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Two or so days after surgery I was on the treadmill. 0.1 miles the first day, 0.2 the second, 0.3 the third. I just kept adding more. After 7-10 days I started ab work, again very slowly. I still exercise & was on the treadmill this morning. I'm a U.S. Army veteran & being able to move again is one of the best parts of this for me. The weight loss slowed down, stopped, & reversed direction the more alcohol I drank. Proud to say I haven't had any alcohol in more than 10 weeks. I definitely have acid reflux. There are lots of acidic foods I enjoy. Champagne, beer, & even fizzy water like La Croix "repeat" on me. Being a stomach sleeper doesn't help. I'm passively considering a revision, not actively. I reserve the right to change that answer though!

I can have wine, but as I mentioned in another reply, I grew to like wine too much. I was drinking one to two bottles every night. I'm proud to say I haven't had any alcohol for more than 10 weeks! What do I do when I'm in a large group? I tell people, "Enjoy!" I eat my portion & that's that. I've regained nearly 40 of the 108lbs I lost. I'm not proud of that. Alcohol played a part. I'm sorry to read you're nauseous & constipated. I hope both of those improve for you!

Can I? Yes. Do I? No. I've always been more of a wine person than a beer person. That said, I grew to enjoy wine too much. I got to the point that I was drinking one to two bottles of wine every night. That was a poor choice. I'm proud to say it's been more than 10 weeks since I've had any alcohol. I have few regrets in life, but if I had to do drink that much again, I wouldn't.

I had my first drink about 6 months after surgery - and in full transparency my surgeon recommends waiting at least a year so I was not following their guidelines! I had a vodka based mixed drink, tried to pick one without many 'mixers' to keep the sugar low. My experience was that after 1-2 sips I felt very tipsy. I sipped on that one drink for about an hour and didn't finish it - and I was hammered. It was as if I had 3-4 of that same drink (pre-surgery). So yes, it hits you very hard very fast. The other part I discovered was that it felt good... I have struggled with food addiction my whole life and now I don't have food to rely on - so the fact that the alcohol made me feel so happy so quickly scared the crap out of me. Transfer addiction is a very real thing. Now I drink very rarely (once every month or two) and I always make sure I have someone responsible with me and I limit it to one drink.

1000 calories is pretty high at 3 months. I am 5 months out and average about 800/day. Try lowering your calories abs experiment with your diet. Certain foods inhibit weight loss in certain people. Artificial sweeteners, chemicals in processed foods, caffeine, alcohol etc. Stick with it and try different approaches. You can do this

WHAT IN THE EVER LIVING ACTUAL F*CK... Seriously. I followed the diet, I'm taking meds...I'm still making sure to get protein in first and trying to make it to at least 1k cals per day...but I've lost 6lbs, that's it. Has ANYONE else experienced this?! Is it normal? I mean I am not the biggest person in the world, I was 276 when I came home from hospital and weighed 270 a couple days ago. I was not a huge alcohol drinker, did not drink pop all the time etc before the surgery, had no health issues, still have no health issues and nothing I eat makes me sick... is that it? I mean, is it because other than eating drastically less than I could before surgery, is it because I was healthy before hand so Im not seeing any drastic results!? I'm starting to get super depressed.

I told the doctor 120 and he said that was realistic. It is at the very top of what my BMI should be to be out of the over weight range. I do know that my daughter is my height and she is around 100 pounds as was I when I was younger and neither of us looked under weight. Tiny, but not too skinny. But the best I can hope for is getting to a weight that reduces my medical conditions such as my diabetes, especially my blood pressure (I am a walking stroke), sleep apnea, non-alcoholic fatty liver and fingers crossed my feet and back will hurt a lot less!! Whatever THAT weight is - THAT is where I want to be.

What are your rules/experiences with drinking alcohol after surgery

Try chicken/beef broth Clear protein Shake protein - no alcohol Protein water

Thank you for the thoughtful article. It is nice to see a mental health article about WLS patients that is not focused on alcoholism.

A sip or two isn't going to kill you, but it is empty calories. If you're going to drink alcohol, be aware of how much you're drinking and also how much it can slow down your weight loss. A simple drink like a gimlet can run as much as 200 calories; that's like 1/5th of what you're eating in a day. If you go for something sugary like a hurricaine it can be as much as 350-400. Pint of beer is around 200. Glass of wine is 100. As you can see, these could all totally kill your diet plan -- and, in addition, you're going to get very drunk very fast. After a certain point the alcohol isn't a "danger" to you, as in it's not going to cause problems specifically with your sleeve. It will just slow down your weight loss and might also have negative effects. Personally, I say drink responsibly. My NUT says "never drink again" but with a wink that says she knows that no one ever listens to that....

I hope that you find the answers that you are seeking. My reason for having surgery boiled down to the sheer amount of food that I was able to eat in a single sitting. I wasn't a huge processed food snacker. I was able to eat 5-7 cups per sitting, which didn't hurt me when I was eating veggies and brown rice. It did hurt me when I ate something bad though. Unfortunately, eating 8 slices of pizza, and 5 tacos on a cheat day derailed my progress during the other 6 days of my diet. I didn't have surgery with the hope that it would make me not want pizza or tacos. I had it with the hope that I would possibly be able to eat 1-2 slices of pizza or 1 or 2 tacos. I also knew that cutting that 5-7 cups down to a more manageable 1-2 cups would make a huge difference in the amount of calories I was taking in on a daily basis. I really had no idea that I would be eating 1/2 to 2/3 of a cup of food per sitting. Since surgery, I have had both pizza and tacos. I have made them myself though. Cauliflower crust pizza loaded with veggies, a very tiny amount of sauce and a very tiny amount of mozzarella cheese. Veggie sausage, egg white and spinach tacos made with 1/2 of a Flat-out light wrap. I could eat a little over 1/3 of a 9" cauliflower crust pizza, and it would be just over 150 calories. The tacos would be a little over 160 calories. That is a win in my book. I once took a month long nutrition class (for insurance purposes) that said that you can contribute at least 20-30 pounds of your excess weight to each group of bad foods you eat. If you eat salty snacks, sweets, fast food, drink alcohol.....Each of these groups can really pack on the pounds. I think that everyone must realize that this surgery doesn't help as much if your problem is snacking on processed junk or eating fast food unless you yourself are willing to change. 5 ounces of candy is A LOT of calories. 5 ounces of Doritos is A LOT of calories. 5 ounces of ice cream is A LOT of calories. These are all sliders, have almost no nutritional value, and will not make you full. Even a small cheeseburger and small fry from McDonalds will carry almost 550 calories. Have that 2 or more times per week, and you could still wreck your progress. There was a bariatric doctor that said that if you want to be successful in weight loss, you must do the right things at least 90% of the time. You will have stalls, but you can still lose fat during these stalls. Get back to your program. If you must snack, find healthy snacks that you like eating. I like crunchy veggies and raw nuts, but have an occasional turkey roll or two (turkey breast slices, cream cheese, chives). Remember, no surgery is going to overcome the brain's urge to eat junk food or processed food. You've got to learn to have that every loooonnnnggg once in a while, and hopefully, in the case of junk food....Make better choices about what you have. You can have a salad anywhere. Just don't pile on the dressing, croutons and/or tortilla strips. LOL! You can do this. It won't be easy. I won't be fun. It WILL make you stronger. It WILL be worth it in the end. Good luck my friends!

A large percent of pre-op weight loss surgery candidates feel that once their waistline changes, so will their thinking, and their dead wrong. Today, during one of my pre-op psych evaluations, I heard a woman say “I just feel like once I start losing weight and start feeling so much better about my self- I will stop doing all the destructive things that got me here. Don’t you think?” My response was “no I don’t agree.” I went on to explain that hers was a common assumption, a dangerous “magic-bullet” fantasy about what weight loss surgery can do. Here’s why: The part of our brain that is responsible for the thought : “wow I look so much better, I better not mess this up,” or “I feel better than I have ever felt in my life, I am a changed person,” is not the same part of the brain that wakes us up in the middle of the night and says: “go on, finish that 1/2 pint of Chunky Monkey in the freezer, there’s only a little bit left anyway, and I have been so good here lately.” We are dealing with two very different brains; the frontal cortex and the reptilian mid brain. The frontal cortex is the most newly developed (relative to other parts of the brain) part of the brain. It is the component that separates us from animals. It gives us the ability to think about consequences, plan, and execute. It is the “higher” part of ourselves, that often says “why do I keep on doing the same things I keep saying I won’t do anymore?” Or “I feel so out of control. This _______ (eating, smoking, drinking, gambling, pick your poison) is a temporary solution that produces long term pain. I have to find a different way.” Our reptilian midbrain is the Commodore 64 to our MAC; it is the palm pilot to our iPhone; the horse and buggy to our Prius; the Tommy Lee to our Oprah. Our midbrain is antique equipment, long ago evolved to keep us alive and hence the reason it is still with us today- it keeps us alive. Our midbrain contains the parts of the brain that make us recoil at the site of a snake or a spider in our peripheral vision. It is hardwired to not have to go through superfluous channels of the brain that might otherwise say “hmmm what is that crawling over there? How do I feel about that? Oh its just a spider, my aunt had a collection of spiders, maybe I should collect things, etc etc.” We just jump, and process later. That very system has helped humans survive for thousands of years. There is an adaptive quality to a brain that proverbially acts and asks forgiveness later. That very old structure once kept us out of harm’s way when a pack of tigers were first seen galloping across a horizon, or when a rivaling tribe could be heard in the far off distance, threatening to pillage our territory. Our midbrain is associated with learning and reward. Learning what makes us feel bad, what eats us (in the past that would be in a literal sense- like tigers, but presently it might be a mercurial supervisor or unending debt), and even more relevant to this article- what makes us feel good. When our brains come across something that makes us feel good (ex: sex, drugs, food), we are then flooded with an influx of the powerful neurotransmitter- dopamine. Just like not everyone that is exposed to drugs will develop an addiction, not everyone that eats a Nutella crepe will develop a food addiction. Much of the research on obesity currently, postulates that food addiction, no dissimilar than alcohol or drug addiction- is a reward system dysfunction or dysregulation, born out of genetic predisposition. It’s almost as if some brains think “if one slice of pizza feels good, how would four slices of pizza taste?” To break these two very different parts up in a different, more basic way; our frontal cortex is the voluntary, while our midbrain is the involuntary. This very dangerous fantasy, many people carry into weight loss surgery is a myth that I try to dispel quickly. This type of “magic bullet’ thinking is the very thing that gets so many gastric bypass and sleeve patients into trouble years down the road. No one wants to look at triggers. No one wants to sit with a therapist and devise a strategic coping plan. We want a pill, a surgery, a 16 minute solution to a 40 year old problem. This is not to say that weight loss surgery is not a solution, just that its only part of the solution. Despite our best intentions, we are still in some ways animalistic, hedonically-driven to feed our most basic impulses. This is part and parcel of why recidivism is the rule not the exception when it comes to recovery from most addiction. So what does this mean? Are all weight loss surgery patients destined for disappointment and disenchantment when the WLS honeymoon ends? No. But the answer to long term change lies more in two-pronged approach to long term weight loss success; surgery + behavioral change. Simply thinking ourself slim is a fantasy. Think about your specific triggers for eating. For some it is that golden hour when all the kids are in bed and Narcos is queued up on your Netflix. For others it is that 2-3pm mid day slump. For some - it is when they are alone, the only time they can eat with abandon free from others’ judgement or their own embarrassment. Whatever your triggers- the key is to identify what need is being met in that moment and to find a non-food alternative to meet each particular need ( many people have multiple triggers for over eating). If it is because its “your time,” after the kids are in bed- maybe you invest in a foot massager, or cultivate a self care space with textures, aromatherapy, candles, and books. If your trigger is that mid day slump, maybe you develop a yoga routine easily done in the office to help re-energize you. If it is the secretive quality to the trigger of being alone and eating, maybe it is finding another thing that is just your own that no one knows (going to a movie in the middle of the day, getting an overly priced facial on your lunch hour, playing hooky with your kid one day, etc). The rule of the brain is : what fires together, wires together. So over time- if you have paired 8pm, Narcos, and nachos- you have created a neurological super highway. The moment 8pm rolls around, you are likely already getting the chips ready and didn’t even realize the thought pathway that just occurred. The idea is to repair our triggers with alternative behaviors and over time “clip those wires” or create “toll roads” to our superhighways (aka neurosynaptic pruning), so that we no longer experience such strong urges and can call upon the higher structures of our frontal cortex to guide the way again. When we are in the midst of addiction, it is important to understand that our frontal cortex is not at the wheel. It has been duck taped and tied to a chair in the basement by our hedonic midbrain who is used to getting what it wants when it wants it. The closer we come to accepting this principle, the closer we come to being more mindful of our midbrain’s powerful rationalizations and sick contracts and see them for just that. We are better able to dis-identify from the thought, knowing it is not coming from our best self, but from our most carnal self. Think of that distant cousin that only shows up when they need something, the Uncle Eddy that tells you he’ll move the RV when he leaves next month, indifferent to how it makes you feel. Except in addiction- that distant cousin has taken over, pretending its you until you can no longer tell the difference. References http://brainspotting-switzerland.ch/4_artikel/Corrigan & Grand 2013 Med Hyp paper (proofs).pdf Blum K, Chen AL, Giordano J, Borsten J, Chen TJ, et al. The addictive brain: all roads lead to dopamine. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2012;44:134–143. [PubMed] Avena NM, Gold JA, Kroll C, Gold MS. Further developments in the neurobiology of food and addiction: update on the state of the science. Nutrition. 2012;28:341–343. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Orr PT, Stice E, Corbin WR, et al. Neural correlates of food addiction. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68:808–816. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Saper CB, Chou TC, Elmquist JK. The need to feed: homeostatic and hedonic control of eating. Neuron. 2002;36:199–211. [PubMed] Stice E, Yokum S, Zald D, Dagher A. Dopamine-based reward circuitry responsivity, genetics, and overeating. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2011;6:81–93. [PubMed] Blum K, Sheridan PJ, Wood RC, Braverman ER, Chen TJ, et al. The D2 dopamine receptor gene as a determinant of reward deficiency syndrome. J R Soc Med. 1996;89:396–400. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Comings DE, Flanagan SD, Dietz G, Muhleman D, Knell E, et al. The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) as a major gene in obesity and height. Biochem Med Metab Biol. 1993;50:176–185. [PubMed] Noble EP, Noble RE, Ritchie T, Syndulko K, Bohlman MC, et al. D2 dopamine receptor gene and obesity. Int J Eat Disord. 1994;15:205–217. [PubMed] Blumenthal DM, Gold MS. Neurobiology of food addiction. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010;13:359–365. [PubMed] Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Telang F. Overlapping neuronal circuits in addiction and obesity: evidence of systems pathology. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008;363:3191–3200. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Baler RD. Reward, dopamine and the control of food intake: implications for obesity. Trends Cogn Sci. 2011;15:37–46. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

Today, during one of my pre-op psych evaluations, I heard a woman say “I just feel like once I start losing weight and start feeling so much better about my self- I will stop doing all the destructive things that got me here. Don’t you think?” My response was “no I don’t agree.” I went on to explain that hers was a common assumption, a dangerous “magic-bullet” fantasy about what weight loss surgery can do. Here’s why: The part of our brain that is responsible for the thought : “wow I look so much better, I better not mess this up,” or “I feel better than I have ever felt in my life, I am a changed person,” is not the same part of the brain that wakes us up in the middle of the night and says: “go on, finish that 1/2 pint of Chunky Monkey in the freezer, there’s only a little bit left anyway, and I have been so good here lately.” We are dealing with two very different brains; the frontal cortex and the reptilian mid brain. The frontal cortex is the most newly developed (relative to other parts of the brain) part of the brain. It is the component that separates us from animals. It gives us the ability to think about consequences, plan, and execute. It is the “higher” part of ourselves, that often says “why do I keep on doing the same things I keep saying I won’t do anymore?” Or “I feel so out of control. This _______ (eating, smoking, drinking, gambling, pick your poison) is a temporary solution that produces long term pain. I have to find a different way.” Our reptilian midbrain is the Commodore 64 to our MAC; it is the palm pilot to our iPhone; the horse and buggy to our Prius; the Tommy Lee to our Oprah. Our midbrain is antique equipment, long ago evolved to keep us alive and hence the reason it is still with us today- it keeps us alive. Our midbrain contains the parts of the brain that make us recoil at the site of a snake or a spider in our peripheral vision. It is hardwired to not have to go through superfluous channels of the brain that might otherwise say “hmmm what is that crawling over there? How do I feel about that? Oh its just a spider, my aunt had a collection of spiders, maybe I should collect things, etc etc.” We just jump, and process later. That very system has helped humans survive for thousands of years. There is an adaptive quality to a brain that proverbially acts and asks forgiveness later. That very old structure once kept us out of harm’s way when a pack of tigers were first seen galloping across a horizon, or when a rivaling tribe could be heard in the far off distance, threatening to pillage our territory. Our midbrain is associated with learning and reward. Learning what makes us feel bad, what eats us (in the past that would be in a literal sense- like tigers, but presently it might be a mercurial supervisor or unending debt), and even more relevant to this article- what makes us feel good. When our brains come across something that makes us feel good (ex: sex, drugs, food), we are then flooded with an influx of the powerful neurotransmitter- dopamine. Just like not everyone that is exposed to drugs will develop an addiction, not everyone that eats a Nutella crepe will develop a food addiction. Much of the research on obesity currently, postulates that food addiction, no dissimilar than alcohol or drug addiction- is a reward system dysfunction or dysregulation, born out of genetic predisposition. It’s almost as if some brains think “if one slice of pizza feels good, how would four slices of pizza taste?” To break these two very different parts up in a different, more basic way; our frontal cortex is the voluntary, while our midbrain is the involuntary. This very dangerous fantasy, many people carry into weight loss surgery is a myth that I try to dispel quickly. This type of “magic bullet’ thinking is the very thing that gets so many gastric bypass and sleeve patients into trouble years down the road. No one wants to look at triggers. No one wants to sit with a therapist and devise a strategic coping plan. We want a pill, a surgery, a 16 minute solution to a 40 year old problem. This is not to say that weight loss surgery is not a solution, just that its only part of the solution. Despite our best intentions, we are still in some ways animalistic, hedonically-driven to feed our most basic impulses. This is part and parcel of why recidivism is the rule not the exception when it comes to recovery from most addiction. So what does this mean? Are all weight loss surgery patients destined for disappointment and disenchantment when the WLS honeymoon ends? No. But the answer to long term change lies more in two-pronged approach to long term weight loss success; surgery + behavioral change. Simply thinking ourself slim is a fantasy. Think about your specific triggers for eating. For some it is that golden hour when all the kids are in bed and Narcos is queued up on your Netflix. For others it is that 2-3pm mid day slump. For some - it is when they are alone, the only time they can eat with abandon free from others’ judgement or their own embarrassment. Whatever your triggers- the key is to identify what need is being met in that moment and to find a non-food alternative to meet each particular need ( many people have multiple triggers for over eating). If it is because its “your time,” after the kids are in bed- maybe you invest in a foot massager, or cultivate a self care space with textures, aromatherapy, candles, and books. If your trigger is that mid day slump, maybe you develop a yoga routine easily done in the office to help re-energize you. If it is the secretive quality to the trigger of being alone and eating, maybe it is finding another thing that is just your own that no one knows (going to a movie in the middle of the day, getting an overly priced facial on your lunch hour, playing hooky with your kid one day, etc). The rule of the brain is : what fires together, wires together. So over time- if you have paired 8pm, Narcos, and nachos- you have created a neurological super highway. The moment 8pm rolls around, you are likely already getting the chips ready and didn’t even realize the thought pathway that just occurred. The idea is to repair our triggers with alternative behaviors and over time “clip those wires” or create “toll roads” to our superhighways (aka neurosynaptic pruning), so that we no longer experience such strong urges and can call upon the higher structures of our frontal cortex to guide the way again. When we are in the midst of addiction, it is important to understand that our frontal cortex is not at the wheel. It has been duck taped and tied to a chair in the basement by our hedonic midbrain who is used to getting what it wants when it wants it. The closer we come to accepting this principle, the closer we come to being more mindful of our midbrain’s powerful rationalizations and sick contracts and see them for just that. We are better able to dis-identify from the thought, knowing it is not coming from our best self, but from our most carnal self. Think of that distant cousin that only shows up when they need something, the Uncle Eddy that tells you he’ll move the RV when he leaves next month, indifferent to how it makes you feel. Except in addiction- that distant cousin has taken over, pretending its you until you can no longer tell the difference. References http://brainspotting-switzerland.ch/4_artikel/Corrigan & Grand 2013 Med Hyp paper (proofs).pdf Blum K, Chen AL, Giordano J, Borsten J, Chen TJ, et al. The addictive brain: all roads lead to dopamine. J Psychoactive Drugs. 2012;44:134–143. [PubMed] Avena NM, Gold JA, Kroll C, Gold MS. Further developments in the neurobiology of food and addiction: update on the state of the science. Nutrition. 2012;28:341–343. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Gearhardt AN, Yokum S, Orr PT, Stice E, Corbin WR, et al. Neural correlates of food addiction. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011;68:808–816. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Saper CB, Chou TC, Elmquist JK. The need to feed: homeostatic and hedonic control of eating. Neuron. 2002;36:199–211. [PubMed] Stice E, Yokum S, Zald D, Dagher A. Dopamine-based reward circuitry responsivity, genetics, and overeating. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2011;6:81–93. [PubMed] Blum K, Sheridan PJ, Wood RC, Braverman ER, Chen TJ, et al. The D2 dopamine receptor gene as a determinant of reward deficiency syndrome. J R Soc Med. 1996;89:396–400. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Comings DE, Flanagan SD, Dietz G, Muhleman D, Knell E, et al. The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) as a major gene in obesity and height. Biochem Med Metab Biol. 1993;50:176–185. [PubMed] Noble EP, Noble RE, Ritchie T, Syndulko K, Bohlman MC, et al. D2 dopamine receptor gene and obesity. Int J Eat Disord. 1994;15:205–217. [PubMed] Blumenthal DM, Gold MS. Neurobiology of food addiction. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010;13:359–365. [PubMed] Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Fowler JS, Telang F. Overlapping neuronal circuits in addiction and obesity: evidence of systems pathology. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008;363:3191–3200. [PMC free article] [PubMed] Volkow ND, Wang GJ, Baler RD. Reward, dopamine and the control of food intake: implications for obesity. Trends Cogn Sci. 2011;15:37–46. [PMC free article] [PubMed]

Alcohol is metabolised by the small intestine, but primarily affects the liver. Legally it leaves your system in 5 hours but metabolically 10 hours. Do you really NEED to drink alcohol? Which is more important?

I have a big event 3 days before my surgery. Is there any danger to having a few drinks at the event?

my dr said no alcohol. i knew someone who drank after 3 mos, is that ok?

My projected date is December 18th. My insurance requires 6 months of working with a nutritionist and I have two more of those visits before the coordinator submits to them for approval. I've also completed most of the other requirements that the insurance/surgeon's program have. Really it's just the two more nutritionist visits, the pre-op appts/testing and insurance approval I need. :-) In prep - water intake increase and timing with meals. Increased well but timing is still a struggle. - focusing on food order when eating: protein, veggies/fruits, healthy carbs (overall just reducing my carb intake) - reducing/eliminating added sugar - Testing out protein shakes and sipping broths (haven't tested any broths but purchased some to try this week) - experimenting with foods that I will eat later and ways to change it up + get more protein. Ex. using a protein shake to make overnight oats, adding cottage cheese to meats in lieu of sour cream, etc (surprisingly better than it sounds) I also experiment in ways to make it as convenient as possible. Another surprising thing with the food experiment... freeze dried foods! Especially given portion requirements. Yes, like the ones you might take camping or pack away for emergencies. I got them from a more health-focused site so there aren't additives and such. We need to eat more "moistly" post-surgery as well, so I just added a little extra water. I ended up with a bit of pork broth to have with my pulled pork. It was good. (This is the only meat so far I have tried. Let me know if you have questions about this thought process/experiment.) - Started taking the vitamins. I am not remembering the calcium as well though, but I do have it. - Still struggling to up the exercise. :-/ - Eliminating alcohol, caffeine, soda. I had already eliminated alcohol for the most part anyway. Caffeine was rare and soda even more rare. I would indulge before though when I *really* wanted it. I'm working to not do that. - Thinking of and trying to already apply alternatives to distract me when I think I want to eat. - Thinking of non-food activities to do socially. Sorry, this is a really long list! But I think I have pretty much covered what I've been working on over the past few months.

Lol. Alcohol is known for enlarging the liver..hmm can you have it when trying to shrink your liver and prepare for surgery? Glad you asked as its easy for no one to mention it in the pre op chat as it can be assumed as obvious. But good to ask. No drinking for a while. depending on plan.

If you need cough syrup to feel better, I doubt whatever sugar is in it is really an issue, although if you use something like NyQuil, the alcohol may be. I have tried both alcohol (1 beer) and carbonated soda (diet) since my surgery and have been able to tolerate all except Dr. Pepper Ten, which came back out like a volcano. I don't have any intention of being a regular user of either, but a Sprite Zero or Diet 7-Up would probably hit the spot for an upset stomach. But I think each of us has our own set of tolerances we have to feel our way through as we go through the post op journey, so what one person can tolerate doesn't mean another one can. Good luck to you with your surgery.

Sorry, alcohol counts.

Hi all, In the past month I've fainted twice. Fainting is not new to me, used to faint due to dehydration Pre-op, so the first time I fainted (in Vegas, no alcohol) I thought it was due to dehydration so my NP ordered for me to get IV hydration. Today I fainted again (this time in a Verizon store), but didn't feel it coming like I usually do, and after fainting I've been more tired than normal and kind of nauseous. I called my surgeon's after hours number and my surgeon doesn't think it's hydration related because I'm further post-op than typical for dehydration to occur. He said just to rest, eat a snack, keep drinking water, and call the office tomorrow for an appointment and maybe some blood work. Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so what was determined as the cause? Thanks!

Note... you say you are eating pretty much nothing but protein... realize that the dairy products, even if unsweetened, contain naturally occurring carbs in the form of lactose which is milk sugar. And the refried beans have carbs as well, though it's fiber. Even eggs contain carbs and fat. Not saying they aren't good things to eat, just making sure you and others who read this are aware. 1/2 C 2% cottage cheese- 14g protein, 4g milk sugar, 2.5 fat 1/2 c fat free cottage cheese -15g protein 5g carbs (my plan would prefer the fat to carbs) Greek yogurt--all six oz servings 2% plain - 20g protein, 4g fat, 8g carbs Fat free pain - 23 protein, 0 fat, 9g carbs Oikos triple zero 15g protein 14g carbs (almost equal!) Dannon light and fit 12g protein, 9g carbs (The sugar added are even more sugar of course) 1/2 Fat free refried beans- rosarita- 6g protein, 18 carb Bush's 9 protein, 24 carb Kroger 7 protein, 20 carb Egg 6g protein, 4g fat, 1g carb Why would you trust your surgical team to literally cut you open and then not follow their dietary advice? At least for a couple of months? Better yet, why not six months or a year? Alcohol, cigars, coffee will all be there in a few months. So will the gym. How do you know you can tolerate it? Usually when we feel guilty it's because we know we are doing something wrong, even though we may say we aren't. When we are truly not doing something wrong we don't feel guilty. But you asked a question. I followed my doctors rules to the letter for a year till I was at goal. I chose the surgeon I trusted so I trusted them to know way more than I did about weight loss surgery and how to make the best recovery and lose weight most efficiently and permanently. I still follow it most of the time and I'm four years out.

Mine's October 16th in Boston. I'm halfway through my pre-op diet now. I'm not having as hard a time as I thought I would, but I can also eat. Only things I can't have are starches, caffeine (ok that one is hard), carbonated beverages (even harder than the caffeine), and alcohol.

I still follow the diet guidelines completely, I still can't eat more than 1 egg at a meal or 4 oz of cottage cheese. The only place I really deviated was with the coffee yesterday morning and the occasional cigar (they don't want you to smoke whether you have had the surgery or not). They never said I couldn't have a drink from time to time they just told me I would feel the effects of the alcohol a lot quicker. The reason I was told to stay away from caffeine was because it slows down the healing process and after 4 weeks I thought I was pretty much healed. As far as going to the gym, I just can't sit still I want to get up and be doing things all the time. 2 days after surgery I resumed my 1 to 2 mile daily walks. I have always been very active and to sit around and do nothing for 6 weeks would kill me.