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Ah... the good old caffeine and coffee debates... Some surgeon's absolutely forbid coffee and caffeine... others say whatever you can personally tolerate... I love telling people of the story of my surgeon coming into the recovery room and letting me sip coffee... I have drank coffee ever since... I'm not one to encourage breaking your surgeon's rules, but I would encourage you to challenge their advice with logic. There really isn't anything I don't eat or drink these days, even if only once in awhile... And yes, that includes coffee, ice cream, alcohol, diet soda, pizza, and every other thing that some people are strictly forbidden against or their band might swell up and cause their head to explode...

I was terrified right before my first fill and almost cancelled and rescheduled since I had worked myslef up into such a state of panic... Then after the Dr. Swabbed the area with an alcohol pad, I actually reached down and put my hand on the spot and said "wait... I'm not ready" and he was peeved and had to swab me again... After that he made me put my hands under the back of my head... LOL... Turns out it wasn't that bad after all.... He does not numb since that would require two shots and I'm glad of it... Once is enough... He also does not do Floro... It takes about 30 seconds and I'm outta there... Very easy with minimal discomfort... Afterwards, the nurse makes us drink a 4 oz cup of water to make sure we can swallow... This gives us about 15-30 minutes to sit and chat with Prospective and current LB patients in the waiting room and answer questions and just share our story or advice.... It's like an unofficial therapy group, which I like since I have only told 4 people whom I don't even see often... It's my opportunity to talk talk talk about it....

I think it's just the way the alcohol is in Mexico. I went to a diff. surgeon, but I went to the store the day after surgery to buy alcohol to take the stickiness off my body from the betadine. YUCK. It smelled so sour.

Actually obesity is much worse than alcohol or drug addiction. With help, you could completely stop drinking or taking drugs and while the temptation might exist, you wouldn't have to deal with drinking or taking drugs in small amounts every day. But obesity? You still have to eat EVERY DAY! So for lots of us, this is a way of stopping before the food gets the best of us.

So I’m a newbie and my surgery is scheduled for next week on 9/27 and I’m wondering what the veterans recommend for activities to do with your partner after surgery. Date nights for us would usually be dinners, movies, or bar trivia. Movies I see how that can be adjusted by not eating bad stuff. But what kinds of things have you guys found to replace old habits/hobbies that revolved around food and/or alcohol?

Well, that was kinda my question. The PA explained that the band is taken out of the box and may have air in it to maintain the shape, so they flush it with saline to force the air out. Some of that saline may stay in the band and show up at fills. They pull out the prior fill to make sure what they put in at prior fills is still there -- less than that might indicate a leak. (Weird that the extra 1.2cc didn't show up at my second one though, but it was the surgeon and not the PA who did the fill. The surgeon doesn't do nearly as many fills...) My first 2 fills did nothing for me, but I've been focused on my Protein and exercising when I can. I did lots of walking on my trip and I think that helped a great deal in combatting the other sins (alcohol, cheesecake) I committed. Congratulations on reaching Onederland!! I hope to join you there soon...

It's normal to mourn the loss of our favorite foods or alcohol. I was miserable being obese. I felt like the weight was a handicap holding me back from life, having a big full life. I made a list of all the things I was missing out on. As we all know life is very difficult being obese. Today I have a new perspective about food. Those foods that I loved caused me harm and kept me fat, miserable and alone. A piece of cake won't make me happy or bring me joy. Eating clean is an act of self love and I want to start respecting my body instead of stuffing it with food that is harmful to me.

Please take a minute to look back in your family a couple of generations. Almost all of us develop habits based on how we are raised. I found OA at age 28 and realized that my obese upbringing by obese parents was a result of their obese upbringing by obese and alcoholic parents. I was blessed to see this and get the opportunity to change it before I had children. Having said that, I raised my toddlers into teenagers with healthy food habits. We ate at the table as a family and didn't serve soda, or other unhealthy extras while they were little. Unfortunately over time I gained back the weight I had lost. My kids ate healthy but watched me become morbidly obese. By the time they were teenagers, I was eating in front of the TV and so were they. My younger daughter was slightly overweight in her preteen years but became very active in sports and got health conscious in high school and slimmed down. My older daughter never was overweight. Last year I got WLS and have dropped 100 pounds so far. My daughters are my biggest cheerleaders. One daughter kicks my ass when I make poor food choices. They are both excited for my new life. My point is, we teach what we know, and sometimes even though we know better, we don't do it ourselves. It's also not a straight road. I'm on a path to health today, but my girls have seen it good, bad, and good again. They don't have kids yet, but when they do, they will make their own mistakes and successes. I'm back living with my mom while my divorce is starting. My mom is 100 percent in food dysfunction. She is disabled and can hardly walk and lives to eat. We rarely eat together because she likes to binge alone. I learned from her as a teenager that the way to lose a hundred or more pounds was to eat salad and hot dogs for a year. Of course she gained it back. When she was losing weight back then I was overweight at 15. My mom became skinnier than me and I hated her. It's a generational cycle. You can break it for yourself and for your kids. But you probably won't do it perfectly. Peace.

So I want to share my whole story as well as post my progress here. I guess after having issues with my weight for so long it's time to be honest as to why and how I get here. JUST A KID ages 10-16 I have always been a bigger person as a child by the time I was in 5th grade I already weighed 100 pounds, I know this because at a party with friends one of my friends said I had a Dream we all went out to party, and Shanqiua u we're skinny in my dream, that hurt. I become queen of disappearing to advoid ppl picking on me. It didn't always work I still got called fat, the ugly sister and if you were small you would be pretty. I learned to live in a made up world to not deal with reality. I would read a lot and made myself a character in my book. This lasted till 14 when I had my first kiss, that lead to first sexual experience than a baby. So adding to my issues I made myself a teen mom. It was very depressing. I balloon to 280@16 and stay this for a long time. I was in a bad space in my life. Teen Years age16-21 With a baby I still managed to excel in school graduating with honors and divorcing my parents so I could be my own legal guardian. I learned early on that what I did with my life was my choice, and I felt I could not control my weight so I control my life by ensuring I wasn't another teen mom who did nothing with her life. Went to school, college for BA , Grad school for MSW. But I was making bad men and food choices and I think the men choices I made was to please them because I believed no one would want me. THE HEALTH ISSUES age 19-25 I was a dibetic and didn't know it. I was 19 when I lost a ton of weight I went from 280 to 200 in three months, I was thristy all the time pee smelled like fruit and I was lossing my vision. I thought I was lossing weight because I had changed eating habits and started working out, this help but it wasn't the only reason I was lossing. I was so happy about the Weight lost that I didn't bother to go to a doctor till I could not feel my leg... This scared me went in and sugars we're 400. I was put on insulin, which cause the new found weight lost to stop, so I stop taking the insulin dumb yes. I did this back and forward with the medication for a long time till my doctor told me I did not care about my life, I did care but was so scared of going back to 280. I change eating habits for good and started working out which allowed me to stay between 200-210 MEDICATION age 25-26 I started my medication the insulin and did not get back to 280 but was hovering BTW 220 for a while. I was in a very toxic relationship and more drama than ever food and alcohol become my safe haven. After a DV situation with my now ex husband I decided to take my life back and I joined weight watchers, and the gym, my doctor put me on a diet pill as we'll . It worked wonders getting my weight to 185 lowest I have ever been since 16, with this new found confidence life was good but I started not taking the meds again plus the pill was giving me racing heart, depressing thoughts all the side effects. Stop the pill gained all the weight back and than some getting to 215. NEW START age 27-28 At this point I had two kids hated where I lived and was feeling like **** about my life, I took the 3k I saved packed my car and moved from MI to TX with my kids. Found a new doctor got back on my meds and hit the gym and boxing. Because of the yoyo diet, refusing to get on the diet pill again I was not lossing weight like before . My doctor talked to me about the wls and I was not on board i was 5'1 215 and was thinking im not that big, but reality was I was that big and knew I had to do something especially to get my sugars under control..i talk to my therpist about it and she was supportive. We went over the pros and cons as well as how relationships would be if I did go through with this. (We had been working through my relationships with ppl due to poor relationships with family, friends and men back home). After the talk and research I went in for a seminar. SEMINAR age 28 Went on 8/25/2015 Started process the following week. I did not like the first surgeron I went to and switch on 10/1/2015. Here is how the progress went: 10/7 Appointment met with surgeon, Nut(psy evaluation done that day), dietien. Was given requirements from doctor which was: Don't gain weight 216 Keep sugars below 150 10/12 Went to get blood work done Xrays done My insurance required six month diet, but I already met the requirements for this from past diets (the pill and weight watchers) 11/7 submited to insurance 11/8 approved 11/18- pre opt appointment (weight 213) 11/23 surgery date @10am

I know this sounds crazy but u start to feel sick sniff an alcohol pad... It's crazy but it works

Anyone try Supreme Protein Bars? I had them before GB and really prefer the taste of them, but I noticed that they have a high amount of sugar alcohol. I don't want to "dump", so checking to see if anyone has had a problem with them.

I had the same thing, and my doctor's office said to press on the area slightly to get the stitch to pop out as much as possible and to cut it off with sterilized scissors or nail clippers. They said to definitely not pull on it. I just cleaned a pair of nail clippers with alcohol and clipped the little piece sticking out carefully, without touching my skin. It eventually completely disappeared. It's very common and nothing to worry about.

Hi Iam getting banded on the 26/06/09 and I am paying for it myself. I have been told to go on a low fat diet for 2 weeks which I have done successfully, but I am really worried about my liver. I am not an alcoholic or anything but I do like a glass of wine or two in the evening with my meal and have done this for many years. Now I am worrying if and when the Dr. opens me up and says my liver is too bad. Oh I am worrying about everything at the moment and my husband thinks I am overreacting cause Im so nervous but it is something I haven't thought about until now. Has anyone had any experience of this. Really appreciate any replies. Being banded in Belgium and havent had any blood tests yet as get them the day before the op owing to it being performed in another country. Jx:sad:

I was on the boards for over a year pre-op, and inhaled all kinds of stories. I was (I believe) adequately prepared for how the VSG would be a tool, would offer a brief time (1 year) to build new skills, deal with surprising upsets about not being able to soothe myself with food. I also realized I needed to be in therapy, during my journey -- I call it my Year of Losing Weight, my Year of Maintaining my Weight, and Boring Real Life. That's my therapy commitment -- three years. I'm old enough to know that life isn't an endless honeymoon. Boredom, habits and real life end all honeymoons. And then the marriage begins. So I was well prepared. I do see those who are starstruck and want to wake up 365 days later and find themselves Cinderella at the Ball being chased around the floor by The Prince. I see some who are, frankly, not smart enough to appreciate what they're doing to themselves and what it will mean. I seem some who thought they were ready, but find it so much harder to adapt than they'd dreamed. Some of those adapt. Some of them don't. I see some who can't be compliant because they're too food-addicted or simply unable to follow directions or those who can't let anyone be the boss of them or those who think they're too special to do it the boring way everyone else does. I see the perfection puppies, the alcoholics, the ones whose lives are a train wreck with no space in it for self-protection, the wounded adult children, the smart ones who can fix everything but their weight. I see those with bad surgeons and inattentive care. I see those with no support at home or outright antagonism and hate disguised as nagging. People who are desperate enough to have weight loss surgery are not all in mental spaces or physical spaces that are safe enough for them to undergo WLS and its aftermath. Of course, I see people who do well. A lot of them are older. They know it won't be perfect, but they're patient. They have seen tough times, and they aren't shocked by some tough things about WLS. They're a bit long-suffering and don't bitch about every new food that doesn't thrill their palate. They can tolerate temporary discomfort to get to the easier times two months out. In a word, they're just compliant -- or as compliant as they can be. They don't beat themselves up when they're not perfect and they are resilient enough to get back on the path without being a drama llama about it. They don't start threads with titles like: "Oy vey ist mir!" or "Will I ever be happy again?" or "Please tell me this won't last forever." They already know they'll be happy again, that this won't last forever, and that ein bischen vey doesn't require a clickbait thread title.

I tried alcohol for the first time since surgery last week. One normal-sized vodka and lemonade, mostly vodka, and it got me FUCKED. UP. Saturday night I had some wine with dinner and that went much better. I am tolerating most things. Yesterday I had sausage, egg, and cheese on a garlic bagel and that came right up. I though that would be better than cream cheese on a bagel; guess not!

Hi @MarceMonster. Here’s the formula I used to get to goal weight: • Start every morning with a Protein shake for Breakfast. • Eat 60–80 or more grams of protein daily. • Drink 64–120 ounces of fluids daily. (I drink tons of Crystal Light, or generic, sugar-free/decaf iced tea.) • Do not consume any starches or sugars. • Get all carbs from green veggies, legumes, and dairy products. • Do not consume empty liquid calories/sugar (fruit juices, ice cream, etc). • Try to avoid alcohol. It’s empty liquid calories that turn to sugar in your body and can lead to poor choices. • All Snacks must be protein-based (Jerky, nuts, cheese, Greek yogurt, deli meats, etc.). • Get some exercise 4-6 times a week. • Never leave the house without a plan for what you can eat and drink while you’re out. If necessary, bring food and drink with you. • Restaurant eating is not hard: 1) skip the bread; 2) order a meat (or legume/bean) dish; 3) replace the starch with a second vegetable; 4) skip the dessert. You’ll probably end up taking some of the meat and most of the veggies home for another meal. • Beef/turkey jerky is my secret weapon. It’s saved me more times than I can count, so I try to always have some in the car for emergencies. You can buy a bag of jerky almost anywhere. It’s kind of expensive and not great for sodium-restricted diets, but it’s also high protein, low fat, okay sugar, and a 3.5-ounce bag is a meal by itself! • If you fall off the horse, get back on immediately – at the next meal. Not tomorrow, and definitely not next Monday. That’s what got us here! • Go to Bariatric Support Group meetings in your area, if possible. • Participate actively in online forums like BariatricPal. • Read as much as you can about the process and the journey; and especially, read posts and articles from those who had their surgery a few years ago. Try to understand what lead to their successes and/or struggles. • Share your story and reach out to help others who are behind you in their journey. By helping them, you’ll help yourself as well. • Have a goal weight in mind and strive to get there. (I weigh myself every single day.) But also set lots of smaller goals. It’s fun and inspiring to achieve them. • Always be looking forward. Don’t look back over your shoulder waiting for the heavier person to drag you back. Let that person fade into history. • Believe that the slimmer person in the mirror is the real you. • A little vanity is okay. Enjoy how you look. Accept compliments graciously and don’t deflect them. Have fun trying on smaller-sized clothes that fit now. Compare before and after pictures. Take pride in your accomplishments! • Accept that this is a somewhat selfish process. That’s okay, too. You don’t have to apologize for it. And don’t let other people interfere with your progress. We have to make our weight loss program a priority in our lives. • But at the same time, recognize that your journey affects your friends and loved ones as well. Be sensitive to their reactions and their emotional needs, without allowing it to derail your program. • And finally, try to have fun losing the weight and getting healthy! Hold onto your determination! That's what'll keep you going during the difficult times and the stalls. Good luck!

ChrisredJeep normal to be nervous but I'm sure it will be fine. I'm 9 months down the line and can't remember much about the first few weeks. Like excitedbutnervous I had old stocks of LighterLife and Exante and used those. You can also add Protein powder to ordinary smooth veggie Soups if you want to up your protein intake. I had yoghurts and puréed fruit after 3 weeks I think, then moved on to things like hummus, scrambled egg, etc although that's a bit harder to digest. Excitedbutnervous I eat out frequently - I don't asK for child's meals, I just have normal food and stop eating when I've had enough which means I often leave quite a bit on the plate. Despite the recommendations not to drink and eat at the same time I do sometimes (only still non-alcoholic drinks or tea or coffee) and it doesn't seem to give me any problems. Thank heavens in the UK we're allowed to eat whole eggs and have coffee - I don't know how I would have managed otherwise as brunch is my favourite meal! Anyway, good luck to you both.

Order iced tea, order Water, order whatever you want. Who cares if you are drinking alcohol or not? That is absolutely nobody's business but your own.

Hubby won a gift card for Longhorn Steakhouse so even though Sunday will be my last meal before my pre op diet, we decided to go out tonight. It was wonderful; rib eye with baked potato stuffed mushrooms and a ginger ale. Tomorrow will be my last margarita...haven’t had one in a few years (haven’t had any alcohol in over a year) but it sounds good lol. Hubby is happy because after surgery I will be a really cheap date...since a shot glass full of puréed veggies will fill me up [emoji23] Have a great day! Amanda [emoji16] HW 248 CW 241 Surgery Date: pending 11/21/2017. Goal weight 150’ish [emoji23]

My drinking days are Sundays. I preplan everything. I double my workouts, plan my meals and make sure I stay within my target calories intake. My drink of choice is a shot of a low cal vodka and Zero vitamin water. Blueberry Pomegranate is one of my favorites. My advice to you is to plan you day and do some research on your favorite alcoholic drinks and find a healthier alternative. Remember alcohol has empty calories. So choice wisely

At work, I used a cover story of an illness, non life threatening or especially serious, to explain how little I eat, and not drinking alcohol. Despite my "explanation", I'm convinced some people believed I am seriously or even terminally ill. The last meeting I was at with my president in attendance, he avoided me like the plague! My company is non US based, and in that culture serious illnesses are taboo. So I make a definite effort when I'm around my non US colleagues to look my absolute best, be upbeat and energetic, etc. But it's clearly not entirely working

I bought little 1oz and 2oz cups w lids to easily measure food. I made sf jello "shots" to be ready when I get home. Was odd making Jell-O shots without alcohol

Water....seriously that is the best thing you can drink. If you are asking about alcoholic drinks... Vodka and water heavy on water...with a splash of cranberry might be the closest to being the best.

I highly advise against drinking alcohol. It's just empty calories, hard on the stomach, and you end up getting more intoxicated than you think because your pouch is small. I agree though, that if you must drink alcohol, watered down vodka is probably the way to go. Do not get anything carbonated mixed in.

Can't help, I don't drink any alcohol. Empty calories.