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Sure! It isn't mine-as-in-I-created-it, but it's mine-as-in-I-made-a-copy-of-it (so I get to keep it even if they take the website down): https://www.bariatricfoodie.com/niks-protein-pumpkin-custard/ My recipe notes, which you are welcome to ignore 😁: I made it with sweet potato instead of pumpkin (because I was halfway through making it when I realized my can of pumpkin was dented), and it was still pretty good. (Taste: great. Texture: a little dry. But that's always how sweet potato pies seem to me.) I'm not doing that again, though; I want pumpkin! I do add more powdered ginger and freshly-grated nutmeg .. and probably cinnamon, too, on top of the pumpkin spice it calls for. They have a brand of protein powder they prefer, I think, for this, but I used vanilla Quest and came out fine. I also know some folks on here can't deal with sugar alcohols, but right now I can. So I did half xylitol, half Splenda, and that was very good. (I have to mix fake sugars. They all taste gross, alone, in the quantity you'd use for a recipe. I don't think there's any amount of stevia I can use and not have it come out tasting like aluminum to me, which is a bummer. Taste-wise, I could do all-xylitol, but at some point xylitol punishes you for over-consumption, so I didn't want to risk it.) Anyway, enjoy! Also, that site has several pumpkin-themed recipes, so browse around and see what looks good to you!

How long did anyone wait to have an alcoholic drink? My dr said to drink on special occasions but never now long I should wait.

My friend that had the surgery last year around this time said what helps her to drink a bit more is eating some peanuts! Or little pieces of bread that will help absorb the alcohol more than your tummy! I'll try this when I'm ready to my first drink

Wait WHAT!?!?! You had five drinks and drove an hour later? :faint: Yeah i live like 10 minutes from where we were and was perfectly fine. I danced and pee'd it off. And we ate food afterwards so i was fine.The only way your body can get rid of alcohol is through your liver. Dancing and peeing will not help your body metabolise alcohol. Only time. You were a massive danger to yourself and other road users. I appreciate the consurn and i know how i felt and i know where your coming from. Thanks.

What's the best low sugar alcoholic beverages to enjoy???

Vodka! With a crystal lite mix. If you must. Alcohol slows your weight loss. Or about 4oz of wine.

The frozen orange juice is really good as far as a sorbet goes. If you have no issue with alcohol...try finding a mixed a fruit juice concentrate you like---I like pineapple orange, and mix in a little amaretto, and pour into small cups and freeze. The alcohol does not allow it to freeze to an ice consistency but it remains a bit softer, though not quite slushy. MMMMM satisfies my after dinner sweet craving in just a few bites. Not enough alcohol to be an issue, and I use 100% fruit juice----so it is not too bad. I like some of these ideas! Thanks!! Kat

@@devillynn - seek out professional help like everyone has already said and post here when you need to "talk". The lost of a child isn't something any parent wants to deal with its just wrong on so many levels but unfortunately it happens. the know that the people responsible are out on bail makes it worse. Focus on you and your grand daughter. I lost my dad at 7. I didn't understand why he wasn't there. My parents were both alcoholics and would fight and separate and then get back together, then do it all over again. I thought he just left... (((((((BIG HUG))))))) jane

My surgeon said no alcohol for six months. There are a number of reasons behind that recommendation. Internal healing takes quite a long time and drinking alcohol prior to the pouch being completely healed is an invitation for ulcers. All forms of alcohol are essentially sugar which can result in dumping. Alcohol is empty calories with essentially no nutritional value. And since it hits you so much faster and harder than it did before, it can make it more difficult to follow the protocol. All good reasons and I would not encourage anyone to drink alcohol prior to six months out. I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner. But I didn't even try it until I was six months out. We all have to make our own decisions but it's a good idea to consider all of the pros and cons.

I say dump the alcohol and food and go back to the Sex....It burns alot of calories and is an enjoyable gratifing exercise. Then go back to eating small portions and make sure you get your Protein first...then your fruits and veggies. But stay away from the booze as was said earlier straight sugar and that causes weight gain like non other. Make sure you get your liquids in and start making your yougurt smoothies again, the boyfriend will love them and they are good for you both! Good Luck in your continued weight loss, I know you can do it!

If your drinking is causing problems--and from your post it is--perhaps you should give AA a try. It is free and they are all dealing with addiction. You didn't mention anything about getting drunk, but you are relying on alcohol in an unhealthy way and that is a drinking problem. Anyone who has beaten addiction to anything (food included) will tell you that relapse is a place you usually go through on the path to recovery/health. There is no shame in having a problem.....as long as you don't let it steal anymore years from you. Best of luck.

Hey bigsexy, I'm a 23-year old version of you! 6'2", 324 lbs. (as of January, I am now 299) and I just got banded 8 days ago. I'm a college student so I am good at drinking heavy amounts of beer. I like to brag about my drinking contest wins at the local bar... and everytime the Budweiser rep comes in he says, "ARE YOU READY?!" Haha, but yeah... beer was HARD to give up, but I did it. I even did it with a lot of my friends not knowing I had the surgery. Partying was such a large pasttime of mine.. tues, wed, thurs, fri, and sat had awesome deals on alcohol. I guess it was a slap in the face when my Psychiatrist told me I have all the signs for 'potential' alcoholism, but I wouldn't be now considering my circumstances. But I dropped it a couple weeks before surgery for good and got the band. I too struggle with the idea of not eating large pizza's, especially after seeing commercials for those new Domino's pizzas. I crave it sooo much. Steak is one of my favorite foods as well! What I needed to understand before getting this surgery is that 1. I will still be able to eat my [previous] favorite foods if I must, and 2. it will be completely smaller portions. Have you ever gone to a buffet, ate so much, and felt sickly full because you ate too much? Well if you feel like that after a few bites of steak, won't you be satisfied? Will you eat more? Most likely not. I honestly look forward to eating all my foods again (I'm on the stupid post-op liquid diet), but with smaller portions. But you will go crazy before the band even thinking of this. Just realize you'll be full! -Jason

Years ago I gave up pizza because I continue to fight the wheat and on some things I am very good but I still struggle. If I could only have one food the rest of my life it would be pizza. But that isn't going to happen. I have reigned myself that maybe once every 3 month's or so I have 1 slice. But I have so much guilt eating what I know is not good that now I don't want it. I instead look for the healthy option.maybe a quesidilla with a little pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. I need to eat without guilt because the guilt after the instant gratification kills me. That was my change. I read so much about real food vs process food that now things I used to love I find disgusting. I still struggle with sugar and I am working on that like an alcoholic...one day at a time. Sugar is my cocaine. Addictions are hard but focusing on what that addiction really is like gross food really helps. I used to really admire Oprah but now I see her as a sell out. You can't eat chips or bread and expect that to be good food. I am hoping my surgery will be my turning point because as soon as I lose the first 20lbs...I will feel powerful against bad food. Sorry for the long post. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using BariatricPal mobile app

I was banded on June 15, and have been feeling (and healing) pretty well. My surgeon moved me to pureed/mushies ahead of schedule at my post-op visit on Tuesday, so I'm experimenting a bit with those. My incision seems to be healing well, but man I do not like swabbing out my belly button with rubbing alcohol 3-4 times per day, hehe! I am becoming a bit concerned about a mild cough that I've had since 2-3 days post-op. It's not all the time, but it is worse in the mornings, when I bring up anywhere from 1/2-1 tsp of green/yellow phlegm. I don't know if this is just my lungs healing up from irritation from the oxygen tube down my throat during surgery or what. If it was constant throughout the day, I would have already contacted my surgeon's office about it, but it's just here and there, mostly in the morning. I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill, and my surgeon is out of town until sometime next week. Does this sound like something I should be concerned about? I don't have any sort of fever, and am otherwise feeling pretty perky! :thumbup:

@@Sinta "My question is I wonder if it would be completely crazy to have a single vodka tonic?" YES. You are still healing. You don't want anything to irritate healing tissues. Learn to enjoy without alcohol. If you find you don't like it and you are feeling pouty, just remember you made a huge investment in yourself, and you will be better later. My ex wife gave up drinking for preganacies, and I abstained in solidarity.

Oh it sounds like you are miserable right now, and I really feel for you. Withdrawal from something you are addicted to is really hard on a person. I am a recovering addict alcoholic and have sure gone through the ups and downs through all of my recovery. AA and NA have helped me so much. I am in my 81/2 years of sobriety now, and those 12 steps and all of my friends at the meetings have helped me so much. And that's how I got addicted too....percocets for a long term complication from surgery and then another repair surgery. When it was time to give up the Percocets, I did it but I went through withdrawal symptoms, and started drinking more to get that good feeling. It progressed until I had developed an addiction to alcohol too. I'm so sorry you are losing your hair too, that's gotta be horrible for you. I have read other people saying that if you keep on taking your Protein shakes and make sure to get the maximum protein every day, it stops the hair loss. I can't remember how many grams of protein a person needs though....can someone tell us? I am pulling for you. You have already done a fantastic thing and lost all of those pounds.

Hi Cathy! So sorry youve had a rough start. But taking the prevacid should help. If your symptoms are not improving by a week or 2, please call your doctor back and ask for something else for your tummy. Its not uncommen to have to switch around meds (any meds) to find the right one for you. The stomach meds are no different! About the antibiotic - YES! some DO irritate the stomach. Try sticking to mild foods for a while - just until things heal. Stay away from stomach irritants like alcohol, coffee, tomato based foods, spicy things, etc. A stomach ulcer WITH our band is not something to take lightly. So please be careful!!!! Also, just as a personal rule, when I MUST visit my PCP, I *always* remind him of my band and the need to have scripts written that are gentle for the stomach and preferbly something in liquid form. (((hugs))) Hang in there, you should be on the road to recovery!

Hello aloudwhisper, A Paleo diet cosists of meat, seafood, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, butter/ghee, olive oil, and coconut oil. You are not supposed to eat grains, legumes, dairy, processed food, alcohol, and starches (including potatoes other than sweet potatoes). Sugar-substitutes, honey, agave nectar and the like are a gray area. I personally think they are bad for us and keep us eating dessert-like foods which is a psychological habit we need to break. I am trying to break the dessert habit now, but I find that instead of icecream, I'll go for nut butter, dates, or oranges. Grrr...it is a hard habit to break. Some people who eat Paleo limit their carbs from fruit and sweet potato, and other watch fats and limit nuts/coconut products. Others don't worry about carbs or fats. -Hilary

“Daddy, why do you have such a big belly?” innocently asked by my precocious five year old Son Connor, that was the spark that lit the fuse to my deciding to change my life. Sometimes we need not be shouted at to be shaken from a slumber. Sometimes a whisper is louder than a shout. A few months back, I was walking through life in a perpetual haze. I believed I was a happy individual, I am surrounded by a loving Wife, amazing children, and a diverse and loving group of friends & family. I was however overlooking the fact that I was physically careening down a slope at breakneck speed. I have always been a large, “big-boned”, individual. For most of my adult life I was able to deflect my rapidly increasing waist line by using self-deprecating humor and sarcasm as a protective shield. I was the definition of the happy go lucky fat man. I was the go to BBQ guy, the first to crack a beer with you, the first to grab that extra slice of pizza; I began to believe it was what was expected of me. At least I told myself that as a pathetic excuse to allow myself to continue to indulge in excess. Over the years, many people have expressed disbelief when I revealed my weight when asked. I often hear things like, you carry it so well, there is no way you weigh that much…as if I would choose to add extra pounds for some reason. I incorporated this as a defense mechanism, and lied repeatedly to myself that my weight wasn’t that bad. On the inside, I was fighting every day to try and do the “right thing”, and try to somewhat live a healthy lifestyle. I knew what to eat, how to eat, when to eat…but choosing to follow what I knew would work was not something I could do for an extended period of time. I am not ashamed to say that I was weak in spirit, I had no will power, and realistically I still don’t. But, I knew I was treading into uncharted territory, weight wise. I was easily winded, my knees creaked, my back hurt, and that doesn’t cover my fear of what might possibly be going on that I couldn’t physically feel. I tried to play in a flag football tournament and failed miserably, I dreaded carrying my own Daughter to bed; even kneeling by the tub to bath the kids was a nightmare. So, when my Son asked me that simple question, and I had no intelligent answer, only excuses, I decided enough was enough. I am not above asking for help, I am honest with myself, and I knew that the changes I wanted to make, I could not make alone. I decided to explore Bariatric surgery as a tool to help me save my life. After considering the several options available, I decided that Lap Band surgery would be the best fit for me. Once I made that decision, and embraced it, my mind turned to the endless possibilities that would stand before me. The truth is I am not changing to look good on the beach, or to wear a certain pant size. Yes, truth be told, these will be wonderful benefits of changing my lifestyle, but there are three reasons for my wake up call. My Wife & my kids, there it is, the definitive reason. The reason that I breathe, the reason that I wake up every morning, the reason why I will do whatever is needed to give them the best of me that I possibly can. Now, I expected to meet some resistance to my decision, and I have not been disappointed in that regard. Some people see weight loss surgery as cheating, or as an easy way out, that you don’t have the will power needed to do it on your own. To that I say, then using the gym is cheating, buying $100.00 running shoes is cheating, eating low fat food is cheating, they are all tools to help you get to where you want to go. For someone with food issues, mental, as well as physical, weight loss surgery is nothing but a tool to help you get off to a good start on a new life. It is not a magic trick; you do not have surgery and wake up 70lbs less than the day before. You have to eat right, exercise, make good decisions, just like anyone else trying to live right. Telling someone that weight loss surgery is cheating, is the same as telling an alcoholic that AA is cheating, they are simply tools designed to help you meet a need. I am not trying to fool anyone, especially myself; I do not have the will power to walk this alone. I am not ashamed to say that I need every tool in the box to help me be who I want to be. To be honest with you, I have never been overly concerned with the opinions of others, if I know in my heart that something is right for me, then all else be damned. I know in my heart, that I will be adding years to my life, and I don’t care how I get it done, or how anyone feels about my choice. At the end of the day, I want to look my Wife and kids in the eye, and have them know that Daddy is doing everything in his power to be there for them. I dream of doing the simple things that many overlook, or take for granted, running a 5K, playing sports with my kids, carrying my sleeping Daughter up a flight of stairs without wincing in pain. I have many inspiring people in my circle, friends, family, especially my Wife, who has shown me that change is possible and given me the blueprint to work off of. I look forward to the day, in the not too distant future, when I can update you all about the new me. For now, I leave you with the latest steps I have taken on the path to living right. Yesterday I began a 2/3 week diet before I have surgery. My Surgeon has submitted the paperwork to my insurance provider and we wait patiently for them to sign off. After that, we will hopefully green light surgery for some point over the next few weeks. I know many of you are privy to my journey; I just wanted to share with as many people as possible, and hopefully inspire others to take the proverbial bull by the horns.

Here is an article I read some time ago about WLS and alcohol. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/weight-loss-surgery-increases-risk-alcohol-addiction/story?id=16582225#.UN2tgeQ80xE

My co-workers made me a bag of goodies for the hospital and one of the best things in it is a product called Quease Ease. It's a little smelly thing you peel the lid off of and inhale to relieve nausea. It's the same premise as the alcohol pads (which also works great and nurses have done this for years!). They are a great smell--very minty! You can order them off of Amazon.

I understand about the exercise. It gets tougher when you are working out a lot and consuming a lot of calories. If you do have a carb max you are shooting for it does become easier to hit it, so from that perspective, assuming you are eating a lot of bars plus other things... then sure I could see wanting to watch them closer. I do still think however that it's not that big of a deal if you are avoiding sugars and taking high Protein bars you are likely ok. Note that 50g of carbs is higher than the pre-surgery diet. The pre-surgery diet is 30 carbs max, 70g protein min, as a general guideline. So you really aren't on the same diet as pre-surgery. My point is you don't need to worry so much about whether or not these bars have as close to zero carbs as possible, even on a 50g carb diet. You referred to the bars people mentioned here with concerns about high carbs. That is why I commented. Most of these bars are not that high in carbs for a post surgery diet, even the "higher carb high protein ones. A bar with 26g of carbs (12g fiber, 2 sugar alcohol and 5 sugars) is effectively 12g. Pretty low for a Meal Replacement with 20-30g of protein. And that bar is on the higher carb end of those discussed. It's easy to get so caught up in this stuff that you laser focus on one thing, like trying to keep carbs to a minimum. Personally I'm primarily focused on high protein, high nutrition and watching calories. The rest follows.

A lot of it I think is kind of pointless and will just create unnecessary stress for people. Trying to learn to sip Water is really pointless. The way you can and will drink pre and post surgery are completely different. It really isn't something you can practice. Then there are other variables to drinking water like the temp post op. Creating a healthier relationship with food and getting off soda or alcohol pre-surgery are good ideas, you won't feel so deprived after surgery. A lot of things you experience post op, you can't mimic before surgery. Mainly because how you feel is so important. A tiny stomach that doesn't get hungry is very different from a normal stomach. Keeping your stress levels low are an important part of weight loss also, so creating additional stress can be counterproductive.

That is something which sounds so foul to me but then again I am a wine drinker.........are you asking about drinking alcohol in general? Or just that particular drink Kind regards Fiona:D

I actually have noticed that alcohol seems to tighten me. When I finally realized it, me and DH decided the alcohol must be irritating my stomach, thus making it inflamed and harder to eat. But I've tried having a martini before dinner, and a glass of wine before dinner, and both times, it was damn near impossible to eat after that.. and it hurt pretty bad.. that burning alcohol feeling, but it gets stuck in the stoma..ow.