and completely delete that ingredient, there will be carbs in your meatballs. But seriously, its not like you are eating a loaf of bread.

I just made my own Swedish meatballs using deer sausage. Mmmmmmmm. I tried using elk burger, but elk is so lean they came out rather dry. I used bread crumbs made from high protein bread and substituted some of the breadcrumbs with un jury unflavored protein powder. (I did the same thing when I made crab cakes.)

Oh yeah, and if you like chai tea.... Brew a big cup of Celestial Seasoning Bengal Spice tea (a decaf version similar to chai) and mix with 1/2 premier protein vanilla drink. Only 15g protein, but a nice treat that's not so much like a typical protein shake. I also use the premier chocolate and vanilla as creamers in my coffee.

I love my Protein shakes and have had one everyday for the last 13 months. I rarely have the same kind in a single week. My favs.... Premier chocolate with milk and 1/2 banana Syntrax matrix vanilla with PB2 Syntrax Matrix vanilla with peaches or berries. Syntrax nectar lemonade with strawberries Muscle milk cake batter with pumpkin pie Torani syrup Muscle milk red velvet cake with caramel Torani syrup Premier chocolate or vanilla with English toffee Torani syrup Premier strawberry with 1/2 banana Syntrax nectar cherry and Syntrax nectar Apple mixed Syntha6 vanilla ice cream Muscle milk cake batter with Syntrax nectar Apple Syntrax nectar peach (plain or with OJ) Garden of Life Raw Fit with almond Torani syrup. Garden of Life Raw Protein chai Geez, I could list another dozen flavor variations.... My protein smoothies end up with 30-40+ g of protein and are 24-32 oz. the chocolate, vanilla, cake and banana flavors I mix with milk. The nectar fruit flavors and Raw Fit I mix with Water. And way more liquid than the 6-8 oz recommended on the package. I also add an insoluble Fiber supplement which thickens them up. I drink them over 1-2 hours in between afternoon appointments. I've tried literally dozens of different protein powders and RTD and yes, a lot of them did taste gross...I was not a fan of most Bariatric fusion, Bariatric Advantage, Jay Robb, or Isopure. If they were my only choices, I would NOT love Protein drinks.

If you are on a stall early on, eat more, drink more and stay off the scale. For those of you under 500-600 calories, you are starving yourself and training your body to get by with less and less calories. This will make it harder to lose and maintain when you get farther out. My longest stall was at my lowest calorie intake when I Was sick from a medication and too nauseous to eat. As soon as I Doubled my intake the pounds fell off. I don't track or measure anything, but a couple spot checks of my calories showed 1000 calories by 2-3 months, 1200 calories at 6 months and been maintaining 12 pounds below goal for 4 months on 1400-1600 calories. Eat Protein, drink Water, take your Vitamins, include a balance of veggies, fruits and whole grains. Quit making postop so hard and STAY OFF THE FUCKING SCALE.

I added fruit to my Protein smoothie from the very beginning...gave me better energy. Started with 1/2 banana or peaches or mangos. After 3 months I also used strawberries, blueberries, apples, and blackberries. As I got close to goal and wanted to slow my weightloss, I started snacking on more fruits. Frozen pineapple and melon chunks were my favorite summertime snack. And a client just gave me a big box of grapefruit and oranges for Christmas. I will eat the grapefruit, but I peeled and divided the oranges and froze them. They will make a tasty snack all winter! And like BLERDgirl said, fruits have good fiber and Vitamins. It's the only form of sugar my surgeon actually approves of.

Turning in my clean plate club membership card was SO hard. But I became the charter member of the leave 4 bites-one for each dog club instead. The dogs are big fans of the new club!

Congrats! I saw on the holiday challenge that you met goal this morning. And keep it up... I found my body actually settled well below my surgeon's goal, so yours may, too.

Thanks! The year has certainly flown by. And yes, if dogs and cats and hay and feed and water and snow count as "weights" then yes, I'm lifting everyday!

@@gtmikki good luck! I was exactly in your shoes this time last year. Travelled to San Diego on Thursday and had surgery the last Friday before Christmas. I was the last surgery before Dr. O left for vacation to Yellowstone National Park...glad he wasn't too distracted! It was kind of nice because OCC was closed the week of Christmas, so the 5 of us that had surgery on Friday had the place to ourselves over the weekend and on Monday. Just a nurse, Dr. So, and Joel (the driver). Gloria came in on Monday when we were getting our fluoroscopies to make sure our travel plans were all in order and made us chicken broth to sip on our way to the airport ????

You may want to consult with someone that specializes in sports nutrition. Or cruise other forums that deal with sports nutrition and Protein supplements. It may be a matter of timing your supplements before and after your workout so you are giving your body the specific nutrients it needs for optimum performance and recovery. I couldn't begin to give you the right answer, but I saw a lot of this type of discussion on body building and MMA training websites when I was researching protein utilization. Different workouts may require different nutritional supplements. Good luck and congrats on your long term success!

I ran cross country in high school. I was too slow to do well in anything else. I occasionally ran the 400 because running 6-10 miles everyday in practice gave me the stamina to run a measley 400m full speed. But I hated every minute of it. I didn't run at all in college...played softball instead. Then I took up jogging again upon graduation because it's something my boyfriend enjoyed. Again, hated every minute of it. NEVER got that wonderful "runner's high". Whoever came up with that must have been high! After 10 months my work schedule changed and we could no longer do our morning runs.....thank GOD! That was 26 years ago and I've had the good sense to not fool myself into thinking I might ever enjoy running. And as for the zombie apocalypse, I live at 6500 feet and own guns, so I'm sticking with the first 2 rules....cardio and double tap!

Don't force anything, just so you can track it. I could maybe eat 1-2 tablespoons at a time when I was 7 weeks out. I never bothered with the measuring or counting. I just ate when I was hungry and only until satisfied, not full. Made healthy choices (protein and veggies and a little fruit until I reached goal). It doesn't make sense to overeat just to hit a number. If you can't get enough protein from solid food at this point (I certainly couldn't) go ahead and add in protein drinks. I'm 1 year out and I still have one everyday so I don't have to stuff myself to get in all my protein.

1 year out....no hairloss. I did not take biotin or use any special hair products. All I did was get in all my protein, fluids and took regular multivitamins, calcium, iron , B12 sublingual and Vitamin D. I think if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Everybody handles surgical stress differently, both physically and mentally, and hairloss it's just one of the ways the body can react.

Thanks! But no gym for me. My life is a workout..."weight lifting" by splitting and stacking wood, hauling 40 pound bags of feed and dog food, carrying 60 pound dogs, lugging 5 gallon buckets of water and 80 pound bales of hay. "Pilates" via wrestling 80 pound dogs and 150 pound pigs, "cardio" through chasing down horses, running for dear life from bulls and shoveling snow. Then for fun, there's horseback riding, kayaking, hiking, snowshoeing, and skiing!

I never thought much about my incision placement until I saw pictures of other peoples scars on another thread. I had one tiny incision right at my bra line, bottom of my sternum. (Which I can't even see with a magnifying glass at this point). The other 4 are all in at the bottom of my abdomen about 2-3 inches below my belly button. They are very faded, but even when they were more visible they're totally covered by my pants. They would probably be exposed if I wore a low cut bikini, but due to saggy butt and thigh skin that's not happening anytime soon ????. My scars are almost in the same exact spot as my partner's hysterectomy scars. On the other thread Most everyone had holes in totally different places and I was just curious....

There are a dozen different versions of postop diet plans, but you should be following what your surgeon and nut recommend. If you don't have nutritional support, I can tell you when I was at your stage, I was just starting regular food. Until I met goal, my diet was all about protein and non-starchy veggies. I never worried about fat content. I also had a small amount of fruit....usually 1/2 banana or peach or mango slices or berries mixed in my protein smoothie. Stay away from bread, pasta, rice and processed foods. Read labels and use common sense when ordering from a menu. Try and get 60g protein minimum (I shoot for 80-100g) and 64oz fluids.

Ok, so go ahead and stand on one leg. Either leg, doesn't matter, just bend your knee and pull your foot straight up. Stand like that for a moment. Easy, right? At least not too hard. Now, close your eyes. Whoa! I guess the lesson learned is keep your eyes open when you do those roadside sobriety tests!