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Awesome, I get so tired of people doing #4, 7, & how soon can I have alcohol. I am like what? I never plan to let any of those things cross my lips again.

My surgeon said surgery will not remove hunger. It will allow you to physically eat less, in one sitting, if you follow the rules. Before surgery, I am always hungry. I am hungry all day. However, I only eat 3 times a day. It takes a lot for me to feel that full feeling. Surgery is supposed to help you reach that full feeling. If you give in to the hunger all the time, you won't be successful. bypass won't take that struggle away. The first 6-7 months, your body is in control. You lose the weight. After that, you have to maintain it. You have to eat to the point of near full, slowly, to give your body time to feel that you are done. Then you have to stop. You have to tell yourself, this small portion will fill my tiny teeny stomach, and I will be fine. I have lived my whole life being hungry. I know I will still have hunger. But in 2 days, I will be given a tool to help me control how much I put into my body. And after that, it's up to me. Surgery is not a for sure fix. Or a quick fix. Or a miracle. It still takes work. But it will help you if you follow the plan. Protein first. No liquids with meals. STAY AWAY FROM EMPTY CARBS. No alcohol, and don't drink your calories. hydrate hydrate hydrate. My NUT has preached this to me over and over and over. If I fail. It is going to be because I just flat out didn't follow rules. And I am not about to let that happen.

We can all beat ourselves up with the if only we hadn't allowed this to happen story but it's not changing a damn thing I think of this as our "rehab" there's drug abuse alcohol abuse etc everybody goes to rehab it's expected well this is our rehab let's use it wisely and stop living in the past and move forward what's that saying u can't change what u don't acknowledge? Well we know we have a problem and we are trying to fix it let that be our new story and a new start

//I wish I got dumping sometimes. The good news is a bite or two and I am good and then realize it isn't as good as I once remembered. // I consider dumping a gift for sure. I am such an addict with sugar. It's like my anabuse. (a drug alcoholics can take that makes them severely sick if they drink alcohol). Re-reading my post about cravings I can't express in words how different things are after bypass though. I can eat pizza and I do eat pizza. But now 2 small squares fill me up for the whole night. But then, pizza wasn't my pig out food ever. I can eat too much sometimes, but am being very careful not to stretch my pouch. If I ever feel like I ate too much I will eat less and go back to regular Protein shakes.

Actually Protein and carbohydrates each contain 4 calories per gram. You might be thinking of alcohol, which contains 7 calories per gram.

I have a friend she was sleeved a year ago and she is gaining weight already she is always eating out and drinking alcohol I truly think she is depressed had a divorce right after surgery and many life changes. I did mention to her that she didnt go through all those hoops and almost a year of prep to gain it all back and hopefully she will do something about it.

Not alcohol kind of drinker. I have Water, crystal light or tea with me 24/7. My 1 medication gives me horrible cotton mouth.

Thank you and well said Harley.. I know that a lot of the critical comments in response to this are coming from a place of caring about the OP. BUT. I never took it as a desire to have tons of alcohol. I think the OP is worried her friendships will suffer based on the changes. That doesn't mean those changes aren't good or that she won't stick to them... OR that she wasn't ready to get sleeved. All of us have our own unique concerns for life after sleeve. Coming from someone that was horribly bullied all the way K-12 and didn't have friends until college.. if I felt making the right decision for my body or myself might interfere with my friendships.. I wouldn't hesitate to make that decision but I -would- be nervous about if I might feel... left out.. from my friends and my place in the social circle.. I -don't- think this is about an amount of alcohol.. it's about not wanting to lose the place she's identified as hers in her social circle just because she can't partake the way they do... Hang in there! and BTW I definitely think it's okay for you to have a drink to Celebrate your graduation. Check with your NUT but that's a long way from now and I suspect you will have healed by now that one small drink of your choice won't be a big deal Just remember : Moderation and keep it in check and you'll do fine! Good luck at school this year!

Hang in there. Once you are maintaining and people get used to seeing you at your lower weight, they'll stop. I had folks at work who seriously did not recognize me. I don't mean they said they didn't recognize me as a way to say I looked different/better...they literally had no idea who I was till I spoke. Imagine what that feels like. Unfortunately, our 'issue' is completely external. If you are an alcoholic, it isn't immediately noticible when you stop drinking. Same for any other destructive behavior. But weight issues are right out there and you can't hide whether you are losing or gaining. Try not to show your annoyance...most people are not being nosy..they are being (or think they are being) thoughtful. I couldn't wait till no one noticed my new body at work and I'm just about there after a year with no discernable weight loss.

All I have to say is Girl thank you!!! You hit me right in my face. I'm two years out and still haven't hit my goal and noticed I had gained 10 pounds ( that's a no no) The alcohol is a big thing for me and I so know that this was so meant for me to see. I thank you and know this I believe you can do it. We are struggle at some point but having read this from you has really helped me. Thank you for being brave enough to share your story.

Hi guys, I had my 2nd dietitian appointment yesterday and I left feeling a little down in the dumps. They were a bit disappointed with me that I hadn't started dieting and exercising yet. I was under the impression that they were giving me education on how I was to eat after the surgery, and how my lifestyle would change. I didn't fully understand that they wanted me to start "dieting" now. I had started incorporating some changes from my first appointment, like cutting out alcohol, cutting way down on my soda, no liquid with meals, and chewing my food very very well. I understand starting those things, so it is easier once I have surgery. Does anyone have tips on what I should be doing now food wise to change? Am I supposed to go on a strict low carb/low sugar/high Protein diet now? Honestly I am here now going through surgery because I obviously can't stick to a "diet" and I'm in a bit of panic mode right now. Any suggestions would help

So I'm on vacation with the family. Overall I've been doing really good, still aiming for for Protein first, and with all the walking I'm getting well over 10k steps a day. The problem? Drinking!! (not alcohol..) So every meal we eat out, but of course I can't drink at the meal. I do ask for Water to go where I can, but it's also 100+ degrees here daily, so I drink it fairly fast before it gets warm. (I was dumb and left my hyroflask home, never again!) So I'm well below what I need in water, and buying a bottle each time is too costly $3 for 16oz adds up fast! Never mind my hubby is always walking 10 steps ahead of me and never hears me when I say I need to stop to get a drink. And not having a drink available has me way off for Vitamin consumption this week. I really tried to cope on my own, it's not his fault I can't drink when they do at meals and this was my choice to do surgery, but I so wish he'd be a slight bit more conscious of how it's different for me. I tried talking to him, and of course he was like how is this his fault. Bring hot and thirsty doesn't make for level headed discussions. So a valuable lesson learned for me this trip, eating wasn't nearly the issue I thought it would be... Drinking is!! I will forever bring my hydroflask and some crystal light packets to make sure I have some portable hydration options.

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.

@@Livincrimson it may be the sugar alcohol that makes you feel sick. They don't always sit well with everyone.

A year after WLS and 100 lbs. down, I started seeing a therapist because I didn't know who the woman staring back at me in the mirror was. It's now a year and a half that I've been seeing the therapist and we've done lots of digging to find the root causes of the body dismorphia and why I turn to food for comfort. I'm starting to understand some of what drives me but I'm still a work in progress. I do know that the therapist has helped me to figure out other ways of coping with stress or difficult situations without turning to food. I'm learning things about myself and I can literally feel when we've hit a bad spot and stuff comes out of me like pus from an infection. Sorry for the visual you all just got but it really is like lancing a boil sometimes. I'm not doing therapy in order to point finger or blame anyone..I'm doing it to understand myself and what triggers me towards bad behaviors when it comes to food, and pretty much anything else. We're currently working on why I feel like a phony..like a liar now that I'm thin. Sometimes I want to wear a sign around my neck that says 'former fatty'. I feel guilty when someone notices me. These are all behaviors that can result in self sabotage if I don't find a way to deal with them. I think we all should be in therapy. Not just us on this site, but truly everyone. Our issues and self destruction are just more noticeable than the gambler, or cheater, or thief, or alcoholic but no less impactful on quality of life. OK...off my soapbox for now.

@@Sharon1964 Good god, this is a big bowl of "word salad." I'm going to guess it was made by someone trolling. http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-word-salad.html The term word salad refers to a random words or phrases linked together in an often unintelligible manner. Often, a listener is unable to understand the meaning or purpose of the phrase. Mental health issues can often be the cause of disorganized speech such as word salad. ** See: "Beg your pardon?" Conditions that Lead to Speaking a Word Salad ** Trolling, alcohol and recreational drugs Dementia Schizophrenia Logorrhea Schizophasia Receptive aphasia Anoxic brain injury Word Salad Examples ** the original post by the op and most of the follow-up The sheep languished blue trains suffer Windows books dogs hands run Run desk making dinner sunglasses menu Folders pile swimming red clouds Sadness cups coffee printer power outage Porch steps run come here Dogs sleep chicken pencil trees E-mail purple orange swims blackened Garbage pink composition solely bags speak deodorant Take sharpness filling soda cans Wetness smooth dancing sheep Horse paper handbags skipping forests play together In worlds with pencils, schools page drink slime Loving living nectar of bees of pollen and butterflies run amok Children bikes cars sliding Typing while sleeping and running while cat Over the hills, cloud blue a shelf lay fuschia Labels and rash, files are landing Wall speaks windy hot mess Brightness foresees the rug Dirty slime amidst antiquated hoopla Take shirt slam crazy bike tires in afternoon Amongst all confused working fly Sensibly effort compound bed bubble Kings sense jester realize tongues poetry Words hard journal describe impossible Religious hair coma machine idea hate Interesting hospital interpreting description extreme encounter Junction one distant fragile mine Death wretched addled else finally chant mind sea backgrounds Obey space cat disjointed languages swearing admit stranger bit dressing Picture cake chocolate rambling UFO solar here fuse barking Online signature basic color sleep ideas class Dog bike cat sat sit down under sleep jump Now later red cat boat ship house girl Word Salad on TV Word Salad is also sometimes used for comedic reasons on television, in music, movies, and other media. Some examples are: The Muppet Show's music often contains words strung together that do not make sense The Happy Noodle Boy comics by Jhonen Vasquez Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot, a song by Carumba Worm Quartet, a comedy music act Drinking Out of Cups, spoken word by Dan Deacon Hatsune Miku's song Francium Popular website LOLCats Rutland Weekend Television's sketch “Gibberish” by Eric Idle Monty Python's Flying Circus Some of the comics of Calvin And Hobbe's A stand-up act by now deceased George Carlin included Word Salads such as “Niz fluk bwarney quando floo!” The play Dogg's Hamlet by Tom Stoppard Now you have seen a lot of different examples of word salad. Since word salad is just nonsense words or phrases, you can easily create your own examples at any time.

@@More than this hi welcome I see your in Canada the pre op testing your facing is pretty much the same as in the USA I had to do all that as well your cash price is good tho compared to here for sure lol I just want to say that a lot of Drs and regular ppl too are against WLS especially those who don't and never had a weight issue some think it's just mind over matter eat less move more etc and that's true to a point but the is an addiction in my opinion no diff than drugs or alcohol when u say to those they use substances just stop well yeah if we're that simple no one would be on drugs or alcoholics or eating too much I'm not suggesting your dr isn't a good dr but Drs are human beings with opinions feelings and judgements etc you must be able to decide for yourself and not be treated as if your a child or like your not allowed to help yourself in the way u see fit these procedures have been around for a long while now yes some have complications but most don't don't put off doing what u feel u must do to help yourself a dr advice is to guide you and be sure u have all the facts which u can do by researching as you obviously are doing and I have to say I do feel as if this dr is trying to scare you out of this based on their disapproval however it's your life your decision and you must live with the effects and limits being overweight not the dr so do what u need to do for your life and do not allow ppl or Drs to back u down its your life you get to run it hey if you can come to the states to get it done try that where ever you live see where the nearest big hospital is and see if they have bariatric programs u can probly email someone at that hospital and ask questions etc I'm about 5.5 months post op sleeve I'm in ny

This is from the FDA's press release: his is a brief overview of information related to FDA’s approval to market this product. See the links below to the Summary of Safety and Effectiveness Data (SSED) and product labeling for more complete information on this product, its indications for use, and the basis for FDA’s approval. Product Name: ORBERA™ Intragastric Balloon System Applicant: Apollo Endosurgery, Inc. Address: 1120 S Capital of Texas Hwy, Building 1, Ste. 300, Austin, TX 78746 Approval Date: August 5, 2015 Approval Letter: Will be available online. What is it? The ORBERA Intragastric Balloon System is a weight-loss system that uses a gastric balloon that occupies space in the stomach. The balloon is placed into the stomach through the mouth, using a minimally invasive endoscopic procedure, while the patient is under mild sedation. Once in place, the balloon is filled with salt Water (saline) so that it expands into a spherical shape. The balloon can be filled with different amounts of saline (from 400 to 700 cc) to best match the patient’s body structure. How does it work? The ORBERA Intragastric Balloon System takes up space in the stomach to help patients lose weight. The system is temporary and should be removed after 6 months. When is it used? The device is used in obese adult patients who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30-40 kg/m2 who have been unable to lose weight through diet and exercise. It is intended to be used while a patient participates in a diet and exercise plan supervised by a health care provider. What will it accomplish? During the clinical study, the group of people who used the ORBERA Intragastric Balloon lost more weight than those who did not. The study included a total of 255 patients who were followed for one-year. During that period, 125 patients received the device and had it in place for six months. After the device was removed, they were followed for an additional six months. 130 patients participated in a 12-month behavior modification program and did not receive the device. Patients with ORBERA lost an average of 21.8 pounds (10.2% of their body weight) after the device had been in place for six months. Three months after the device was removed (9 months after device placement), patients who received the device maintained an average of 19.4 pounds weight loss. The 130 patients who participated in the behavior modification program but did not receive the device lost an average of 7.0 pounds (3.3% of their body weight). When should it not be used? The device should not be used in patients who: already have an intragastric balloon have had prior gastrointestinal or bariatric surgery have any inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract have potential upper gastrointestinal bleeding conditions have a large hiatal hernia have a structural abnormality in the esophagus or pharynx have serious esophageal motility disorders have a gastric mass have a severe clotting or bleeding disorder (coagulopathy) have liver failure (hepatic insufficiency) or cirrhosis are known to have or suspected to have an allergic reaction to materials contained in the ORBERA™ system have any other medical condition which would not permit elective endoscopy have a serious prior or present psychiatric illness have alcoholism or drug addiction who are unable or unwilling to take prescribed proton pump inhibitor medication for the duration of the device implant are unable or unwilling to participate in a medically supervised diet and behavior modification program with routine medical follow-up are receiving aspirin, anti-inflammatory agents, blood thinners (anticoagulants) or other gastric irritants are pregnant or breast-feeding Additional information: Summary of Safety and Effectiveness and labeling will be available online.

Fiber is not used by the body for energy, that is why it can be subtracted from the carb count on a low carb diet. However, lots of low carbers count everything. It's a personal preference thing. I have always paid attention to the net carbs, even though all carbs are logged. I do think subtracting sugar alcohol carbs might not be the best practice. Sugar alcohols are metabolized differently by different people. To be on the safe side, I count them.

I'm surprised at the vitamin situation. Id be nervous to not take them. How do you manage alcohol? Do you drink anything carbonated? I have GERD as well and I take meds so thinking RNY might be my best option.

Just saw your video. I can only imagine that it's tough when you've gone through everything only to see the scale show numbers you don't like. One thing all the veterans around here say is that that there will be periods when the scale doesn't move like we want....but progress is still taking place. Take a look at @@Queen P photos. Amazing !!!!! Those Atkin products give me fits, too. The sugar alcohol inside don't agree with me. I've found that when I use Atkins shakes and bars that my weight loss slows down. They tend to have more overall calories than other types/brands. Best of luck to you. Hang in there. You'll be leading the way for the rest of us in a couple weeks. Hope the drain is now out and you are more comfortable.

Just for insurance... Okay, back to the topic at hand. My next guess is alcohol poisoning. Have you been drinking?

There's nothing worse then former smokers who cough like crazy when they see someone smoking, former drunks that think they have found all the answers about alcohol, and former fattys that sneer at us who remain overweight or choose a way to live longer by having surgery. I feel sorry for Chuck I think he's lonely.

HAHA bowels will explode hahahahahahaha. Yes sugar free hello and sugar free popsicles although the popsicles have 2g of sugar alcohol (i hope its not the same as sugar?)

Well, I have done this is well only I won't claim that it only took a year..ha. I have cautiously entered two true relationships since being single last few years only to find that what was under the surface, wasn't what it seemed. Relationship #1 the guy was just negative. I didn't realize until then that I don't like how I feel being with a judgmental person. I am glad I had that experience because it has become one of my litmus tests. Many months after that relationship ended, I was on a date with a guy who seemed fun until we went to a concert in the park when he couldn't resist commenting on other people. "she looks like a barely functional alcoholic" "can't believe she thinks she looks good in that" "people shouldnt bring children to loud music, that is what babysitters are for" sort of remarks about random people that i didn't even notice. I was just having fun, enjoying the music and crowd! It really hit me that I don't want to spend time with someone who looks at a crowd or situation... and just instinctually judges the details. It makes me feel bad. It was liberating to clarify this point in my mind. My real cautionary tale from someone I started seeing late this winter. Super fella, unusual character (like me!) - not everyone's cup of tea but his big negatives on the dating marketplace (avid fisher, hunter, into taxidermy which in my part of the country is seen as horrible) was no problem for me as I am a country girl at heart. I really enjoyed being with him and we did so many fun, diverse activities together... i also shared many values with him. I loved what a hard worker, ambitious and yet family oriented person he is. My friends thought he was da bomb too, he easily folded into my extended crew of pals. However, our relationship did not become intimate, which was my first sign of trouble...haha Here was what was under the hood - under all that eagerness to find a woman like me was a deep seated fear of relationships. Not just a romantic one, but i came to understand that there was baggage way way beyond carry on size that was well masked, at first anyway. When we ended it, he felt terrible, he felt like he had lied (well he had - but mostly to himself). I viewed it as dodging a bullet actually even though i was disappointed that a person who seemed so compatible might as well have been married or something for his lack of emotional availability. My point is this - by middle age alot of people know what they want and can say it. Some of them (wondering if I fall in this category actually) have gotten so dang picky there chances of having a real relationship diminishes since NOBODY meets the criteria. I am becoming okay with the idea of flying solo for the rest of my life - if it comes to that, so be it. then you have people who think they understand themselves and what they want and so carefully cultivate that image, but in truth have deep pain, history, baggage whatever you wanna call it and simply cannot go deeper then a superficial relationship. The key here is to escape early before you get sucked into it. And then, there are the clueless, who have no idea who they are, what they seek in life, who is compatible with them etc . I realize that not everyone is a self reflective as I am, but I do think there needs to be a minimum amount of assessing what the next phase of life holds. Then of course there are people who know what they want. Mr negative guy (that I had an actual relationship #1 with) had a very clear idea of what he was seeking and the primary reason we ended it is we didn't fall in love and he wanted someone to marry and spend the rest of his life with. Just hope she doesn't mind be subtly criticised every day...because i sure did!