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I stopped for 5 weeks before surgery and 10 weeks after then went easy. I was down about about 55 when I started up again and continued to lose at the same rate until dropping a total of about 95 lbs. My advice would be: 1. Count the calories in the alcohol. Distilled alcohol like vodka is 64 calories/ounce. There are plenty of sugary drinks out there that are over 300 calories each. 2. Drink plenty of Water and take an extra antacid. 3. Plan EXACTLY what you'll eat when you drink and the day after and stick to it. My problem wasn't so much the calories in alcohol, but rather the bad food choices that followed. I'm not going to argue with those who preach abstinence, but I know that's not me. The world is full of skinny people who drink alcohol every day. Study what they do and eat and create your own strategy for weight maintenance. Log and weigh yourself ever day and if things get off track, correct!

My plan only said no alcohol for 30 days, after that keep drinks to a minimum as 1 drink could intoxocate you after the surgery. We shall see. Im counting down the days. Lol. One place i go puts u on ur a$$ with just 2 margaritas :-) n im not a lightweight. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using the BariatricPal App

Every plan is different. My surgeon allows me to have alcohol. I can't drink red wine anymore (which I used to love) because it burns going down. I can drink something with rum or vodka but tequila makes me sick (which I also used to like). If you are going to drink alcohol be sure it's in your caloric budget for the day and that you are prepared to feel the effect of alcohol much sooner. I seldom drink now because I can drunk so easily and because I usually don't feel like I want to drink my calories for the day. I know many people will write and say never to drink, but again, every surgeon's plan is different.

I abstained from alcohol for a total of 9 months (my entire six month pre-op diet program and the first 3 months post-op). I had some drinks during a 3.5 week trip to SE Asia in late December (3 months post-op for me). I, of course, stayed away from anything with sugar. I mostly had a few whiskey and Water drinks and some red wine. On those days, I had mostly Protein shakes to minimize calories and carbs but to still meet my protein goals. It certainly isn't going to be a regular thing for me, but from time to time, it isn't going to hurt my progress. I lost 13 pounds on that trip, even with the drinks. (Just drinking Protein Shakes all day on days that I will have some alcohol sucks, but I definitely think that plays a role in making the whole thing work.) You'll get a lot of different replies to this question quite likely. Many people think you should abstain until maintenance. My advice is to talk to your medical team, get their advice, and make a well-informed decision. That's what I did. Good luck.

Just curious about alcoholic drinks and how long after surgery before having one. I know beer is out because of the carbonation but I was wondering about other alcohol. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

The surgeon and team I had said no more alcohol ever. I'm 7 months out no alcohol at all and don't plan on starting. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

That interesting idea,Alex Im quit alcohol because i had history sezuire at 12 years old im been on and off drinking alcohol and im chose quit alcohol drinking for my health reason.. I don't wanted cheat drinking alcohol after surgery bad idea! Im on post op two weeks after my surgery january 9 My mom's family didn't drinking alcohol because of religion i have respect that but im chosen follow her family..

I agree with all of this. The way I see it, the pre-op diet has 3 functions: to get you to practice making and consuming liquid sources of protein, to empty your stomach completely so you don't aspirate, and to shrink the liver. I knew I wouldn't be able to stick to the pre-op diet, due to the holidays and also a vacation I had planned and paid for before scheduling my sleeve. So I started practicing early. I bought a bunch of different shakes and powders and protein waters about 5 weeks before surgery to see which ones were acceptable and which ones I hated. I went several days in a row with no solid foods and no alcohol, to make sure I could do it. I had also practiced weighing out 2 ounce portions of food and eating tiny bites the month before, so I feel like I've got that down. I went back onto a sober/full liquids diet on Monday night, and when I wake up tomorrow I will just be on Clear Liquids. When I wake up on Thursday, I will have only Water and sugar-free popsicles until noon, and then check into the hospital and eat nothing else until after surgery. So I'm not worried about having any food in my stomach at the time of surgery. And I asked my surgeon about the liver thing. She says there is really no way to tell whose liver will be extra fatty and who will have a nice pliable live that is easy to move out of the way. And, of you think about it, there are people who get this surgery who weigh 300, 400, 500 pounds and even more. Even if those people really do an amazing job on their pre-op diet and lose 50 or 100 pounds, it isn't going to magically shrink their liver smaller than mine. I weigh in the low 200s and my doctor also told me she wanted me to lose 10 pounds, but it hasn't really happened. I weigh maybe 1 or 2 pounds less than I did at my first consult, and I'm fine with that. I just want to get the surgery done with and get those damn hunger hormones out of my body so that I can do the post-op diet progression correctly. That's where you can really get yourself in trouble, eating things you shouldn't while you're healing. Sent from my Nexus 5X using the BariatricPal App

I personally do not wish to risk it. there are tons of non alcoholic drinks available that I can drink while everyone else drinks. they taste great and I can keep the calories low. alcoholics will tell you you can have a great social life without the alcohol if you turn out to be one of the folks whose new tummy will not accept it.

I'm a social drinker so I wonder about alcohol too. I would like to drink again & have a normal social life as I do now. My surgery isn't until next month, my doctor advises to wait a year but he also said we can drink in 6 months post-op but to just be cautious because I'll get drunk faster & calories. Height 5'0" Weight for consultation: 216 lbs. Pre-op Weight: Unknown until January 20th. My profile picture is not me. It's my "FitSpiration" body.

I'm five months out and my surgeon said I could have a cocktail on my birthday, at the end of the month. He gave me the caution of alcohol hitting harder than before, but I've always been a 'one and done' girl anyway. So one cocktail, sipped slowly, it will be. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My husband isn't an alcoholic. He is a disabled former law enforcement officer with a brain condition. It is my friends husband who is an alcoholic, and trust me... they have been fighting that battle for 10+ years. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

I am sixty and married 39 years in March. Yes, you have to do this for you!!! My husband is very supportive. I had my rny gastric bypass on Jan. 10th. Hopefully you attend al anon to deal with your husband's alcoholism. I do know something about the disease. I have been a recovering alcoholic for 29 years and my husband a recovering addict for the same time. Reach out to those in your support system. Feel free too contact me if I can help. Good luck. Prayers your way. Paula Sent from my EVO using the BariatricPal App

This is long... but I really need to get it off my chest and see what you all think. My situation is this: I have a husband with a brain condition, an 8 year old son, and a 25 year old daughter (plus 5 grandsons all under the age of 10). I live in a rural area about an hour from the hospital where my surgery is supposed to happen on Wednesday. I have to check in at the hospital at 6:00 am that day... but my son needs to get on the school bus at 8:15 am that day. We have just one vehicle, and my husband doesn't drive much... but he is going to come with me Wednesday and stick around until I go to the OR... at which point he will come home and get updates by phone until after our son gets off the school bus at 3:00 pm, when he will bring him along and come back to visit me (because by then I should be in a room... kids under 12 are not allowed in pre-op or recovery, so he can't come to the hospital with us). The plan was for my adult daughter to spend the night at our house on Tuesday night and get her brother on the bus Wednesday morning before she goes to work... but she just told me she will be out of town until Wednesday morning sometime and can't do it as planned. I can't take a chance on her not making it in time on Wednesday morning since she has no idea when she will be back in town... my husband and daughter are the only family members who know I'm having surgery, because the only other family member nearby is my mom who will freak out (and as a result stress me out) if I tell her (all I've not told other family members either because they might tell her)... she can't help me anyway... she lives an hour away in the opposite direction of the hospital I'll be at and one of my grandsons lives with her, so she has to be home herself to get him to school that day. Most of the friends I have who would be willing to help me all live too far away to actually help me (as in they pretty much all live in different states), except 2... one has a new baby and another child my son's age, but she lives over an hour away... and the other lives nearby... BUT she hasn't been very supportive of my surgery AND she will want me to send my son to her house for the night instead of coming here for the night... (but my husband won't allow him to stay the night over there because my friend is a victim of domestic violence and he is afraid her alcoholic husband could randomly show up anytime and be violent). So if I even ask, I'm afraid it will put me in an even more stressful position, being stuck in the middle between them. I'm on the verge of saying screw it and cancelling my surgery... I've got no way to make this work that I can see (other than getting a friend to drive me to the hospital and not having any pre-surgery moral support and that's IF my husband would agree to not being there with me and putting our son on the bus himself)... I'm nervous about the surgery anyway... and while I hate to have spent 2 weeks putting out the money and frustration on this pre-op diet, I did lose 10 pounds on it so maybe this is a sign that I just shouldn't do it and can try (again) to lose weight on my own without surgery. I'm so confused and stressed out!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using the BariatricPal App

most drs say one year. no carbonation so no beer. the real risk is that you become drunk faster and the long term risk of transferring the food addection to that of alcoholism.

My surgeon doesnt want me to have alcohol of any kind for at least 1Year, and advises to never have anything carbonated ever again. Sent from my SCH-R960 using the BariatricPal App

First of all, why would you drink beer? THere is carbonation in beer and it will make you blow up and burp and feel like crap. Second, they don't want you to drink alcohol because it is SUPER easy to become addicted. You'll get drunk REALLY fast and it's hard to control. Wait. Even at over 1.5 years out I won't drink more than 6oz of wine only and very rarely. Don't do something you'll regret. It's a slippery slope. Linda

I had wine about 7 weeks it was fine. I doubt I will do it again. I don't think it's a good idea for me to drink. I don't need the calories and there is risk of alcoholism. Just my opinion.

just think this way...your new stomach its the size of a baby stomach... would you give alcohol to a baby... ??? BariatricMatters

@@Walter.Sobchak Well, I have 2 degrees in History but wasn't interested in teaching at the secondary level, and I was burnt out after my Masters so wasn't gung ho about doing a Ph.D at the time. But it's pretty hard to find a job that's not teaching when your specialty is history. I found a recruiter for a conversation school in Japan at a job fair, and 5 months later I was there. It worked out for me since I had always wanted to live and work in another country, and I thought this would be the way I could travel around the world. And 40 countries later, it has. However, in the 13 years I've been in Japan, I've gained 140 pounds - just under 11 pounds a year. And that has been consistent every year I've been here, no matter how much I lost throughout the year, I'd always end up heavier in January than I was the previous year. I blame it on the rice, mostly . Well, and the fried chicken too (not KFC) and the chocolate that I (used to) continue to eat, even though Japanese chocolate isn't that great. And drinking too. I never really drank before I came here, but soon enough it became a daily activity with my friends (since there really wasn't much else to do here). And of course, the more you drink, the more you eat. So I'm glad to be rid of the alcohol and fried food and chocolate, but I hope someday I may be able to eat rice on occasion (but not daily, like I used to).

I started my pre-op diet on Thursday and I've already lost 10 pounds in 3 days! I'm on 3 Protein shakes a day (which I make myself) and 2 meals with lean protein and veggies. No dairy, no fruit, no alcohol, no caffeine, etc. I've been averaging about 1100 calories and about 120g of protein per day. I find it interesting that some programs allow for dairy and fruit, as they are both quite high in sugar. I love the Syntrax nectar protein powders - they taste like regular juice when mixed with Water. I have 2 of those a day. I also have a Protein shake in the morning where I mix almond or soy milk (and sometimes a block of soft tofu) with either flavoured Protein Powder (like vanilla or chocolate) or unflavoured. I have both Syntrax and Isopure for those, plus the PB Peanut Butter powder, which mixes in great with the chocolate protein powder. Edit: I had a bunch of links posted, but this site overruled them. Amazon carries a lot of good protein powders, but for unjury you may have to buy directly from them. I also shop from vitacost and iHerb, as they ship to Japan and many other countries (whereas Amazon will not).

My doc approved me for alcohol at my 2 month check up. He advised a very small amount, but I haven't tried it yet cause many ppl have told me to wait a year. That and I really haven't had an occasion where I wanted to drink. When I do...it'll probably be a bit of wine since I'm not much of a beer or liquor drinker Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

My bariatric book advises not to drink alcohol for a year. My sister who had the surgery 4 years ago said she doesn't recall waiting a year and more than likely didn't. Just wondering if you all waited a year or how long you waited AND how you felt after vs. before? I hear you become intoxicated fairly quick. Thx! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sw:275 Cw: 185 I'm eating very healthy foods..no carbonation, no alcohol, veggies, minimal meat. Im.not losing weight nearly at the rate I was. I do have a larger apetite but it's still pretty small. My question is if I go to absolutely no carbs do you think I could lost it faster? Is it normal for weight loss to be slower at 7 months?? Thanks for your responses!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

Wow, it took me a few days to figure out how to get back into this forum. I'm grateful for the many comments on here. It's gives me hope. I heard the wrong things early in my glory days of weight dropping off. " if you are able to keep the weight off 3 years you will not have any problems ". Unfortunately I took it to heart and allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted. My weight did go up and down some about 10lbs. I worked full time at a physical job and exercised my days off. I hit 40, job change, weight gain. Found out about disabilitys more weight gain. Lost our home in a house fire, more weight gain. I have always known I'm a sugar addict. Most of the time Doctors and professionals laughed like I'm Kidding. I wish, but notice they don't laugh at alcoholism or drug addiction. So long story short I lost my job, home, had a scary gun accident that left me with PTSD and 75lbs of extra fat. I'm feeling depressed beyond understanding to most. Sugar feels like my only comfort in life. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App